A Salute to Team USA

by Mike Martin on Feb 28, 2010 11:05 PM CST

It’s over. After coming within one good shot of winning gold, it’s over.

I can’t say I’ve really felt this kind of sting from a sports loss since Super Bowl XLI. Sure, the Cubs have broke my heart, but that’s what the Cubs do. Getting bounced in the WCF last year sucked, but it ended with us knowing that the Hawks were going to be a juggernaut this season. Tonight, finding that kind of silver lining has proven difficult.

The best perspective to put things in is the fact that our boys weren’t supposed to be there at all. The gold medal game was supposed to be Russia challenging Canada. The bronze was supposed to be Finland and Sweden. I mean, with Russia bringing out superstars like Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Pavel Datsyuk, Finland coming off winning silver in Torino, Sweden the reigning Olympic champion, and Canada bringing a team that many in their country called their best ever, who would have thought an American team with Brooks Orpik, Ryan Callahan, and Tim Gleason had a chance to sniff the medal round? Instead, we not only made it to the medal round, but on the way we beat the gold medal favorite in regulation, embarrassed one of those four powers, and took Canada to the brink on their own ice. That’s something to be proud of, and I’m sure we will be. But not yet.

Looking forward to Sochi is cool too. Patrick Kane will hopefully have realized that being a 2-way player like he was today is pretty badass. Zach Parise will be an even more explosive player. David Backes will have destroyed a few more Canadian stars in the NHL. And Ryan Miller will hopefully still be ridiculous. However, it won’t really be the same. In 2014, people will be expecting a repeat of this year. This year, hardly anyone was expecting us at all, and that’s what made this run so awesome. There’s just something about cheering for a team that everyone doubts. We felt it last year with the Hawks, and we felt the last two weeks with this Team USA.

At the end of Miracle, the voiceover points out that soon after that is when we started using NHL players in the Olympics, and how Brooks found the term "dream team" ironic as it rarely gave us a chance to dream. In 1998 and 2006, the piss-poor effort shown by the American squads made us think it would be a dream for us to expect our team to play hard, let alone win. However, our team this year did just that and put forth an effort that every American should be proud of, while actually giving us the opportunity to dream about hearing the Star-Spangled Banner after the gold medal game.

Even though that dream may not have been realized, I still say thank you to the 2010 United States Olympic Hockey Team for giving us the chance to dream at all.

Now let’s see Kaner, Tazer, Dunc, Panda, Biscuit, and that other guy bring their outstanding Olympic play back to Chicago.

Oh, and Canada: We’ll see you Sochi!

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Youth

(Hawks, youngest team in the NHL / USA, youngest team in the Olympics)

It is the intangible yet congruous factor that connects last years Hawks playoff run and this year’s US Olympic team performance. Both teams had that confidence of youth and, by definition, were too young and naive to know that they had no right to be standing there at the end, going blow for blow with Goliath.

Both also possessed prodigious amounts of untapped potential. In each instance we had the opportunity to see glimpses of what the future holds once that potential is fully realized – and it is scary/exciting to think about. I previously was worried that the Hawks’ Olympians would return fatigued, but now I am more concerned for the rest of the league once the 2009-10 Hawks version 2.0 take the ice.
Welcome to stardom boys, you’ve arrived. Wear it well.

Well said Mike Martin. I’m personally trying to convince myself that three gold medal winners on the Hawks is better than one. I’ll let you know if I succeed…

Well, folks, I want to thank you for being here for the recording of my live comedy album. Funny material and laughter will be dubbed in later.

by ChicagoNativeSon on Mar 1, 2010 12:18 AM CST reply actions

I've been following US hockey for quite awhile now

And this is the best it’s ever been, and it’s only going to get better with the talent in the pipeline. With the win at the World Juniors and the near-win at the Olympics, it’s not hard to envision a time where I’ll be holding a sign at an international event that says: “Hockey WAS Canada’s Game”

First you get de sugar, den you get de power, den you get de women

by AirTrafficAJ on Mar 1, 2010 12:11 PM CST up reply actions

You gave me a great idea: Go to the Bell Centre with a big sign that says “Hockey WAS Quebec’s Game.”

