Olympic Game Day: Switzerland vs. Canada 7:30PM EST. Thurs. Feb 18, 2010

N4L wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:

N4L wrote:

M_Christopher wrote:The more medal's the better, regardless of how we get them.

No question Alexandre Bilodeau's medal means an infinite amount more than a Hockey Gold, but you have to still cheer for your country.

I think your nuts cheering against your own country, attitudes aside.

The Americans still cheer for Johnny Wier and he's got an Ego unrivaled by almost any other athelete in the world.

No you dont. If my country was reprented by a group of, well what ever bad term you wanna use or group, I wouldnt support them at all. Im not going to take things out of context but supporting a team of professional athletes that happen to be from the same country is not turning against your country or cheering against your country.

I would have rather seen The Swiss win tonight because they worked harder, almost achieved something that should be impossible (yet has happened before), and would have ment an infinate amount more. Doesnt make me any less Canadian, probably just more realistic with my expectations.

You can be realistic without cheering against your country. Regardless you can cheer for whoever you like I'm not here to mother you, only to play devils advocate.

Absolutely you can, but it can also be extremely nieve to cheer for a country that truly doesnt represent you. If Canada was a country of Nazi's, I wouldnt be waving that flag. (prob just keeping my mouth shut). Obviously that's an extreme but I have no problem cheering for a country like Switz. over Canada when I think they represent what the actual tournament and event is about, more so then Team Canada does.

Over acheiving, working for years to represent your country, and giving your all is what the olympics are about. Not putting together a glorifed all star team of players who are playing the best hockey right now.

I believe guys like Crosby, Toews, Doughty, Niedamayer, and Iginla truly love Canada and want to represent it best they can, but there are a ton of guys that dont give a damn. YOu would be hard pressed to find a Swede or Russian not willing to do what ever it takes to represent their country to the best of their abilities.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

You're not Mike Babcock. You're not Steve Yzerman. You're not Bob Nicholson or Doug Armstrong or Kevin Lowe either.

You're making yourself out to be a pompous donkey with your "holier than thou" attitude and these made-up facts that border on libel (of course no one cares enough about a message board to do anything about it).

These are all things you believe to be true, but take a step back and realize that there probably not.

Yeah, because it isnt a well known fact when asked "would you rather win a gold medal at the olypmics or win a stanley cup" that Europeans say The Gold while Canadians say The Cup. That's fine with me just dont tell me that The Canadians care more about their country then other teams.

Like I said, Europenas grow up wanting to represent their country playing hockey and Canadians grow up wanting to play in The NHL. There are exceptions like Paul Karyia who choose to play for his country over The NHL back in 94 but for the most part, that's the truth of it all.

Sorry if I burst your little bubble of Canadians caring more about their country then everyone else in terms of hockey, but that's just BS and always has been. If you believe that to be true then I feel sorry for you because you're living in a dream world.

As for not being Backcock or Yzerman, what do they have to do with the other countries? What do they know about The Swedes or Russians in terms of how they grew up and what their goals are? They know as much as I do in terms of that.

stempniaksen wrote:

N4L wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:

N4L wrote:

M_Christopher wrote:The more medal's the better, regardless of how we get them.

No question Alexandre Bilodeau's medal means an infinite amount more than a Hockey Gold, but you have to still cheer for your country.

I think your nuts cheering against your own country, attitudes aside.

The Americans still cheer for Johnny Wier and he's got an Ego unrivaled by almost any other athelete in the world.

No you dont. If my country was reprented by a group of, well what ever bad term you wanna use or group, I wouldnt support them at all. Im not going to take things out of context but supporting a team of professional athletes that happen to be from the same country is not turning against your country or cheering against your country.

I would have rather seen The Swiss win tonight because they worked harder, almost achieved something that should be impossible (yet has happened before), and would have ment an infinate amount more. Doesnt make me any less Canadian, probably just more realistic with my expectations.

You can be realistic without cheering against your country. Regardless you can cheer for whoever you like I'm not here to mother you, only to play devils advocate.

