At the last World Cup of Hockey, when the Americans beat the Canadians for the Gold medal, an entire nation hung their heads. Some took it hard; my neighbours even went so far as to hang their flag at half-mast for a week! So, last night when the Canadian Men's hockey team beat Finland for the Gold, a nation breathed a deep sigh of relief and rejoiced. Finland played a great game, amazing really - but the better team won.
Now, I know I may sound a little serious on the subject, but hockey is a Canadian game. Even Canadians that "dont really care about hockey" get excited about the big tournaments or the playoffs.
I left the office right before game time yesterday and saw that people were being turned away from bars all over the place. I started talking to a bar owner who told me that he had run out of sitting space in his bar over an hour before the puck dropped. Hockey is serious here. I don't think that there is a country in the world that puts as much pressure on their hockey players to be the best.
Are we obsessed? Perhaps, but at least we can only get 12 medals in the Summer Olympics and say, "At least the Winter Olympics are only 2 years away." :)

*Go Canada Go!