All right, now while that statement may seem grandiose and a bit exaggerated, can you name a better and more successful Canadian TV show?  If your response includes Degrassi Jr. High or the Trailer Park Boys you might as well stop reading the rest of my Blog entry as your choice is dead wrong and I don’t care what you think.

Now, I’m not necessarily saying that the Battle of the Blades was the best Canadian TV show ever… but I can’t think of one that beats it.  And I’m not just writing that aforementioned statement to get a reaction.  I’m basing it on many factors. 

 

1) I had the privilege of meeting the majority of the skating pairs including Bob Probert, Cristina Lenko, Ron Duguay, Barb Underwood, Ken Daneyko, Jodeyne Higgins, Craig Simpson, Jamie Sale, Claude Lemieux, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Stephane Richer and Marie-France Dubrueil.  Each pair where so cordial, kind, personable, humorous and most importantly – completely down to earth!

 

 

2) I had the opportunity to watch the final 3 pairs live and I was blown away by how incredibly talented they were.  Like most sporting events, it was even more impressive to watch live!

 

3) And I have to be honest, as much as I hate to admit it… but I cried during the Battle of the Blades finale!  Yep, I bawled.  And anytime I get emotional from watching a show… I know it’s worthy of a massive compliment and one I want to watch over and over.  Thanks Stephane Richer for making this new trend acceptable!

 

 

4) The charitable angle.  As you know the winners Craig and Jamie donated $100,000 to spinal cord research.

 

 

5) DICK BUTTON.  It was awesome to hear them say his full name at least 7 times per show.  Also, imagine if he was in your grade 7 class and the teacher was taking attendance:  “Button, Dick?  Button, Dick”  “Present.”  That would be classic.  Oh, he was also a guest on the show and we was an unbelievably entertaining, intelligent, and funny gentleman.

 

 

6) The guest judges were awesome… especially Katarina Witt’s juggs.

My only complaint of the show was Ron Maclean… I thought he looked really cheesy and was trying way too hard.  Also, only in Canada would a TV show be able to cherish a host in a suit and hockey skates!

 

You can listen to the interviews we've done with all of the contestants on our podcast page here.

So what did you think of the show?  Do you feel the right pair won?  And would you be disappointed if there wasn’t a Battle of the Blades 2?