The Winter Olympics

[e0y2e3]

gawddamnit.

I set up everything perfectly and CDT gets the close.

Feh.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

gawddamnit.

I set up everything perfectly and CDT gets the close.

Feh.

There's no way I could've done it without you, just like Maverick needed Iceman.

[e0y2e3]

So deflated right now. Ryan Miller makes that save 99/100 times.

That was my non-hockey fan interpretation.

Thanks for clarifying that it was right.

Miller seemed like he hated himself for missing that save.

[FUDU]

Agreed.

Something about the Olympics that goes a long way in showing how much these million dollar athletes do care about winning v losing when it comes down to it.

Miller trades his salary this year for that save and a Gold IMO.

[skatingtripods]

So deflated right now. Ryan Miller makes that save 99/100 times.

That was my non-hockey fan interpretation.

Thanks for clarifying that it was right.

Miller seemed like he hated himself for missing that save.

I'm also a Sabres fan, so I've watched Miller a ton. He's very very hard on himself. He's been tremendous all year long. I have to assume that Rafalski tipping that pass on its way to Crosby threw him off a little bit and he just went down too slow. If he's down earlier, Crosby has nothing to shoot at and probably aims high corner and fires it wide.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Agreed.

Something about the Olympics that goes a long way in showing how much these million dollar athletes do care about winning v losing when it comes down to it.

Miller trades his salary this year for that save and a Gold IMO.

No doubt, money comes and goes, but that gold medal is eternal.

The US has nothing to be upset about, they pushed the Canadian All Star Team to the very edge, dominating them in the first game. They played hard and never quit, which is all you can really ask for.

We may never see NHL pros in the Olympics again so this was a nice way to go out.

[e0y2e3]

That is the other thing, I haven't watch the NHL since the lock-out, but I knew almost the entire Canadian roster.

I still don't know who in the eff was playing for us.

[e0y2e3]

So deflated right now. Ryan Miller makes that save 99/100 times.

That was my non-hockey fan interpretation.

Thanks for clarifying that it was right.

Miller seemed like he hated himself for missing that save.

I'm also a Sabres fan, so I've watched Miller a ton. He's very very hard on himself. He's been tremendous all year long. I have to assume that Rafalski tipping that pass on its way to Crosby threw him off a little bit and he just went down too slow. If he's down earlier, Crosby has nothing to shoot at and probably aims high corner and fires it wide.

Don't know if you saw the post game interview or not, but he said Crosby "looked up" a bit quicker then he expected.

Not sure what the really means (as in if it was public speak or truth).

[skatingtripods]

Don't know if you saw the post game interview or not, but he said Crosby "looked up" a bit quicker then he expected.

Not sure what the really means (as in if it was public speak or truth).

It was his way of saying that he reacted too slowly. Goaltending is all about anticipation. Ryan Miller spent the entire tournament anticipating perfectly. That goal was the one time he didn't. When he says "looked up", guys have a different look about them when they go to shoot than when they look around carrying the puck.

It was just a really unfortunate situation. Rafalski and Miller were the two best players for Team USA all tournament and they were the two guys who had to be right there when Crosby scored.

[jack_tors]

It was just a really unfortunate situation. Rafalski and Miller were the two best players for Team USA all tournament and they were the two guys who had to be right there when Crosby scored.

Rafalski got beat on that first goal as well turning it over. All 3 Canadian goals were the results of turnovers in the zone.

All in all, the USA hung with the best Olympic team and gave them a run for the gold. It was an impressive olympics for a very young USA team. Hopefully they come back in 4 years more seasoned, more talented, and without Jamie Langenbrunner. I hate that asshole.

[Ziner]

That is the other thing, I haven't watch the NHL since the lock-out, but I knew almost the entire Canadian roster.

I still don't know who in the eff was playing for us.

Same exact thing, I have heard of and could name the team of 75% of Canada's roster. But the US? Ha. I remember hearing Rafalski's name at some point, I knew Kane because I lived in Chicago and the rest of them I only heard of 2 weeks ago.

[Triple-S]

Rush is rumored to preform at the closing ceremony if anyones watching it.

[Spin]

That is the other thing, I haven't watch the NHL since the lock-out, but I knew almost the entire Canadian roster.

I still don't know who in the eff was playing for us.