Absolutely you can, but it can also be extremely nieve to cheer for a country that truly doesnt represent you. If Canada was a country of Nazi's, I wouldnt be waving that flag. (prob just keeping my mouth shut). Obviously that's an extreme but I have no problem cheering for a country like Switz. over Canada when I think they represent what the actual tournament and event is about, more so then Team Canada does.

Over acheiving, working for years to represent your country, and giving your all is what the olympics are about. Not putting together a glorifed all star team of players who are playing the best hockey right now.

I believe guys like Crosby, Toews, Doughty, Niedamayer, and Iginla truly love Canada and want to represent it best they can, but there are a ton of guys that dont give a damn. YOu would be hard pressed to find a Swede or Russian not willing to do what ever it takes to represent their country to the best of their abilities.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

You're not Mike Babcock. You're not Steve Yzerman. You're not Bob Nicholson or Doug Armstrong or Kevin Lowe either.

You're making yourself out to be a pompous donkey with your "holier than thou" attitude and these made-up facts that border on libel (of course no one cares enough about a message board to do anything about it).

These are all things you believe to be true, but take a step back and realize that there probably not.

Nope dude, he's right. Have you not watched the last few weeks when a team Canada player was interviewed? " well it's gonna be a lot of fun". It's evident they consider it as just another tournament. I haven't seen a lot of them say "It's an honour, we're gonna do everything we can to bring the gold to our country"/
Ever since Finland lost that gold medal game in 2006 (btw, watch their reactions again after that game, Koivu looked like his mother just died) all they were thinking about were having another opportunity. Koivu said one of the reasons he signed in Anaheim was to regain that chemistry with Selanne to prepare for the Olympics.

I wouldn't say Canadian players don't give a Dung, they probably do, but compared to the other countries, I think it's not even close which is why this country, which was told to me was the N1 hockey nation in the world, has a grand total of 1 olympic gold medal in the last 50 years...

ANyways, Ive said my piece, Ill let you go to sleep on your NHLPA, Team Canada pillow covers.

N4L wrote:Yeah, because it isnt a well known fact when asked "would you rather win a gold medal at the olypmics or win a stanley cup" that Europeans say The Gold while Canadians say The Cup. That's fine with me just dont tell me that The Canadians care more about their country then other teams.

Like I said, Europenas grow up wanting to represent their country playing hockey and Canadians grow up wanting to play in The NHL. There are exceptions like Paul Karyia who choose to play for his country over The NHL back in 94 but for the most part, that's the truth of it all.

Sorry if I burst your little bubble of Canadians caring more about their country then everyone else in terms of hockey, but that's just BS and always has been.

As for not being Backcock or Yzerman, what do they have to do with the other countries? What do they know about The Swedes or Russians in terms of how they grew up and what their goals are? They know as much as I do in terms of that.

Last time I checked the Canadian players are playing for free and by choice.....seems like the care.

Russian and Swedes care more about International gold, possibly, but Canadian's are just eager to represent thier country. Look no further to thier expressions when A) they won gold in 02, and B) when the lost in 06.

It also could have to do with them not having a comparable to the Stanely Cup in Europe (Champions league is still brand new) and they don't have the exposure to the NHL that we do, yet.

So yeah, they're probably going to be more excitied about the trophy the grow-up idolizing than the one they hear about and see occasionally.

I think it's close to 58 now.

N4L wrote:ANyways, Ive said my piece, Ill let you go to sleep on your NHLPA, Team Canada pillow covers.

Okay well have fun. Maybe if Canada wins Gold, you'll come around, like you did when you realized Picard wasn't the golden boy you thought he was.

M_Christopher wrote:

N4L wrote:Yeah, because it isnt a well known fact when asked "would you rather win a gold medal at the olypmics or win a stanley cup" that Europeans say The Gold while Canadians say The Cup. That's fine with me just dont tell me that The Canadians care more about their country then other teams.

Like I said, Europenas grow up wanting to represent their country playing hockey and Canadians grow up wanting to play in The NHL. There are exceptions like Paul Karyia who choose to play for his country over The NHL back in 94 but for the most part, that's the truth of it all.

