Whatever your favourite sport

This print ad was used in the early 1970s to advertise CBC's sports programming.

"Whatever your favourite sport ... CBC Radio/TV", the ad states, illustrating a variety of different competitions that CBC had established a reputation for covering.

Trevor Pilling, who is currently executive producer of Hockey Night in Canada but who has covered many sports and Olympics with CBC, says CBC Sports has established a reputation for being there for athletes, no matter the sport or the level of competition.

"We have relationships with athletes," Pilling says, which is repeatedly proven through CBC Sports' coverage of amateur sport. "It's part of who we are and what we do."

Athletes come to know the CBC, to know the announcers and commentators and to know that CBC Sports is there for them, he says.

"We pride ourselves on not learning about an Olympic athlete when they step on the podium. We should know about them in the years in the lead up to their speical moment. That's the only way to really create a connection with the audience anyways."

In the 1970s, Canadians were sports mad with many going from couch potatoes to super jocks. Well, not quite. But at least during that decade they did start to get up and get fit. It was thanks to nagging TV ads, the example of an active prime minister and embarrassment compared to some very robust Swedes. But the nagging hasn't been entirely successful.

As this ad was published, Ken Dryden was playing as goalie for the Montreal Canadiens. It was also around the time that Canadians took the day off on Sept. 28, 1972 to watch Canada play the Soviet Union. In the game's last seconds, their hero Paul Henderson scored an epoch-making goal.

The Montreal Olympics were also just around the corner and Canadian amateur athletes and their parents were thinking about the great sacrifices they'd have to make in order to realize their Olympic dreams.

Posted on Oct 20, 2011 6:00:00 AM