I'm not terribly fond of ice hockey. Yes I know in Canada it's just hockey, and what is hockey to me is field hockey to Canadians, but where I come from, hockey is field hockey, and old habits die hard.
As I've said, I'm not terribly fond of ice hockey. The players are too violent and the puck is too small for my liking, and they (both the players and the puck) move too quickly for my not-very-old eyes to follow. But after all that hype about the finals being a battle of epic proportions, arch-rivals and Canadians never winning on home ground and all, I decided I had to watch the game.
I was home alone, looking forward to a quiet day in, with the hockey game telecast being an interesting diversion to my afternoon. I heard people cheering and car horns blaring in the streets soon after the final goal was scored. And the din never did die down until close to midnight EST. *grin* Canada has got a record 14 golds this Olympics, including one for Ice Dance (Virtue and Moir being the first N. Americans and the youngest pair skaters to win the gold), but clearly the only gold that mattered was the gold for hockey.
Actually, what I found most amusing about the entire thing was the hoopla leading into the final showdown between Team Canada and Team USA. I've never seen Canadians this loud, this passionate, this patriotic before, not even during Canada Day. My conclusion? Canadians really really love their hockey.
Congratulations, Team Canada!
