Knock You Off Your Feet

I was tapping my feet under the table as I waited for the press conference to begin. My sleek, black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, exposing the little leaf on the comfy windbreaker Team Canada had provided me.

This press conference was for first-time Olympians only, and as the journalists filed in slowly, I could feel the nerves – and the pressure – building.

I ran my finger along the top of the name card in front of me. They had put me at the end of the table for some odd reason, and I ad a feeling that I was going to be answering a lot of the questions first.

Once everyone was settled in and we were introduced, my fears were confirmed.

“Hi, I’m Jake from the New York Times, and my question’s for everybody: when did you start practicing your sport and how quickly did you discover that you had a lot of skill in that area? Um, Casey Burgess, would you like to start?”

“Um, sure,” I answered uncertainly. “I actually started two and a half years ago. I picked up a snowboard after watching the Winter X Games and I went to the nearby ski resort and taught myself. I got my legs under me really quickly – I think in a week, maybe less – and I started doing tricks. Once I began landing those really consistently and could move on to more complicated ones, I knew I had something special. When I got invited to compete nationally, that’s when I believed I had enough skill to win.”

My mind drifted as the others told their stories, floating back to the afternoons spent on the New England slopes I called home. I lurked there for a while before the next question was asked.

“This is Keri with the Montreal Gazette, and my question’s for Casey Burgess. You were raised in Vermont and that’s where you learned to snowboard. Why, then, are you going for Team Canada?” The brunette’s tone was biting and accusing, and I immediately got defensive. I had to count to five before I answered her.

“Because,” I said calmly, “if you look at the USA’s women’s snowboarding team, it’s stacked. There are loads of great names. Team Canada doesn’t have a knockout lineup. I was born here and I feel a certain loyalty. I wanna help out however I can. I’m just hoping to bring home some gold for the hosts here.” There was a smattering of weak cheers. I smiled poisonously. “And you, being from Montreal, can’t complain about that.”