We had the youngest roster in the tournament they said. And it showed today with some sloppy play.

Just imagine these boys with a few more years of NHL play under their belt. This should only be the beginning.

If Bettman lets them play in Russia in 2014, that is...

[jordan kramer]

We may never see NHL pros in the Olympics again so this was a nice way to go out.

theres talk about that, but i think thats just talk. this tournament was great this year, not only for the olympics, but for all of hockey. the NHL star factor was a part of it. how many people never really cared about ryan miller before the games, but will check out some sabres games now because of it. same with Parise and Kane. i mean, the golden boy of the NHL and the biggest star in Canada parked the GW goal. something will be worked out. they'd be crazy to change it back to college kids and juniors nobody's ever heard of, this tournament was too great

[waborat]

how many people never really cared about ryan miller before the games, but will check out some sabres games now because of it. same with Parise and Kane.

No they won't...

Americans are too lazy to find out what channel Versus is on (if they even get it?), let alone sit for 3.5 hours watching a game...

They would rather blow mulla on video games and cell phone bills then go to a game...

As far as pro players? We don't really care about them either...

Gold medal game on a snowy Sunday? We would have sat and watched inept imps

[Ziner]

for you Tripods, for some reason it wont post as an img.

[Spin]

OK but the big question is, are you more of a hockey fan now?

Will you look for NHL games to watch (if you didn't before)?

Will you take a road trip to Cbus, Pissburgh, or Detroit and catch a game live?

Go to more Monsters games?

Will the gamble of shutting down the NHL during a serious lag period in pro sports pay off?

[comish]

OK but the big question is, are you more of a hockey fan now?

Will you look for NHL games to watch (if you didn't before)?

Will you take a road trip to Cbus, Pissburgh, or Detroit and catch a game live?

Go to more Monsters games?

Will the gamble of shutting down the NHL during a serious lag period in pro sports pay off?

For most Americans the answer is "No"

IMO, this is why:

The average American simply can't identify with the sport. If you walked up to 100 adult males and asked them if they, at any time played Basketball, Football, or Baseball (organized or otherwise) you would probably get about 99% to say yes. (Tempted to go full 100, but there is always a possibility that somebody lives in a cave and avoided gym class for 18 years)

If you asked the same question about ice hockey, you MIGHT, get around 5%, maybe even less.

As fun as hockey is to watch at times...the public just can't get behind it because they DO NOT identify personally with it.

Awful hard to find ice time in the United States. I wonder how many more adult/youth leagues there are in Canada? How many more rinks?

This to me is a huge reason why hockey struggles to attract the throngs of other professional sports...even golf.

[pup]

OK but the big question is, are you more of a hockey fan now?

Will you look for NHL games to watch (if you didn't before)?

Will you take a road trip to Cbus, Pissburgh, or Detroit and catch a game live?

Go to more Monsters games?

Will the gamble of shutting down the NHL during a serious lag period in pro sports pay off?

No.

I don't even know if this next statement is true, but perception is reality in this case.

The NHL game is not the same game as what we just watched. It is slower and less skilled. Even with a lot of the same players, the game itself just seems different.

And if USA played Canada on a Wednesday night for fun, I wouldn't watch that. The only reason I get into Olympic Hockey is because each games has meaning. Those guys are playing their asses off for their country.

I think the perfect example (from what I hear from hockey fans and what I saw in the Olympics) is Rick Nash. Tripods and some co-workers of mine that are hockey fans are always dogging him. Yet, playing for Team Canada, I saw a beast of a player. Playing defense in the neutral zones and then leading the attack following a forced turnover.

[peeker643]

Doesn't change anything for me. I'm already a fan of playoff hockey and will also watch a regular season game like last night's Detroit-Colorado game if I stumble upon it.

I don't plan an evening around it but I enjoy the sport when the stakes are higher or the intensity is ratcheted up via rivalries.

[waborat]

Long Live The Barons!!!!!

(and Crusaders)

[skatingtripods]

Doesn't change anything for me. I'm already a fan of playoff hockey and will also watch a regular season game like last night's Detroit-Colorado game if I stumble upon it.

I don't plan an evening around it but I enjoy the sport when the stakes are higher or the intensity is ratcheted up via rivalries.

