So it has been ten days since the circus left town and where to begin? Part of me wanted to come on here and echo Stephen Brunt's now famous video essay, and go off on how it is in fact, really "easy to be cynical." I was thinking about how truly difficult it was to sit through CTV's god awful "I Believe" motto and song, yet how much an arguably equally cheeseball Olymp-o-slogan "With Glowing Hearts" seemed to nail it. For the record, I plain do not care for any sort of "Believe" attachment to sports and their teams. In sports, believe is the marching song of the loser. Ask the fans of The North Siders how much belief in a championship has helped their cause in the last century. I considered going off not on that, as I just kind of have, but on the hearts slogan thingy. That really just ended up feeling trite and tacked on.
Another part of me wanted to applaud those that stood against the games during the opening ceremonies. I do not mean the two dozen from the next day that gave The Bay the ol' what fer', but the 2000 that protested peacefully during day one. Them and all the other gatherings and marches that took place during the games deserve accolades, even if they had nothing to do with the games themselves. I am not saying I agree or disagree with any of the causes, it's just that I live in a country called Canada, sir. If you do not like the sort of place that allows you the freedom to do these things my friend, then in the immortal words of Barney Gumble, "Go back to Russia!" That just ended getting all nationalistic and uppity, so I bailed on that too.
Speaking of which, it needs to be said that anyone that passes of this whole shebang as pure nationalism at its worst, is prreeetttyy out of touch. Look, I have not watched more than an hour and a half cumulatively of figure skating over the last decade, but I can tell you two things I learned: 1. Pleschenko is probably right. Men's figure skating does not need any more feminizing. They have that part covered. 2. If you were not at least moved a wee bit during Joannie Rochette's work, then I sincerely feel sorry for you. It's not because you think she lives in the most powerful figure skating country on earth. It's because, fuck you. When have you ever had to do something like that under similar circumstances? That was quite simply amazing, inspiring stuff and that is why it is applauded and embraced. Clearly this conversation is just going to lead to more "glowing hearts" so I think it best we abandon it as well.
Actually no. I guess you could argue that what I really want to write about is bordering on nationalism. I do think Canada is best at hockey. To me it is more like your ultimate favorite sports team, only your team invented the sport. One of the things that made me rest easy was that the Canadian "style of play" as many like to refer to it, is alive and well. I could decipher it. It was there, both tangible and intangible. It is in the grit of the Morrows and the flash of the Getzlafs and everything in between. This is the subject from the grand ole' Olys that is worthy of at least my examination at this point. And let's face it, it kinda sticks with this site's purpose, right?
I have to say I had a weird sense of calm throughout the gold medal game. I was unbelievably thrilled and jumped in to the arms of my brother following Crosby's goal, but I never once got the heart palpitations that I usually get. I am not sure what it was either. Maybe it was my acceptance of the hockey Gods letting things play out as they were meant to be. Maybe it was the weird feeling that this was it for the tourney, and after this game was over we would have to wait another four years (or more...or less) when we would see this level of hockey. Maybe it was the fact that I had already lost my shit in the lead up to and the first two periods against Russia, two games sooner. Let's go with that one.
That game was described by hockey brainiac Bob McKenzie as the best he has seen by one team in international competition. It exposed what may be wrong with what has been traditionally seen as a Russian style of play. Offence and power, but no more than two defencemen capable of shutting down the world class. In looking at the Canadian style of hockey, it is best to look for an instance when the approach was successful. Fittingly, there is a goal within it that can be used as the encyclopedia video entry for Hockey - Canadian Style of Play. The game can be still be found at this link and the events leading up to the goal begin at the 1:01:45 mark of the video.
It begins with Mike Richards doing everything in his power to regain the puck from three different Russian players. He is eventually knocked down by Alex Semin, who manages to push the puck about a foot past Team Canada's blue line only to land on the stick of a covering Scott Neidermayer, who wisely taps it up the boards. It goes to the skates of Richards, still down but clearly not out, as he pushes the puck up a little further. Evgeni Malkin steals it for a moment, but our downed Flyer is now up to one knee and finally manages to retake and shoot the disc up out of his zone for the last time until this play ends.
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The rubber goes from there nearly to the stick of Jarome Iginla, who has literally just stepped on to the ice. His stick is lifted by the aforementioned Conn Smythe winner Malkin. As his stick remains off the ice, he is pushed in to the boards by Fedor Tyutin. The puck continues to inch forward and the pride of St. Albert first uses his strength to keep distance between himself, the Russian defender and the boards, so as the puck can continue to pass through. The puck nearly comes to a stop when Iginla, now stopped against the boards, uses this strength further as well as his skill and creativity in recognizing Jonathon Toews as being behind him and capable of creating a scoring chance. He manages with his only free limb to kick it up to the stick of the streaking Manitoban.
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Toews then swiftly carries it across the line, and passes it cross-ice to Shea Weber, who has exhibited insane hockey smarts in recognizing this as an opportunity and reason to jump up in to the play as a defenceman. The son of Sicamous lets the puck touch his stick once, so as he can properly wind up, and lets go of an absolute bullet that goes off the blocker of Nabokov and in to the net.
CSo what are the recurring traits from this goal? Tenacity, responsibility, creativity, skill, speed, strength, and calculated risks. These are all distinctions that have defined great Canadian hockey players for decades, and in one play you see it all. It is also important to point out that the play lasts no more than fifteen seconds, yet all five Canadian skaters touch the puck. So one would have to add to the aforementioned list a symbiosis of sorts. It is like a great band playing to the peak of their abilities, but working well because they make each other better.
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The goal is followed by a subdued celebration. We were up by 5 goals at this point for heaven's sake; however, this is part of the Canadian style as well. Some suggested that the American hockey team was able to succeed as much as it did, because they were able to emulate this operandi. The behaviour of someone like Ryan Kesler revealed evident differences. When he put in the empty netter against Canada in the first game, he acted as though he had won the gold all by himself. This, combined with some of his questionable off-ice comments show that despite being able to find success by modeling their game after that of the Canadians, they are still missing a key ingredient: grace.
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It is a shame that you cannot slow the entire play down and watch it frame by frame. I know I did about a dozen times when I had the thing recorded on my PVR. Perhaps that explains my easy-breeziness during the final match. Unlike 2006, where nothing seemed to go right, I could tell at this point that things were clearly clicking, and if we were to eventually lose, it was not because we had the wrong players. There was a commitment there. Every team has to have that, and it is not unique to a Canadian style of play. Any country can exhibit the features I discussed in Weber's goal, it is just that our cumulative efforts have led to those "glowing hearts" of victory. This quality is what has made things right in the hockey universe once more, and is the defining characteristic of our nation's style at its very best.
