The Blue Jackets will be back on the ice tomorrow night after the two-week long Olympic break. There was a little hockey game yesterday afternoon in Vancouver and according to Puck the Media, 1 of every 3 Americans watched the game!
What a great day for hockey all around North America. USA versus Canada was as big as any Stanley Cup Final, probably bigger, to hockey fans, and something maybe even more to those who only watch hockey every 4 years during the Winter Olympics. It is a pity we have to wait 4 more years to experience the grandeur of the Olympic games again, but I have my doubts that it will feel the same after the special run that Team USA put together.
I have been vocal and obvious about this throughout the tournament, but it is a heinous crime to not root for your home country. I completely admit, I was not very into rooting for Team USA when the rosters were announced, especially with the likes of Ryan Kesler, Brian Rafalski, and Ryan Malone on the team and most notably RJ Umberger getting the cold shoulder by Burke and company. But from the first puck drop to the final painful shot in the Gold medal game, I cheered those boys on and gained new respect for many players on the team. No, there weren’t any Blue Jackets playing for the Red, White, and Blue, but they were the team selected to represent the greatest country in the world, our very own! Players like Rick Nash or Milan Jurcina or Jan Hejda are without a doubt beacons of light in the hockey community and in Columbus, but willingly played for their respective countries, all for a chance to win Gold.
As good friend @seventyeight pointed out earlier in the Tourney:
Who cares how many Americans are on the Jackets? Some people have some national pride, not NASHional pride.
My resent for those deciding to cheer for a Blue Jacket, and not their country, is very strong. Do I have a problem with Nash? Absolutely not… except for the absolute lack of energy he can sometimes play with, but that’s not the point. Rick is the captain of our team we all love, but there is very little that could and should come between a fan and their country.
Alas, Nash got his Gold and the country that “owns hockey” was taken to the brink by a bunch of nobody’s, by comparison. My voice was gone today at work after screaming so much after Parise’s game tying goal with seconds remaining, few experiences have brought the level of euphoria and depression that were achieved yesterday… God I love hockey.
News and notes:
- More from Steve Lepore’s Puck the Media, Columbus, Ohio ranked as the #8 overall market yesterday for the USA/Canada gold medal game 22.3 rating and 37 share (37% of people in Columbus watched the game). Very cool to see.
- Raffi Torres has been rumored to be heading to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston primarily although everybody’s favorite hockey blogger, Eklund, says the New York Islanders. Puck-rakers
- Either way, enjoy tomorrow’s probably final game with UFA’s Milan Jurcina, Raffi Torres, and Fredrik Modin, and unfortunately probably someone nobody expects… as long as it makes the team better in the long run.
