One of the guys at work showed this to me when I came back from my vacation.  I laughed!  These are two guys who are friends, and play for the same NHL team.  One is Canadian, and the other is American.  They played against each other in the Vancouver Olympics.  One has a Gold medal.  The other a Silver.  And one really is really a good sport about it.

Like many Canadians, I was glued to the TV last night for the much anticipated Canada vs USA men’s Olympic hockey match up. And like many Canadians, by the end of the game, all I could think of was “Oh no… not again.. not another Turin…”

Four years ago we were stunned when our Olympic pride and joy finished a dismal 7th place, after getting knocked out by a superior team from the great hockey powerhouse of Switzerland. There’s more than a little sarcasm there, but I give it to the Swiss.. they beat us fair and square because they outplayed us.  What we had in “names” we lacked in ability to pull through when we needed it.  It certainly wasn’t for a lack of talent.  The Canadian squad of 4 years ago had plenty of that.  They just didn’t seem to come together as a team, and were unable to find the back of the net.

But that was 4 years ago, and we’ve put that behind us, right?

Maybe not.

This time around Team Canada is a much younger team, while still holding on to some of the great veterans with valuable Olympic experience.  There’s no doubt that the team looks fantastic on paper.  But what happens when they hit the ice?

The game against Norway was one-sided, but even that one started slowly, and by the first intermission they were already comparing the team’s lack of scoring to that of the Turin Olympics. Over the next 2 periods, Team Canada found the back of the net 8 times, and all was good again for Canadians.

But then came Swiss.

I think that this game was more hyped than any… Before the game even started, they ran a segment replaying the loss from Turin, and proclaiming that the time for payback had arrived. Final score? 3-2 Canada in a shoot-out.  Hardly the thumping that we’d been waiting for. But a win is a win, so we didn’t complain.. too much.

Last night’s game against the Americans started poorly.  I’m a big fan of Martin Brodeur, but he just didn’t seem to be on top of his game.  And he wasn’t the only one.  But after a few mins, the Canadians finally started to play like they were supposed to.  Honestly, they should have been up by a few goals at the end of the second period if it wasn’t for the amazing play of the American goalie Ryan Miller, who was by far the best player on the ice. Final score? 5-3 Americans. (the last one was an empty net goal, so it wasn’t really as bad as it looks… but a loss is still a loss)

So rather than a free pass, and the chance to play a possibly weaker team, we have to battle to get into the quarter finals… facing off against Germany. Germany?  Surely we can beat Germany, right?  That’s what we thought about the Swiss in Turin.  The Germans have been playing respectably, and would love to adopt the role of spoiler in these Games.

Take nothing for granted.  It doesn’t matter how awesome the team looks on paper… it’s 60 minutes on the ice that matters…

So technically we’re into Day 3, although I don’t really count the Opening Ceremonies.  But they do, so I’ll go with Day 3 nonetheless.  I haven’t really watched very much of it, so far.  I managed to connect the backup TV, and it’s working pretty well, but I had the kids this weekend, so there wasn’t much time for Olympic viewing.  It looks like the emphasis is on skiing at this point, and I’m not much of a skiing enthusiast.  (although I do like some of the aerial freestyle stuff)

Women’s hockey did start, though.  Canada played Slovakia this afternoon.  Maybe “played” isn’t the proper word.  I didn’t see the game, but judging from the score (18-0), I don’t think that I would have watched it for very long.  I don’t get much enjoyment out of watching any team completely destroy another, irregardless of it being Canada in the driver’s seat.  I do understand that they have to go for it, because when it comes to ranking within their groups, if there’s a tie I believe that it comes down to total goals scored throughout the tournament.  But still…

The men’s hockey starts on Tuesday, when Canada faces Norway.  Considering that Norway’s team consists almost entirely of guys who hold regular jobs in the day, and practice at night and on weekends… I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a score similar to the one the women posted against Slovakia.  But ya just never know…

On a sad note, the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili obviously cast a dark cloud over the games.  I watched the video of the accident a few times when it was first posted, and wasn’t really sure whether it was something that I felt I should be viewing or not.  My initial curiosity was replaced by an unsettling inner-morality check…. and honestly, I haven’t found an answer…  I know that some people would refuse to watch that horrific crash, especially considering the well-known outcome.  Others wouldn’t think twice about it.  I noticed someone on my Twitter network essentially say the same thing.. wondering if TSN should really be showing it.  Not that it matters… If the TV networks didn’t show it, people could easily view it on YouTube or any of the other video sites.  I don’t think that there’s a right answer.  I think that it’s something each person has to answer for themselves.

As of this writing Canada has 1 silver medal, courtesy of Jennifer Heil and women’s moguls.  I’ve searched for a medal count plugin for WordPress, but there doesn’t seem to be one.  There was one for the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, but there isn’t one for these Games.  That’s a little disappointing.  I thought that it would be neat to have something like that added to the blog for a couple of weeks.

Time to wrap this up, and go find something productive to do.

The Opening Ceremonies start tonight.  Unless I find a way to get a broadcast signal into my new TV, I don’t think that I’ll be watching them.  It does pose a bit of a problem though…  the hockey tournament will be starting up in a couple of days, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to be missing any of that!  I do have a backup TV that I can watch, but it seems such a waste to have a brand new 40″ LCD sitting there.  Oh sure, it looks great when I am playing movies and TV shows from my XBox 360, but the over-the-air antenna is useless when hooked up to it.  It’s strange.. that same antenna hooked up to an older TV, sitting in the exact same spot, brings in all the channels I need in crystal clear resolution (with a little tweaking, of course)…  but hooked up to the new TV (and yes, I’m amazed that it even has an antenna connector in the back!).. it’s useless.. it gets the sound for CBC, and that’s it…  no video, and it doesn’t even attempt to bring in CTV or Global.  I’m sure that the engineers who designed the TV weren’t expecting some idiot to try to hook up a set of analogue rabbit ears to his flatscreen.  I mean, who does that?

Yeah, I know…

Better go find somewhere to watch the Games!

I don’t really care much about the Summer Olympics…  (although I’m an avid fan of women’s beach volleyball, for some reason)  But when it comes to the Winter Olympics, I’ll gladly lose sleep to watch some of those sports.. namely men’s hockey.  (Although, in fairness, I’m developing a healthy appreciation for the women’s game too)

Four years ago Team Canada finished in a disappointing 7th place.  We definitely have something to prove this time around, especially considering that the Games are being held on our home turf. 

But this post isn’t really about the Games…   it’s about marketing.  I think that I’ve finally figured out how to embed video into the blog, and for the first attempt, I thought that I would share an advertisement that I’ve seen only a few times… at the movie theatre, of all places.  I’m sure that it’s probably playing on regular TV, but most of the shows I watch have commercials cut out.

This ad combines several key elements to craft what I think is a great commercial…  a highly recognizable product (Coke), an infectiously catchy song (no idea what it is), and tugs at the strings of national pride…   who doesn’t have a memory of screaming “He scores!” whether on a frozen pond, a back road, or at the television?

Yes…   it’s that good!

“>Go Canada!

Today marks a special event.  The Olympic torch passes through the local area.  It’s one of those things that doesn’t happen very often.  I wouldn’t necessarily say a “once in a lifetime” experience, but certainly not a very common one.  At least I HOPE that it’s not a once in a lifetime experience, because I’m not getting out there to see it today.  I had considered going, but in the end, decided that it would be more fun to have gone with the kids.  I think that they would have enjoyed it, and wish that I could have taken them.

They say that this is the longest route ever taken by a hosting country, 45 000 kms.  That’s quite a distance!

Next time…