The Reds

Yesterday Jess and I sat through the triple-header of hockey and by the end of the day, it was probably even more painful than the triple-overtime Stanley Cup Finals game in 2002. That said, it was a great day of hockey (with two awesome games) that was different than I expected.

The first game of the day was the least competitive but at least the USA beat Norway. The Canadian fans were polite to the US at first but once the Americans got a 2-goal lead, they turned quickly and were rooting for Norway loudly. The game wasn't that great but it was nice to see Gleason out there and it was cool to meet his father during the second intermission. We did sit next to a nice couple from Kalowna, BC (wine country, apparently) and when she saw Jess's Hurricanes jersey, she asked if we heard of Drayson Bowman. We said yes and she let us know there her daughter dates Bowman's younger brother. What I took away from this was that every young girl in Canada dates a Junior hockey player.

I expected the atmosphere to be festive and patriotic but it was really more of a party atmosphere than we're used to seeing in professional sports. Obviously, the Canadians were the most into the game and if they lost, I feared that there would be rioting and lots of dead Swiss but luckily for the Olympics that didn't happen. The two highlights that were non-action related were when Jonas Hiller got run late in the game and took a shot to the head, he fell to the ice like a soccer player and the fans started taunting him by chanting his name. The guy in front of me said it was "bad form" to chant but since he was clearly faking, it was ok (I should note that they did cheer when he got up). The second part was when the game was tied late and in OT, I kept saying over and over again that I blame Joe Thorton and finally by the end I had all of the fans agreeing with me that he was terrible and should never have been picked since he never wins anything or comes up big in crunch time. A guy behind us with his elderly parents spent the first period saying how great it was to see all these superstars and how excited they were. By the 3rd period, they were trashing the team and wondering why they took guys with no heart who weren't giving a full effort. Bipolar Canadian crowds were very entertaining - it went from crazy noise in the early parts of the game to dead silence in the bathroom during the intermission. It was so quiet, at some point a guy yelled "It's too quiet in here" and no one even responded. If Canada fails to win gold, I fear for the mental health of a whole country. All in all, it was a good time.

The last game was kind of painful since we been up since 5 AM PST and it didn't even start until 9 PM. The Russian team is loaded and Slovakia had played the night before but it was surprisingly competitive and went to the second shootout we saw in the day. Ovechkin even shot 3 times in the shootout but only scored once (the rules are different in international play). The most notable part of the game, however, was the numerous displays on Soviet jackets, jerseys and huge flag. One guy even had a huge flag with Lenin's picture on it. Watch out, America - Cold War II is coming. Don't say I didn't warn you...

After returning back to the hotel very late, we got some sleep and got up to do some shopping since our first event today isn't until 4:30 PST. Unfortunately, the Olympic store we were going to had a huge line that stretched a full block and everything else was packed with people. We stopped for lunch at a great local place called Red Robin and the authentic Vancouver burger was delicious. After that, we hit a smaller store that had some official merchandise and picked up some gifts. We'll be off to two more hockey games soon and then a short night of sleep before we head to Whistler where we'll most likley be bored and cold but at least the scenery should be nice.

As the Canadians say good-bye, "Until the puck drops next". Note: No one says this.

Hockey...Hockey...Hockey and more Hockey!

We left the hotel at about 10:30am for the 12pm USA vs Norway hockey game.  It took about 45 minutes to walk there because they make you walk all around the building to go through security.  The weather is great so the walk was not too bad.  The game was great. Norway kept it kinda close until the 3rd when USA just finished them.  During the game we went for a walk to look for a Team Canada Staal jersey (yes, I know I am American) and while walking I saw a couple guys wearing Gleason jerseys.  I ran up to them and told them I liked their jerseys and showed them my Tim Gleason necklace.  One of the men said "he is great isn't he?"  When I said yes he introduced us to the other man who is Tim Gleason's Dad.  
USA vs Norway final score 6-1:

Game 2 started at 4:30pm so we exited Canada Hockey Place for an hour and then went back in to watch Canada vs. Switzerland. Those fans were intense. The whole building was red. The game was really close and went to OT and a shootout.
Canada vs Switzerland final score 3-2 in the shootout:

Game 3 started at 9pm.  We left the arena and grabbed a quick dinner after ordering my ERIC STAAL TEAM CANADA HOCKEY JERSEY!  I get to pick it up Sunday!  I thought this next game (Slovakia vs Russia) would still be mostly Canadian hockey fans just coming to watch the game but the building was filled with both Slovakian and Russian fans.  They were loud and cheered for their teams in languages I do not know but it was fun to see everyone so excited.  It makes me grateful that I get to see great players like Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Malkin, Chara, Gaborik and Hossa all the time when they play the Hurricanes.  Most of these people travel a great distance and only get to see their countries best players in international play.  This game also went to OT and then the shootout ending in an upset with Slovakia winning.

Slovakia vs Russia final score 2-1 in shootout:

Tons of fans in the street while walking back to the hotel.  Everyone is so friendly.

Great day...very tired since it is 1:20am!