Olympics

More often than not sporting events don't live up to the hype. But that wasn't the case in the gold medal men's hockey game. This was a fantastic game to watch, and it seems fitting that it ends with Crosby scoring the game winner in overtime. Of course I wanted team USA to win. But it almost felt like Canada needed this victory. If we beat them, where would that leave their seemingly fragile psyche's.
Before we get too far, let's talk about Crosby's career thus far. He's been to two straight Stanley Cup Finals, and winning the most recent one, and becoming the youngest captain to ever lead his team to victory in the Stanley Cup Finals. He's already won a NHL MVP, and now he's scored the overtime game winner in the golf medal game. If this 22 year old keeps it up, he just might make a name for himself in the hockey world before he's done.
The game was great, the Olympic tournament was great. I hope that they have NHL players in the 2014 Olympics in Russia. It would be hard to regress and use college or amateur players again. One of the NHL's big points is that this is the time of the year to be successful. There is no NFL, baseball hasn't started yet, and college basketball isn't to the tournament yet. But they are forgetting one thing. If they don't play in four years, they'd be going against the Olympics instead of being a part of them.
Lastly everyone is talking about the significance of this game, and what the NHL needs to do to capture some of the excitement from the games. But take the game as it was. A great hockey game, between two well known teams. If the game had been Slovakia and Russia, it wouldn't have gotten nearly the attention. It was great if you're an American or a Canadian. This isn't the miracle on ice, or any other cultural event. It was a great game, that ended a great tournament. It was as good a sporting event as I can remember. The NHL can't capture a whole lot from this. It is almost two different sports. The intensity isn't there, and NHL season is dragged over 82 games, plus two months of playoffs. The Olympics were played over the course of 12 days. It isn't going to make much difference for the NHL. This isn't going to change the majority of the countries view of the sport. A lot of people enjoyed curling, but that isn't taking off either.
So let's enjoy it for what it was. A great tournament by the Americans, coming up just short of the gold. The Canadians claimed they're ownership of the sport. The two teams combined provided a very exciting couple of games, and a great tournament. Let's just hope they do it again in four years.