The Sideline
“Do you believe in miracles?”
Admittedly, the U.S. beating Canada in hockey in 2010 isn’t on the same level as the “Miracle on Ice,” our nation upsetting Russia in 1980, but it’s pretty darn close, and its something any American should feel a little bit of national pride about.
This year’s Canada team is absolutely loaded with talent: 13 NHL All-Stars out of 24 players on the team, and arguably the greatest goalie of all time in Martin Brodeur. Their hockey team was Canada’s best shot at a gold medal coming into these Olympics.
But what transpired this past Sunday night exemplified one of the fundamentally great things about sports; a team with less talent and more desire can, and will, beat the more talented and more apathetic team quite often. And man is it fun to watch.
Sure, America doesn’t care about hockey. And you don’t have to. The important thing is that another young, no-name American team beat the hockey giants, and this time it came on the opponent’s home ice.
The U.S. team is built to win, not to be flashy. Goalie Ryan Miller has been nothing short of phenomenal, posting a 1.25 goals-against average in four games in these Olympics. Sure, Canada scored three goals, but on 45 shots! And remember, these are some of the greatest living hockey players.
Now, the U.S. sits in the driver’s seat, the top seed in the tournament round at 4-0, and will skate into the semifinals today with momentum, after Wednesday night’s 2-0 victory over a tough Switzerland team.
Behind Miller and an opportunistic, active offense, this edition of the U.S. hockey team can bring home an extremely unlikely gold medal. After all, they’ve already shown they can beat the best.
Will you be watching when we shock the world? Again?
Send your feedback to
colonnadesports.gcsu.edu or at Twitter/VentGCSU.
Posted by Preston Sellers
on Feb 26 2010. Filed under Sports.
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