hockey on the world stage

February 25, 2002 under Hockey, Politics, Sports

Don Cherry is right. We Canadians are totally unlike our neighbours to the south. Unlike Americans, we do criticize ourselves harshly and when Team Canada got schooled by Sweden and barely beat Germany, the criticisms were flying. You can all testify that I ripped Canadian men’s hockey team a new one. However, that guy from NBC Sports that bashed Gretzky and Team Canada is a moron and should thank his lucky stars that he has a job, ’cause his hockey knowledge is questionable. I had to clear that up.

So we won double-gold in hockey. Fuckin’ eh! But why do we have to do it in the most unglamorous way possible? Canada’s women’s team never beat the American team in the past year or so and then they finally beat them in the game that counted the most. On top of that, they did it in a game officiated by an American ref who called anything and everything against the Canadians. And our men’s team played horrible at first and got progressively better each game. High drama, yes, but no glory. I guess that’s how we differ from other countries. We’re not about the glitz and glamour, rather the end result.

So they were partying in the streets because of Canada’s victory. That’s not out of the ordinary. But poor Dena couldn’t understand what the big deal was all about. It’s tough to explain I guess. Canada is geographically the second largest country in the world, but it’s a relatively young country with only a population of 30 million; compared, to say the USA, with 350 million people and a much smaller country geographically. Hockey is one of those cultural things here in Canada that can unite all the people of this huge country. And for our country to finish fourth in the medal standings with such a small population compared to the other top countries, that’s another feat we should be proud of. The hockey gold is especially nice to be one against the Americans since most of the teams are based down there (and don’t get me started on the brain drain situation). But remember, when Detroit, New Jersey and Colorado won all those Stanley Cups, those teams had similar designs; Canadian coaches, 22 Canadians, 1 American and 2 Russians. Dena might understand what all the fuss is about here, one day.


PS: I’m glad Jerome Iginla is a Flame 🙂

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