The U.S. men’s hockey team plays Canada for Olympic gold very early Sunday morning in one of those athletic contests that transcends sports. And I am thinking of a former news editor, not a sports fan, who often told me that he couldn’t understand why people got so worked up over things that meant so little in the big picture.
I’d tell him back then just to think of it as tribal instincts writ large. You see it in politics, all manner of international matters, and, yes, in sports. Nothing is as intoxicating as identifying with a group – fanatically at times since fan is shorthand for that word – and indulging in us vs. them thoughts and actions.
There is a lot of that in Olympics sports, no matter the propaganda they spew about friendly competition. Already in these Olympics, we’ve had Canada men’s and women’s curling teams accused of cheating, a skating judge raising red flags over absurdly low scores for a U.S. ice dancing pair, some cross-country skiers banned for an illegal substance on their skis, and some male ski jumpers being accused of penile injections to increase size and help them jump further due to enhanced aerodynamics of the bigger crotch bulge in those skin-tight suits they wear.
I know all of this from reading the internet. I have watched only men’s hockey games and that U.S. women’s gold medal win – admittedly not all of that.
Mostly, I’ve avoided the Olympics because of the rampant hypocrisy of the Games and general overkill of the coverage.
But, to repeat, I do follow the hockey.
I prepped for this Sunday gold-medal game by watching the movie “Miracle,” a chronicle of the amazing gold medal run of the 1980 American men. Ironically, our men have not won Olympic hockey gold since. Meanwhile, the U.S. women hockey players have just grabbed yet another gold, their third since it became an Olympic sport for women in 1998.
It seems that in hockey, much as in soccer, our women’s national teams are threats to win it all and our men, well, they are threats to disappoint.
But, ever since last season’s 4 Nations Face-Off, an NHL production featuring teams from Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States, there has been great anticipation of these Olympics.
That tournament, played at the height of tariff spats and Canada-United States friction, saw crowds in Canada booing our national anthem. That led to three fights in the first 9 seconds of a Canada-U.S. round-robin game, won by the U.S.
Canada bounced back to win the championship game vs. the United States, in overtime.
It was widely anticipated there would be a rematch for Olympic gold and, despite a few hiccups and near-misses along the way, both Canada and the United States made it.
I have a few wishes for this game, including the U.S. not to have yet another apparent goal wiped off the board due to infractions real or imagined. There have been three such examples already for the United States.
I’m hoping the referees won’t both be from Canada, as was the case in Canada’s dramatic, last-minute, 3-2 win over Finland in the previous round. Finland led 2-0, but Canada rallied, including one goal that was close to interference, then was gifted a late power-play to enable the win.
I’m praying American wunderkind defenseman Quinn Hughes quits getting his slapshots blocked by charging defenders, leading to odd-man breaks.
Mostly, I’m hoping for a clean, well-played game, with no strange calls or plays deciding the outcome.
Much will be made of this game being played on the 46th anniversary of the Miracle On Ice win over the Soviets, but the similarities stop there.
First, that 1980 U.S. team had to go on to beat Finland in the next game to claim gold due to the round-robin format of the time. Also, those were true amateurs, a bunch of college kids, playing for the United States, against a team of professionals masquerading as amateurs for the Soviets and some other teams.
Now, we’re all sending pros, the Soviet Union is no more, and Russia is banned from these international competitions because some nincompoops think that will stop them from invading other countries. Spoiler alert: It hasn’t and won’t.
Both Canada and the United States have better squads than even in last year’s 4 Nations affair.
My heart says United States to win, but the head says Canada will find a way to eke out yet another victory.
Here’s hoping the heart is right.
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