I'm going to start this off by saying congrats to the Canadian women's hockey team for their 3-2 win over the US. Hard fought, gritty, and determined – those are the things that win you medals.
I will also say that I am not a bitter American fan. Obviously when someone begins something with "I'm not bitter, but…" it's a red flag that the person who wrote it is going to go on for two hours about how much that one call ruined everything for their team. But seriously, honestly, I'm not. Did I want the USA to win? Absolutely. Am I angry with silver? Nah.
Of course, some of this comes from being a fan of the St. Louis Blues, who have trained me to be ok with a team being a day late and a dollar short. I go into sports with no expectations. Consider me the Denmark of hockey bloggers.
My reaction to this post from @HockeyCanada on Twitter has nothing to do with the outcome of today's game.
It's still our game #Canada. pic.twitter.com/sbLcxx8Oem
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) February 20, 2014
Again? Really? I'm refusing to take part in the Canada/USA pissing match that is my Twitter feed right now, but this annoyed me. Hockey is as Canadian as baseball is American. You know, national pastime (or in your case, winter past time, because you have two official sports) and all that rot. A national past time that has spread outside of your borders and to other countries who are working their way up to – or possibly surpassing – your level.
The jingoism in America in the 1990 that began when it was clear that Japanese baseball players are pretty darn good was obnoxious. So is the "this is our game" shtick. Other countries are catching up (way to barely beat Latvia) or even possibly surpassing you – Team Sweden has been a gold medal favorite throughout this tournament. Other countries are turning out NHL caliber players, so much so that you have to worry about Canadian CHL goalies not getting ice time. If it's your game, why are you excluding European goalies from the CHL draft?
Just admit it. You don't, and can't, have ownership over a sport, even if it's a sport that your country is best known for. The US doesn't own baseball, and you haven't called dibsies on hockey. Let people enjoy the game without being reminded that it's yours – or maybe not. The Dutch and English seem to've gotten a head start on it.