Look for me on the news, boys!

All right, come on, dummy, you won the game. Come on. Pick up your trophy.

by meeshak on Mar 1, 2010 10:29 PM CST up reply actions

Let us know where to send the flowers.

First you get de sugar, den you get de power, den you get de women

by AirTrafficAJ on Mar 1, 2010 10:42 PM CST up reply actions

Make sure your sign is in French though

Otherwise, it might piss them off.
(see what I did there?)

Well, folks, I want to thank you for being here for the recording of my live comedy album. Funny material and laughter will be dubbed in later.

by ChicagoNativeSon on Mar 1, 2010 11:13 PM CST up reply actions

To paraphrase the great Steve McCroskey:

“And I can sum it all up in just one word: courage, dedication, daring, pride, pluck, spirit, grit, mettle, and G-U-T-S – guts. Why, ~~Ted Striker’s~~ [Team USA’s] got more guts in his little finger than most of us have in our large intestine, including the colon!”

by Scott13 on Mar 1, 2010 12:41 AM CST reply actions

Johnny

The Captain:

Could any 21-year-old possibly have a better sense of the moment than Jonathan Toews? Could any hockey player his age match Toews’s uncommon maturity and sure-footedness on and off the ice?

In case there is any doubt that the only international hockey match-up that matters any more is Canada versus the United States, consider Toews’s statement about how his Olympic gold medal – the one shared with Blackhawks teammates Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook – is now officially off-limits as a joking matter in the Chicago dressing room. Somebody wants to mention it to teammate Patrick Kane? He’ll have to go through Toews.

“I don’t see it as a joking matter between the two of us,” Toews said Sunday after Canada’s 3-2 overtime win over the U.S. in the gold-medal game at Canada Hockey Place. Toews and Kane were among the best players on the ice.

“I think I will definitely be very, very respectful of what their team did in this tournament and what he did,” Toews added. “We were this close to coming out on the losing end too, and it wouldn’t have been a good feeling. So you got to give it to him for the way he played and leave it at that.”

by Scott13 on Mar 1, 2010 12:48 AM CST up reply actions

Wow

But when it was suggested to him that Toews v. Kane seems likely to become a sidebar to every future international hockey tournament, he smiled and said: "I’d like us to win something together, too

How fucking lucky are we to have these two guys on our team? Seriously.

Chicagoan in the Lou.

by Mike Martin on Mar 1, 2010 12:58 AM CST up reply actions

Enjoy it, Chicago. It doesn't come along very often.

First you get de sugar, den you get de power, den you get de women

by AirTrafficAJ on Mar 1, 2010 12:08 PM CST up reply actions

I hope we don't face New Jersey in the Cup finals...

Because Zach Parise gets a free pass from me for awhile

by GenPabloSecobar on Mar 1, 2010 9:50 AM CST reply actions

nice post

If I may vent for a moment….

-What the hell was Malone doing on that “backcheck” right before Perry’s goal. Entered the zone and just floated, didn’t do anything of use. He had a pretty bad game overall, and Ryan Miller deserves a better effort than that from the guys helping him out.

-Rafalski was one of the heroes for the US team, but he played like hot garbage during the gold medal game. He was partially responsible for Toews’ goal, he lost track of Crosby (who he was on the boards with just a second earlier) right before the heart breaking OT goal, and he refused to skate through the neutral zone with the puck several times throughout the game. He’d just stop skating and try and make an entry pass. For being one of the best players in the previous 5 games, yesterday was a big letdown.

Back to being positive….

The Hawk players, as has been mentioned, were outstanding. Kane played phenomenally both ways yesterday, Dunc and Toews were 2 of the most important players in the tournament, Hossa played great, and Kopecky even contributed.

If you haven’t seen the “we’re proud” commercial/video on the hawks website or if you missed it yesterday, you should really check it out, it is well done and says everything you want it to with regards to our olympians.

Let’s get back to business, eh?

"In an ideal world I would have all 10 fingers on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching."

by Hack on Mar 1, 2010 11:58 AM CST reply actions

he refused to skate through the neutral zone with the puck several times throughout the game

Wait, are you annoyed because he kept dumping the puck? DOUBLE STANDARDS. POOR VERSTEEG.

