That photo really kind of says it all, doesn't it!
It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, nor remained in the memories nearly as long if the US beat anyone else for the gold as going to overtime to lose to Canada ended up meaning.
I watched a lot of the Olympic hockey matches. No doubt about it -- none of the other matches had nearly the same intensity. There also wasn't a lick of dirty play. The best description was made by the NBC announcers, who said it was going to be "black and blue hockey!"
I really thought the US might pull it off, and the funny thing is I really firmly believed the Americans were going to send it into overtime with a 6 on 5 play at the end. Wasn't any case of prescience so much as an observation that the teams were playing so evenly and well that an extra attacker would end up working.
Wayne Gretzky before the first match played said he was hoping for a US versus Canada matchup. It was the game everyone in the North American hemisphere wanted. Every single member of each team sincerely thought they could win this game and no quarter was given. Add in the obvious regional rivalry, and it's a receipe for a game folks will be talking about many decades from now.
I suppose the next games in Russia will carry the same intrinsic meaning for the Russian players. And I am more than confident that the quality of this gold medal game will force the NHL to continue their cooperation. What I don't understand is what matchup could mean the same as this one tonight. Russia versus Canada doesn't seem to come close. I cannot see a natural geographical rivalry that comes close, which is, I guess, what made tonight so special.
Cheers,
Ken