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We got gold!!!by Janis Lantz"Never underestimate a Canadian when it comes to hockey."- Kevin LoweNot since the 72 series with the Soviets has one game meant so much to so many. I remember being in high school and watching the game with the rest of the school, and the rest of the schools across the country, who put the pursuit of education aside for the pursuit of passion. This time it was the war in Afghanistan that had to be put aside so American and Canadian brothers could watch their country pursue a gold medal. The Americans were as happy for us as we were for ourselves. One American on the street said, "If we couldn't win it, we're glad it went to the Canadians." The Americans were shaking hands, hugging players, and getting their pictures taken with our boys. Tomorrow the American players will be back with their professional NHL teams, and playing with the Canadian teammates that they opposed today. Unlike the Soviet game, this one was a game between friends and buddies. The most bothersome thing about the Olympics was how the Canadian media was carping about us not winning enough medals mid-week; and how our hockey team didn't have a chance against the Americans. Now, with 17 medals to our credit, with both the men's and women's hockey teams taking home gold, we have had the best Olympic games ever. Was it really necessary to push Wayne Gretsky to rant for our team? We Canadians have a tendency to nit-pick, and certainly nit-picked our male hockey team to death. Most Canadian media had us losing before we took to the ice. At the beginning of the game we held our breath. When we got the first goal, there was a collective sigh of relief. As the game progressed, we could see how evenly matched the teams were. The game could have gone either way. Both teams played hard, played clean, and the game was won fair. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect game. To have both men's and women's teams win gold was more than we could have asked for. To have the Americans come to our aid when Pelletier & Sale were cheated out of the gold in pairs figure skating was unbelievable. To see Bob Costa and Jay Leno whip up American public opinion was beyond belief. And, that was only the beginning. To end the Olympic Games with gold in hockey made us, dare I say, patriotic. Canadians don't usually show our patriotism, but when you have the most patriotic country in the world rooting for you; well, we could let it show for one night. In Will Ferguson's book Why I Hate Canadians, he says the things that distinguishes Canadians from the people of the world is our heart and our niceness. He says that our winning the 72 Soviet game was all heart, because the Soviets definitely outplayed us, but we wanted more, and, in the last game, we worked hard to win it. Last night we worked even harder. As for our niceness, Pelletier and Sale proved that for everyone to see. They won the silver and they were glad about it. As the Americans clamoured for them, with Jay Leno waving the Canadian flag, our young skaters held their heads high with what they got. They didn't get caught up in the hoopla, and that made the Americans, and the world, love them all the more. Yes, I know, I'm being very un-Canadian ranting for us, but we've got to start somewhere. We're pretty good at a whole bunch of stuff, and I think it's time to just accept all the adulation when we earn it. And if that means Captain Canada, Wayne Gretsky, has to take to the rant, I'm right behind him.
Janis Lantz has roots in the upper Ottawa Valley, and has lived most of her life in Eastern Ontario. An art historian, and former graphic designer, her rants appear from time to time in The News.
