Montreal Olympic Games left a legacy that’s still being felt 50 years later

When reflecting on the 1976 Montreal Games, it’s hard not to think of the controversies surrounding the Olympic Stadium, whose problem-plagued construction and ballooning costs earned it the nickname the “Big Owe.” But 50 years later, key players in the Olympic movement say the first Games on Canadian soil had a lasting impact on Quebec’s sporting culture that went far beyond those negative headlines. “These Games left a great legacy,” said Thomas Bach, who is the honorary president of the International Olympic Committee and a 1976 gold medallist in the team foil fencing event. “I remember the controversies at the…