Like many others, I prefer to sleep in late on weekends, if possible, but this past Sunday that was not an option.
Patriotism, a love of the Olympics and a passion for our national winter sport combined to form an internal alarm clock much more dependable than the one that loudly and mockingly stirs me from my weekday morning slumbers.
It was game day. The final men’s hockey game of the Olympics. Canada versus Sweden. Gold medal on the line. Never before has there been better motivation to get up prior to 6am.
The insane lineup at Tim Hortons, which at any other time would send me into an expletive-filled tirade, made me smile. That others were also frantically on their way to join family and/or friends to watch the big game was a microcosm of sorts for the Canadian spirit that swelled inside so many of us for two exciting weeks during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
On the drive to my parents’ place to watch the game, I was impressed by several other unexpected displays of national pride, perhaps none more simple and fitting – and Canadian – than our nation’s flag affixed to a hockey stick that was inserted in a tall snowbank for display.
Of course, Canada went on to defeat Sweden 3-0 in dominating fashion, defending its 2010 gold medal from Vancouver. Not surprisingly, the team was led by its two best players, Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby, who also shone in Vancouver and always seem to save their best play for the biggest games.
Team Canada’s victory – and dominance in the tournament – was never really in question. That was not the case three days earlier, when our women’s team defeated the rival Americans 3-2. The women rallied back from a 2-0 deficit, scoring two goals in the final minutes of the third period to send the game into overtime.
Marie-Philip Poulin, perhaps the best women’s player in the world, tied the game with 55 seconds left in regulation and also scored the winning goal in overtime, in a scene reminiscent of Crosby’s “golden goal” in 2010.
It was the fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal for Canada in women’s hockey, and one of the best finishes to any hockey game I have ever seen.
The second consecutive Olympic gold medal sweep by our two hockey teams was the icing on the cake after an impressive overall showing for Canada in Sochi. We finished fourth in the final medal count, with our second highest total ever, 25 (bested only by 26 in Vancouver), including 10 golds.
Some of the performances we will always remember are:
– Alex Bilodeau becoming the first ever back-to-back gold medalist in men’s moguls;
– sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe winning gold and silver respectively in women’s moguls;
– speedskater Denny Morrison winning silver thanks to teammate Gilmore Junio, who gave up his spot because he knew Morrison was Canada’s best skater;
– Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse defending their gold medal in women’s bobsled;
– gold medal wins from our men’s and women’s curling teams;
– Jan Hudec ending Canada’s two-decade drought in alpine skiing with a bronze medal win in the Super-G event;
– the triumph and disappointments of short track speedskater Charles Hamelin; and
– Dara Howell capturing gold in women’s ski slopestyle and dedicating her victory to the late Sarah Burke.
The Sochi games will be remembered differently by everyone, but for me they were yet another reminder of how overwhelmingly proud we should be to call this great nation home.
Well done, Canada.
