….Thats how they described it on TV…. The 5-2 win of Team USA Hockey over home town favorites Team Canada. Can’t say I can argue much. It was pretty mesmerizing. We watched a young team with no notable NHL superstars, skate circles around a team with all the big names like Crosby, Thornton, Nash and Iginla. And that’s not to mention watching them out pass, out skate and out score my own personal favs like Perry, Getzlaf, Neidermeyer and Pronger.
I was having a horrible time reconciling the fact that my favorite NHL players were jumping ship to play for other countries. Yeah, yeah….I get that they are all from other places and they want to play for their home country, but it still feels like dissertion and downright abandonment. I pay their salaries here in the States. There should be some loyalty! (Mike continues to remind me that only girls think that way….There is no loyalty in professional sports.)
When I saw Corey Perry and then later Scott Neidermeyer take a cheap shot at one of the US players I was pissed off. I’m still pissed off. Listen up Team Canada…. you’re my NHL players….making a living playing for my team….living in my country….getting paid with money from my season seat fees….. You shouldn’t be swiping at the underdog-ish kids that stood up to defend their country (…the one you BAILED on). And these are the kids the big boys play with every single game of their professional careers. The kids that are on their own NHL team! Okay…I know…I know….I’m being ridiculous. There are no “manners” in Hockey much less in a rivalry like this. I get it. It still sucks.
I didn’t have much hope for the US team actually. (I shouldn’t say that out loud.) I never believed that you could throw together a bunch of guys who have never played together and have it turn out the way you’d like. Maybe it’s because I’ve watched the Ducks struggle with team synergy over the last two years and can barely complete a decent string of passes as a result. So this time I have to eat my words. I guess it speaks to Burkie’s amazing ability to assemble an unlikely group of kids that just work together brilliantly….
But at the end of the day, it was some sort of divine retribution. Watching Rafalski, Orpik, Parise, Langenbruner and little Bobby Ryan stand up my “old” favs at the blue line made me feel much (MUCH) better about the whole thing. How well, hard and fast they played together surprised me and even better, it surprised the Canadians! It was the best game I’ve seen since the Stanley Cup finals when the Ducks won. I was on the edge of my seat with some of the best Hockey EVER.
Who knows what will happen next week, but for now, I’ll take it and enjoy every bit of it. 😉
Kris Shenk's Blog /*Musings and Observations about Technology Consulting*/ 