You might not know this about Canada, but we take hockey very seriously. All of us. Even I love Olympic hockey and I hate everything, including the NHL. But where, you might reasonably ask, does this national obsession come from?
You can find its roots in our long winters. (You might not know this about Canada but it gets cold in the winter. Very cold.) By January we desperately need to entertain ourselves. So you combine cabin fever with beer and you get a hockey obsession. People start building rinks in their yard and screaming at their kids. Small town Canada is like The Shining with a hockey stick instead of an axe.
It is also how we sublimate most of our warlike tendencies. You might not know this but Canada’s biggest Cold War victory came in 1972 when we beat the Soviet team. Although I doubt that anyone in Russia has ever heard of that game, I know that every Canadian has. Including our players. So, today, when they play the Russians, they know the drill:
Come home a winner or don’t come home. I’m talking to you, Pat Quinn.
2 comments
Melly
February 22, 2006 at 7:37 pm (UTC -5)
We both had hockey posts this week… Gosh!
Grumpy Owl
February 22, 2006 at 11:51 pm (UTC -5)
Well, we lost. God, I hate Pat Quinn. I can’t believe that he got a penatly. WTF is that?