Sorry if I burst your little bubble of Canadians caring more about their country then everyone else in terms of hockey, but that's just BS and always has been.

As for not being Backcock or Yzerman, what do they have to do with the other countries? What do they know about The Swedes or Russians in terms of how they grew up and what their goals are? They know as much as I do in terms of that.

Last time I checked the Canadian players are playing for free and by choice.....seems like the care.

Russian and Swedes care more about International gold, possibly, but Canadian's are just eager to represent thier country. Look no further to thier expressions when A) they won gold in 02, and B) when the lost in 06.

It also could have to do with them not having a comparable to the Stanely Cup in Europe (Champions league is still brand new) and they don't have the exposure to the NHL that we do, yet.

So yeah, they're probably going to be more excitied about the trophy the grow-up idolizing than the one they hear about and see occasionally.

Possibly? No, they do.

The Olympics are the be all and end all growing up for Europeans and representing their country. Hell, when Slovakia won The WC in 2003 (I think) the country basically shut down, when Canada wins that tounament it's a side note to what happend in the playoffs the night before.

If you believe that Canadians care about this gold medal like Europeans do, that's just nieve. They dont and a lot are just there because of the status of playing for Team Canada, not all, but more then you think.

Meh, there's no right or wrong answer I guess. I still think what you'e saying is ridiculous, but to each their own.

Have a good sleep.

M_Christopher wrote:

N4L wrote:ANyways, Ive said my piece, Ill let you go to sleep on your NHLPA, Team Canada pillow covers.

Okay well have fun. Maybe if Canada wins Gold, you'll come around, like you did when you realized Picard wasn't the golden boy you thought he was.

I can care less about The Olympics and Canada winning gold, I would cheer over a team of Swedes wearing a Sens jersey playing against Team Canada without a second thought.

I still think Picard can be a good D man in The NHL but something had to give in Ottawa.

N4L wrote:

M_Christopher wrote:

N4L wrote:Yeah, because it isnt a well known fact when asked "would you rather win a gold medal at the olypmics or win a stanley cup" that Europeans say The Gold while Canadians say The Cup. That's fine with me just dont tell me that The Canadians care more about their country then other teams.

Like I said, Europenas grow up wanting to represent their country playing hockey and Canadians grow up wanting to play in The NHL. There are exceptions like Paul Karyia who choose to play for his country over The NHL back in 94 but for the most part, that's the truth of it all.

Sorry if I burst your little bubble of Canadians caring more about their country then everyone else in terms of hockey, but that's just BS and always has been.

As for not being Backcock or Yzerman, what do they have to do with the other countries? What do they know about The Swedes or Russians in terms of how they grew up and what their goals are? They know as much as I do in terms of that.

Last time I checked the Canadian players are playing for free and by choice.....seems like the care.

Russian and Swedes care more about International gold, possibly, but Canadian's are just eager to represent thier country. Look no further to thier expressions when A) they won gold in 02, and B) when the lost in 06.

It also could have to do with them not having a comparable to the Stanely Cup in Europe (Champions league is still brand new) and they don't have the exposure to the NHL that we do, yet.

So yeah, they're probably going to be more excitied about the trophy the grow-up idolizing than the one they hear about and see occasionally.

Possibly? No, they do.

The Olympics are the be all and end all growing up for Europeans and representing their country. Hell, when Slovakia won The WC in 2003 (I think) the country basically shut down, when Canada wins that tounament it's a side note to what happend in the playoffs the night before.

If you believe that Canadians care about this gold medal like Europeans do, that's just nieve. They dont and a lot are just there because of the status of playing for Team Canada, not all, but more then you think.

It's called expectations. Canada's expected to win. Slovakia isn't expected to win. It's the same with anything else.

N4L wrote:

M_Christopher wrote:

N4L wrote:ANyways, Ive said my piece, Ill let you go to sleep on your NHLPA, Team Canada pillow covers.

Okay well have fun. Maybe if Canada wins Gold, you'll come around, like you did when you realized Picard wasn't the golden boy you thought he was.

