Joy Drop: This was a great week on the pitch, here and abroad
CBC Sports' senior contributor Shireen Ahmed on the week's happier moments
What a week it has been! We started out as predicted in the previous Joy Drop, with Canada's men's soccer team qualifying for the World Cup in November. What an absolute JOY. So, we begin with Alphonso Davies — still out due to myocarditis. Although he wasn't able to play, he watched and cheered on his team's 4-0 win over Jamaica on Sunday.
After the glorious win, he cried tears of happiness and spoke so sincerely about the people who believed in the team and what that means for this squad. Of course, I sobbed along.
The Oscars were certainly, well, memorable, but I do want to draw attention to a beautiful and important film called the Queen of Basketball, which won an Academy Award in the Short Documentary category.
It is the story of Lusia (Lucy) Harris, the first woman to be drafted to the NBA. Yes, the NBA. She is a Hall of Famer and she was the first woman to ever sink a basket at the Olympics in the women's event. This film tells her story. Because we should know it. Shaquille O'Neill and Steph Curry, two legendary NBA players, were the executive producers of the project.
Ben Proudfoot wrote and directed this incredible piece, and he attended the awards ceremony with his mom. But his reaction to winning an Oscar was definitely spectacular, and one that we should remember. In another extraordinary connection, according to his Twitter bio, Proudfoot is Nova Scotian!
You can watch the film here:
There have been some really lovely moments this week, but one that really stood out for me was when news broke that Sanjay Malaviya, a Canadian healthcare technology entrepreneur, was donating $1.2 million to support Team Canada athletes. This means that the Olympians and Paralympians who won medals at the Tokyo and Beijing Games will receive $5,000 each. As my colleague Devin Heroux has previously reported, Paralympians have never received any monies for winning at the Paralympics.
Canadian Olympians are paid through the Canadian Olympic Committee's Athlete Excellence Fund. <br><br>This doesn't exist for Paralympics.<br><br>Olympians and Paralympians in the USA and Australia are paid the same amount for winning medals.
—@Devin_HerouxWhile I am concerned that Paralympians still don't receive funding the same way as other athletes, I was so happy to see this development. I hope it pushes the powers that be to support Paralympians fully and completely.
In more happy news, a world record from Spain blew all others out of the water. This past Wednesday, 91,533 fans attended a Women's Champions League quarter-final match and saw Barcelona beat the visitors, 5-2, at Camp Nou — the famous stadium.
The matchup between Real Madrid and Barcelona is a storied rivalry. But the fact it was witnessed by so many elated fans adds to the richness of the women's game. And underlines why women's sports is an amazing product that people want to invest in, and be a part of. To watch Barca captain Alexia Putellas bang drums after a win is glorious and necessary. These players deserve this jubilation.
Because I have drums on my mind, I leave you with a song by the GOAT of drums, Phil Collins, and his Easy Lover duet with Philip Bailey. It's a banger, as the kids say. Have a wondrous weekend! I will be prepping for the month of Ramadan, which starts this weekend. Be safe, friends.
