| 24 February 2010
On the way to my second job yesterday I was listening to 98.5 The Sports Hub's Michael Felger ask Cam Neeley a pretty intriguing question. (Paraphrased) "What makes hockey players able to play such great games in the Olympics when other sports like baseball and basketball don't seem to care?" Cam stumbled over his words for a minute and rifled off an answer that led Felger into another "big, fat, wet, sloppy sportsgasm."
"They're hockey players."
That's all he said and it was the only thing he needed to say. Cam's right, they are hockey players. Unlike basketball or baseball, playing for your country is an honor that players don't turn down. When someone begins to learn the game of hockey and refine their skills, there is usually one of two goals in mind:- Win the Stanley Cup
- Win a gold medal for their country
There isn't a sport (maybe except for soccer) that has such a universal respect for the Olympics and the country that the player resides from that they'll be friendly in the NHL and immediate enemies two days later.
Unfortunately, the other sports like baseball and basketball don't care about this as you hear about players snubbing their Olympic bid time after time. Rajon Rondo and Andrew Bynum, young NBA players, recently sent their "no" to Team USA with Rondo going as far as ignoring the invitation. He didn't even have the testicular fortitude to answer his country! I don't care if he plays for the Celtics, I've always believe Rondo is a smug little prick and this just adds the one of many examples to my argument.
These players don't get paid for participating in the Olympics, but every hockey club that represents their respective country would have a line out the door of players waiting, hoping and wishing to wear their countries colors on their chest. Again, where else does that happen?
Please don't get it confused though, I'm not only talking about the passion that resides within the player, but I'm also talking about the passion that pours out onto the ice. For those who watched the USA vs Canada game on Sunday, February 21 you saw the best hockey game to date. Outside of the Miracle on Ice (which this is not a comparison to), when has this generation watched such a passionate hockey game between two countries who don't like one another.
When you watch the World Baseball Classic do you see guys like Jose Reyes or Kevin Youkilis leaving "it all on the diamond" for their team? When they lose, how upset are they? When the US lost in the World Baseball Classic, how many of you were effected by it? I would bet there were very few, if any.If Team USA loses to Latvia in the Summer Olympics, how bothered are you?
The game really speaks about the passion that both the fans and the guys playing it truly hold. Although hockey in the United States isn't realized as a "major sport" because there is virtually no interest on marketing on the part of the NHL, but there is more heart throughout the sport than in the NBA, MLB and NFL combined. I'll go on record saying that, I don't mind.
So why does hockey, the last of the "four major sports" have such a dedicated fan base with players who care deeply about playing for their country?
"They're hockey players."
Quick edit: I want to thank compmodder26 for pointing out that I was openly wrong about Rondo and the US Team fiasco. Apparently there has been some miscommunication between the two sides. I have no problem in admitting that I'm wrong, so thanks again for pointing that out!
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