(As you may be able to tell, it’s still too early for me to be at work.)

But when it was suggested to him that Toews v. Kane seems likely to become a sidebar to every future international hockey tournament, he smiled and said: "I'd like us to win something together, too."

(Tweets @ChiBlackhawks and blogs at Blackhawks Down Low.)

by chiblackhawks on Mar 1, 2010 12:03 PM CST up reply actions

no, no, that's not what I mean

Rafalski would enter the neutral zone and just glide and then try and make a pass to one of his forwards entering the offensive zone. I’m not talking about dumping the puck in, I’m talking about rafalski just not skating yesterday. I noticed this a few times, once or twice during the four on four.

"In an ideal world I would have all 10 fingers on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching."

by Hack on Mar 1, 2010 12:09 PM CST up reply actions

haha, I know, I was just looking to pick a fight

(Not really.)

But when it was suggested to him that Toews v. Kane seems likely to become a sidebar to every future international hockey tournament, he smiled and said: "I'd like us to win something together, too."

(Tweets @ChiBlackhawks and blogs at Blackhawks Down Low.)

by chiblackhawks on Mar 1, 2010 12:24 PM CST up reply actions

The worst part about all this

Is the fact that I get to have more “Sidney Crosby IS hockey” shit spoonfed to me by ESPN and NBC. Yeah, it’s all well and good that Crosby scored the overtime winner, but who was the player that made that team tick? Toews. Tied for the tournament lead in points, never on the ice for a SINGLE goal against. Hell, when the gold medal game started, who’s line did Mike Babcock send out there? Johnny’s.

Don’t get me wrong, Crosby is an outstanding talent, one of the best in the game. He’s also the Pens leader. The one thing he isn’t, is a leader with heart. That’s something the Hawks have in spades.

First you get de sugar, den you get de power, den you get de women

by AirTrafficAJ on Mar 1, 2010 12:06 PM CST reply actions

He won the Cup

we can fix this in a few months.

by Scott13 on Mar 1, 2010 12:32 PM CST up reply actions

Toews is getting his due in Canada

But with NBC and Versus, you have to cater to the lowest common denominator in terms of fans, and the value of Crosby’s currency has just gone up even more to the casual (read: uneducated) hockey fan – and unfortunately that’s the market these guys are targeting.

What I hated was the camera constantly giving the closeups to Crosby. Yeah, he was Johnny on the Spot (so to speak) for the last goal, and it was a great shot – but Toews was the guy who kept the Canadians together, doing the dirty work, unlike Crosby, or the ever-absent Joe Thornton (until yesterday, I was reluctant to buy into the Thornton doesn’t perform in big games theory, but the Olympics changed my mind). This was a marketing bonanza for NBC – and they are going to be shoving Crosby into our faces even more for the next few years.

"...about six feet from the moose's butt."

by The Fearless Freep on Mar 1, 2010 3:42 PM CST up reply actions

I really think it's great for the NHL

How the tournament went down, it’s just frustrating as fuck that the real talent in the show is by and large going to be ignored by the casual (read: lazy) fan. I agree with you about No Show Joe. My wife is a die-hard (read: insane) Shorks fan, and she was actually pissed at the quintuplet of team Canada players from San Jose.

Actual quote: “why should they get to win anything? It’s not like they ever played hard enough to earn a Stanley Cup. The gold medal should be no different”.

Bitterness is awesome.

First you get de sugar, den you get de power, den you get de women

by AirTrafficAJ on Mar 1, 2010 4:22 PM CST up reply actions

That's the thing

I have a lot less against Crosby than a lot of people, but those closeups did annoy me a lot — I know that people these days like to identify with a hero figure but, especially in hockey, the rest of the contributes so much that it’s just wrong not to give some of the other guys their due.

I noticed the Canadian Sharks taking a picture at center ice but they didn’t even zoom in on them… and is it just me or did they not show our guys at all during that sequence?

by VerStig on Mar 1, 2010 8:48 PM CST up reply actions