Apparently the gold medal men's hockey game was the most watched Canadian TV broadcast of all time. I heard that 80% of Canadians watched some part of the game. The following day, I heard stories about people on buses and planes, unable to watch the game, who were continually updated by people with cell phones, etc., who were also cheering when that final goal was scored. And, of course, that's not to mention the thousands of times that goal has been rebroadcast since.

My folks were returning from Florida when the game was on - and my dad called from Virgina to find out what the score was. When they arrived home, my dad called again to ask why the game had gone to overtime since he'd seen Crosby put the puck in the net about twenty-six times and so figured the final score had to be twenty-six to two.

So I thought it might be interesting to see if anyone here had any stories about where they were when the goal heard across Canada was scored.

I'm assuming our American brothers and sisters won't mind us tooting our horns a little since I doubt most of them particularly care about winning a hockey game (if I'm wrong, I apologize - but then, I'm a Canadian, eh? )

ML (who has to admit that some Canadian stereotypes are actually true)

no interesting story, but gotta say I was thrilled. So un-Canadian, eh?


c.

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!

Hehe, I care a bunch, but I don't mind one bit! What a great game! I'm extremely proud of our American team for their efforts. Canada is such a bunch of superstars; you guys should have sat on us the first time around, but it's just unbelievable that we made it to the gold medal game, and it was so exciting. I can't remember the last time an empty net play threw a game into overtime. Canada outplayed us in the end and had a very well-deserved victory!


Many congrats!!


JD

Let's see, the American Team was undefeated going into that match. Canada had one loss... who was that loss too? Oh yeah, the American Team.

As I see it, the series is tied, one to one... when's the rubber match?

Tank (who is from Minnesota where people take hockey pretty serious, but personally isn't all that worked up about two different NHL all-star teams playing each other in the Olympics)

I heard a particularly good story today. Apparently, on the night of the hockey game, an Air Canada flight was delayed when passengers repeatedly ignored calls to board so that they could watch the end of the game on the televisions running in the airport. (Have I mentioned that Canadians are crazy? )

ML