Olympic Hockey Disaster ... Canada Is Defeated by USA and Sweden Beats Finland!

Monday February 22, 2010

We often have during our cruises people who like to follow winter sport events while being in sunny tropics while enjoying their cold beer or glass of wine.  Now that I'm here in Vancouver on holidays I find myself updating Connor down south about Olympic events from ice hockey, ski jumping to downhill skiing.  However, on shore he has enjoyed the scene of local bars to view some Olympic events.  In men's hockey despite Sidney Crosby's efforts Canada lost to USA 5-3.  The only thing sliding into USA goal was Crosby without the puck.  USA definately had the puck luck yesterday despite Canada outshooting USA 2 to 1.  Finland suffered equally a loss against Sweden in a game in which Swedish team's rather large goalie Hendrik Lundqvist defended his crease perfectly.  Finland gave up to Sweden 3-0.  Characteristic for both games was the winning teams had engaged into more aggressive rhetoric before the game and playing more aggressively.  Both winning teams showed more desire to win no matter what even rersorting into some petty tricks of faking a fall or pushing opponents helmet off.  Half the Finnish team players seemed to have lost their skating skills - no career prospects available for them in figure skating either - and their passing skills all of a sudden were gone.  Finnish hockey team advances to as one of the top four ahead while Canada has to win four games in a row to be able to manifest Canada's dream of Olympic hockey gold.  Sorry Connor now you have to root for the Canadian ice hockey women who usually deliver.  As a consolation the sun has been shining here in Vancouver and streets are busy pass midnight.  It is like carneval time in Caribbean ... except taking a dip in the ocean here up North in Canada is called 'Polar Bear Dip'.  As any good self respecting Scandinavian I have done my 'Polar Bear Dip' for this year - cold but refreshing! Brrrr!

What comes to hockey some teams are falling short to show their talent and failing to rise to the occasion.  Don't get me started on Finland's ski jumping team that has managed either to disqualify or not to perform.  Austrian's last ski jumper managed to fall his last jump in the team event.  But nowadays falling is rewarded with unusually high points.  He also opened his zipper in the flat area which would have disqualified him in the world cup events?  Like any judged event bringing zippers and knee area wrinkles as performance issues afterwards simply puts any results in ski jumping into question, if rules meant for everyone are not used for everyone whether Austrian, German, Swiss, Finnish, Norwegian, Japanese or German.  I think it is time to bring some rationel into any judged events, and leave the little 'backroom discussions' aside.

Co-Captain and Hostess Erica ... Live from Vancouver 2010 Olympics!