How Not To Follow Olympic Hockey
Feb. 19th, 2010 06:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerriesakuraI don't work Fridays anymore, should probably have mentioned that at some point. I gave them up for health reasons. Less money, but also less feeling like death. So that's nice. It also meant I stayed up last night for the Canada-Switzerland game. This was an excellent decision for it was the best hockey game I've seen in ages.
I was only vaguely in support of Russia to start with. Because of Nabokov, of course. That's until I watched some games: Team USA has Ryan Miller and Chris Drury and Joe Pavelski. But Canada has Joe Thornton! Dan Boyle! PATRICK MARLEAU! And er Dany Heatley, who I was very upset to see taking a knock. Protective of Dany fucking Heatley. There's a thing I never thought would happen*.
Sweden has Douglas Murray. Finland is always excellent to watch. Czechs? The Czechs were fantastic fun in their first game. Even the Swiss, despite what I just said about Canada, made me like them - they played amazingly, especially (no it cannot be said enough) Jonas Hiller. It takes a lot for me to say something nice about a Duck, but international play is different. So - astonishing. Just played out of his skin last night.
In any case it's different when it's not an NHL game. Anyone in a Penguins uniform gets my unreserved rage and anger, but when they're playing for their country they're not the enemy anymore, they're some guy living a dream and representing. I find that very hard to hate, unless you happen to be Jarkko Ruutu, then I still hate your face.
Ahem.
Oh but it's alright for me, I'm not from anywhere. There's not even any ancestry for me to choose a country based on. It's not like I've bypassed the home country or something, there's no home country to choose. Picking it based on players you like clearly doesn't work, as you can see above, as you can even end up liking the players you normally hate.
So excuse me if I just like everyone, for different reasons, because the hockey is superb. And forgive me if I cannot choose at all between the USA and Canada for Sunday night. Just bring the game. Bring it good. SO EXCITED. Might have booked the next morning off so I can stay up. Oh dear.
It's funny, I was just reading a thing about how you sometimes need to get back to yourself and rediscover your joy and this might be it. When you're exhausted and hockey is in a silly timezone it's really hard to keep up with it. But it's never not been worth it. Maybe this is a reminder of how much I love this game, how much it fires me up.
On a related note, Fear Itself (And Monsters) has an update about What Sports Means, and why I got my Sharks tattoo that time. Watching Joe'n'Patty (and okay Dany) represent their country last night, I was never prouder to have teal on my wrist.
*I can't start on Dany Heatley, because I WILL upset someone. Let's just say I hope the people still making death cracks get a massive slap in the face one of these days.
I was only vaguely in support of Russia to start with. Because of Nabokov, of course. That's until I watched some games: Team USA has Ryan Miller and Chris Drury and Joe Pavelski. But Canada has Joe Thornton! Dan Boyle! PATRICK MARLEAU! And er Dany Heatley, who I was very upset to see taking a knock. Protective of Dany fucking Heatley. There's a thing I never thought would happen*.
Sweden has Douglas Murray. Finland is always excellent to watch. Czechs? The Czechs were fantastic fun in their first game. Even the Swiss, despite what I just said about Canada, made me like them - they played amazingly, especially (no it cannot be said enough) Jonas Hiller. It takes a lot for me to say something nice about a Duck, but international play is different. So - astonishing. Just played out of his skin last night.
In any case it's different when it's not an NHL game. Anyone in a Penguins uniform gets my unreserved rage and anger, but when they're playing for their country they're not the enemy anymore, they're some guy living a dream and representing. I find that very hard to hate, unless you happen to be Jarkko Ruutu, then I still hate your face.
Ahem.
Oh but it's alright for me, I'm not from anywhere. There's not even any ancestry for me to choose a country based on. It's not like I've bypassed the home country or something, there's no home country to choose. Picking it based on players you like clearly doesn't work, as you can see above, as you can even end up liking the players you normally hate.
So excuse me if I just like everyone, for different reasons, because the hockey is superb. And forgive me if I cannot choose at all between the USA and Canada for Sunday night. Just bring the game. Bring it good. SO EXCITED. Might have booked the next morning off so I can stay up. Oh dear.
It's funny, I was just reading a thing about how you sometimes need to get back to yourself and rediscover your joy and this might be it. When you're exhausted and hockey is in a silly timezone it's really hard to keep up with it. But it's never not been worth it. Maybe this is a reminder of how much I love this game, how much it fires me up.
On a related note, Fear Itself (And Monsters) has an update about What Sports Means, and why I got my Sharks tattoo that time. Watching Joe'n'Patty (and okay Dany) represent their country last night, I was never prouder to have teal on my wrist.
*I can't start on Dany Heatley, because I WILL upset someone. Let's just say I hope the people still making death cracks get a massive slap in the face one of these days.
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no subject
Date: 2010-02-19 06:45 pm (UTC)I like both the United States and Canada so Sunday is going to be enjoyable for me. I want the USA to win of course because it's my country, but I won't be extremely upset if they lose. Besides, it's just the preliminaries!
no subject
Date: 2010-02-19 07:13 pm (UTC)But if you spend five minutes thinking, what must he go through psychologically? Well, then, it gets very hard to hate him. That, and so far for SJ, he hasn't shown any of that MeMeMe behaviour he was starting to a little towards the end of his time in Ottawa.
I miss Milan Michalek. But holy shit, there are worse people to have on your team than Heatley.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-19 07:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-19 07:19 pm (UTC)I had no idea there's a book out about what went on (though it's only like, one chapter on the actual accident) and he did his time. Plus, he donates half of his salary every year to the Dan Snyder Foundation? That's a hell of a lot of money so good for him.
You could have Chris Neil on your team...