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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Olympics Why hockey is Our Game
Canadiana out in full force as women's hockey team routs Slovakia
Canadian jerseys. Maple Leaf flags. Bright red tuques.
Walking into the arena -- fittingly the home of a team called the Canucks -- the spectators are seated in the highest rafters of the building, you're hit with the blast of the Tragically Hip wailing Little Bones.
By the time Team Canada took to the crisp, clean ice, the capacity audience was in full throat. They even stood and cheered the visiting underdogs from Slovakia.
It strikes suddenly for the first time: These are Canada's Games.
Sure, Canadiana was on full and flavourful display at Friday night's opening ceremonies, where the world and a record home television audience of more than 13 million witnessed a visual odyssey of polar bears, wheat fields, totem poles and k.d. lang belting out Hallelujah.
But only in one country on the entire planet will a standing room only throng of 16,000 fanatics rejoice in a women's hockey game, ooohing at every close chance, aaawing at every glove save and bolt from their seats in joyous unison for every goal scored.
Of course, the overmatched Slovaks, the Davids of this one-sided affair, never had a prayer. The final score: Canada 18, Slovakia 0.
Don't shed too many tears, though. After all, the Slovaks qualified for the Olympic tournament by obliterating Bulgaria 82-0. That's not a misprint. In fact, the Bulgarians -- who surrendered a goal every 44 seconds on average -- even pulled their goalie during the prolific rout almost two years ago just to get some shots on net. It didn't work. You can YouTube it.
In that Slovak qualifying game in September 2008, the tiny arena was virtually empty. One can only imagine what the visitors were thinking stepping into the jam-packed arena last night, ripe for the proverbial slaughter.
Indeed, by the time the game was just 13 minutes old -- with Burton Cummings and the Guess Who wailing No Time over the loudspeaker -- the Canadians had built a 5-0 lead. Still, the assembled in red were chanting, "Let's go, Can-a-da!!"
Just as they chanted in the third period, with the home team ahead 13-0.
Clearly, the Slovaks were not in Latvia anymore, and downtrodden Bulgarians were a distant memory.
But every red-blooded Canadian in the house knows well enough to realize that the women's Olympic tournament will almost inevitably boil down to a date with the arch-rival Americans -- both a blessing and a curse for the sport, which has long suffered from the lack of serious contenders to North American dominance, outside of a shocking Swedish upset over the Yanks at the 2006 Games in Turin.
However, that quandary is a topic for another time. This was Olympic Hockey Night in Canada, and it was all about rolling out the red-and-white carpet and a first athletic taste of what will make these Olympics unique to the host country.
You know, there's a reason why we call hockey Our Game. It's not because Canada wins all the time, or even more of the time, for that matter. It's because we care more; whether it's young teenagers challenging the world over Christmas, hardened professionals chasing a big silver chalice or, yes, girls who grew up with the same dreams and aspirations as the boys.
Welcome to the 2010 Winter Games. In Canada.
And don't mind us. We've got some hockey to watch.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 14, 2010 A19
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