From someone who watches the sport regularly, the only games that are close to the skill level, speed, and excitement of Olympic/playoff hockey are Capitals v. Blackhawks games in the regular season. And they play once, maybe twice.

The Olympics and the playoffs are a whole different level. It's impossible to sustain that kind of game for the drudgery of the regular season. To top it off, due to the 13-day Olympic break, the teams had less off days this season.

I'm just a hockey fan. My dad was a goalie for Cleveland South HS back in the 70s when he went there and I was always exposed to hockey because we went to Lumberjacks games, I even remember a couple from Richfield Coliseum.


comish, another thing you forgot to mention is the overall price of hockey. Full equipment costs at minimum $400 new. Ice time ranges in this area from $120-$185 an hour from the rinks I've gone to.

You want to play baseball, you get a glove and a ball. That costs $35 for a decent glove. You want to play football, you can throw around a $10 football from Wal-Mart. Basketball? Easy, grab a ball, go to the park. Soccer, grab a ball.

Many people who I play hockey with had to stop moving up the ranks because their parents could not afford it. All of the travel is insane. My cousin's girlfriend's nephew is a top notch goaltender for a Chicago travel team of '99 births. $3500 for him to play. Plus, all the travel, including Cleveland, and several Ontario destinations.

It doesn't have mass appeal because it's not readily available to be played. I spent years putting holes in the garage door with street hockey balls and a net my dad built for me. The netting was orange construction fencing. I used to staple paper plates to the goalposts for practicing hitting corners.

Kids in Canada had frozen ponds they could skate on from November-March. Plus, damn near everyone's home town had a big name player from it. It's just the reality of it all.

[Squints]

Took a break from this thread following the gold medal game aftermath, it's nice to see it righted. I throughly enjoyed the Olympics on all levels. Some quick observations:

- Thanks to Tripods and Jack for your anlaysis on the hockey. I am probably like most Americans and not increase my viewing of the NHL that much. Hard rooting for any other team that is not from Cleveland. However, my favorite player is definetly Ryan Miller. I can see myself becoming a Sabres fan (closest team to where I live that doesn't hail from Pittsburgh). I hate Crosby even more. Everytime he got the puck in OT, I kept repeating "Anyone but him, anyone but him." Watch out for the Avalanche's Ryan O'Reilly in '14 for the hosers.

- Completely shocked that we did not get an Inbred take out of SSS when Crosby scored the goal.

- Two most meaningful golds for the US- The Night Train gang winning a bobsled gold and Bill Demong's Nordic Combined (and the US's performance in the NC). Winning these events historically dominated by the Euros will hopefully quiet the cynics/critics who claim that the US's climb up the metal standings from single digits and low teens to the 30's is soley due to the addition of more X-gamish events. While that has helped, we are making gains in the traditional events too.

- Curling is boring. I'm sorry to those fans. I loved it in '06, but the bloom is off the rose for me. Combined with the crappy and down right awful clutch performance of Shuster/US team and the lack of Cassie Johnson for the women, it did not hold my interest. Probably in the same vain if you had someone from Europe watch baseball.

- I go back and forth on this, but I enjoy the pureness, non-watered down and less comercialized event that is the Winter Olympics versus their summer counterparts. May have a different viewpoint after 2012.

[Spin]

I go back and forth on this, but I enjoy the pureness, non-watered down and less comercialized event that is the Winter Olympics versus their summer counterparts. May have a different viewpoint after 2012.

I like the winter olympics better. People going stupid fast in ice canyons, hockey. Now the Winter X Games stuff.

[waborat]

Whether you're right, left, up, down or in the sentor like JB, that's funny chit

[Spin]

I've always liked hockey, even though I've never been on ice skates. I like the speed, I like the hitting. I go to quite a few Wooster Junior A League games, Akron U games, some Monsters games. But other than the Stanley Cup or the new years day stadium games, I can't say that I have seen an NHL game in years. Probably since the lockout.

I use to go to the NHL games at the Coliseum, when the NHL scheduled neutral site games. Even though they're a short drive away, I've never been to a Pittsburgh or Columbus game. They just haven't gotten my attention since the 80's and 90's.

The NHL just doesn't catch my attention. Even with the olympics, the access to college, junior, and minor league teams. A Cleveland team would do it, but it'll never happen with the NBA here. I'd prefer an NHL team any day, but it aint gonna happen.