I’m not very proud of the way I’ve behaved in the past two weeks. I’ve been to two hockey games and watched many more on TV. I’ve worn a baseball cap (a Sweden one) in public. I’ve based my social life on hockey matches and I’ve chosen my social venues based on whether they had TVs or not. I actually know the names of some hockey players, aside from Wayne Gretzsky. I understand what icing means, sort of. I have spent many hours in sports bars, and I know what a shooter ski is. Actually, I have paid to get into sports bars. (God, that’s embarrassing.)
This has been an excpetional two weeks, not only was it the Olympic Winter Games in the city I live in, but we also had a visitor from Sweden who claims to have come here to see us, but I know really the only reason was the Olympic hockey.
Before I go any further, I’d like to promise that I won’t be partaking in any sports viewing (aside from the videos from the World poledancing championships taking place in March) for a very long time. And I’d like to explain why I decided to join in the Olympic festivities, even though I feel quite disgusted about who benefitted from these winter games, because it certainly didn’t seem to be many of the small, local business.
Sports bring a nation together (sadly its not the arts or education) but the fact is, major high profile sporting events like the Olympics or the World Cup can really raise the spirit of the host or winning country. I don’t have statistical evidence to back this up, although I’m sure there is plenty of it, but I leanrt about this during my years spent living in England, where the football (soccer) brought the nation together. Many years ago I dated a Brazilian, and it was touching how emotional they became when it came to football, and how that emotion transcended class and race. I’m not talking about Chelsea vs Arsenal, or the Vancouver Canucks vs San Jose Sharks, that sort of sport is of no interest to me. I care about when countries play against each other, because that is something a whole country can support, together. So when Canada played the USA for the men’s hockey gold medal, on Canadian soil, I wanted to support them. And now I feel like I have done my bit to support the Canadian athletes, which was actually quite fun.
I’d like to quickly say that I much prefer soccer to any other sport, because I’m a fan of a game that anyone can play. You don’t need expensive equipment, padding, ice rinks, nets, etc… to be a great soccer player, and that’s why most of the great ones come from second and third world countries. But I also know that Canada will never be any good at soccer, so I took the hockey opportunity while it was there.
I’m sorry to my readers who don’t give a toss about hockey, Canada, or the Olympics, but for those of you who have never been in a sports-obsessed country during a very important match, here’s a short, chaotic little video of the minute following Team Canada’s mens hockey team‘s goal against Team USA during ovetime, which secured them the gold medal. Even if you’re not interested in sports at all, there’s no denying that the sheer joy and excitement of the people in this bar made it worth sharing, despite the embarrassment of publishing to my readers the fact that I was in a sports bar. After you have watched the video, let’s just forget it ever happened, and go back to FASHION.
Images from Vancouver2010.com.