I can care less about The Olympics and Canada winning gold, I would cheer over a team of Swedes wearing a Sens jersey playing against Team Canada without a second thought.

I still think Picard can be a good D man in The NHL but something had to give in Ottawa.

Man, you're unbearable sometimes...

In Russia they had a friggin ceremony in their honour for winning 2 straight world championships too. If there is any country expected to win as much as Canada is, it's Russia and they treat the WC's like the end all and be all.

People in Canada really dont appreciate how much European nations care about international play. Im not saying Canadian players dont care but it's not like Europe, not even close. Those nations have also caught up and adapated to The NA game in a big way.

I dont think Canada will ever win an Olympic Gold an international ice for the record in the future. They are lucky it is in Canada to be honest because of how different the game is.

PKC wrote:

N4L wrote:

M_Christopher wrote:

N4L wrote:ANyways, Ive said my piece, Ill let you go to sleep on your NHLPA, Team Canada pillow covers.

Okay well have fun. Maybe if Canada wins Gold, you'll come around, like you did when you realized Picard wasn't the golden boy you thought he was.

I can care less about The Olympics and Canada winning gold, I would cheer over a team of Swedes wearing a Sens jersey playing against Team Canada without a second thought.

I still think Picard can be a good D man in The NHL but something had to give in Ottawa.

Man, you're unbearable sometimes...

Why is that? Because I value NHL play more then international play? Not like you can tell me Im wrong or you disagree. If you think a team of parts put together for 2 weeks is more important then a group of guys that are like family, spend basically every day together, and go through good and tough times together then that's your call and your opinion.

Me, personally, there is a lot more to be said about a struggle and a grind within a family then "the best of the best" being put on the ice for 2 weeks.

Sens >>>>> "Team Canada", IMO of course.

Look at how Ovechkin is playing tonight, there wasnt a Canadian playing with anywhere near the intensity that he is playing with right now.

Anyways, cheer for Canada all you want but do it because you actually believe in the team, not just because they are Canadian and you have to.

Until the Winter Olympics are played in April-June you should really put away the "Canadian players prefer to win the Cup than an Olympic Gold" argument. They weren't playing for Lord Stanley's mug in '72. All those "Canada Cup" (back when NHL players *were not allowed* in the Olympics) were not about The Cup.

Bottom line is these guys have been winners all their lives and, whether this is just another tourney or not, they want to win it. If they had a choice between winning a Cup and winning Gold, sure, the choice would be clear; but I don't think that, during the game, any of them are thinking "Hmm, if I push *that much* harder I might get injured and risk my chance of getting the Stanley Cup".

Did the Canadian team get a little cocky/complacent/whatever? Damn straight. They are *not* used to a one-game-and-you're-done attitude and, let's face it, with the exception of the game against the US everyone (in the locker room, over here on this board, in the media, etc.) is fully expecting that these pare pretty close to "nothing" games. Wrong attitude, obviously, but I'm not ready to throw the entire team under the "diva" bus based on one game.

Yzerman underestimated what it takes to win an Olympic Gold. A player like Pronger, for example, could be very useful in a 7-game series officiated by NHL refs. Those bone-crushing and sometimes penalized hits have a lot more impact when you know you're playing the same team in a couple of days, and again, and again. In a one-game-and-out situation those hits could lose you the entire tournament.

I didn't really want to single Pronger out, but it was his play that led directly to the tying goal and the lost point. I don't know if the extra Swiss attacker had come on yet (I'm pretty sure he didn't make an impact on the play), but Pronger put himself way out of position to take a selfish retaliation penalty, and instead of a defenseman facing the shot it was Marleau skating into the crease with his eyes away from the shot. Tied game, all on Pronger.

N4L wrote:Look at how Ovechkin is playing tonight, there wasnt a Canadian playing with anywhere near the intensity that he is playing with right now.

Anyways, cheer for Canada all you want but do it because you actually believe in the team, not just because they are Canadian and you have to.

But the Russians lost, and the Canadians won. Not really sure you made your point, there.