Gauging the Olympic hype (and where you stand as a Penguins fan)

I’d rather not have this interruption in the season, and have our boys focus on winning another Cup. However, since I don’t get my way all of the time, I’ll be cheering for Sid all the way. Go Canada!

I’ll be cheering for Canada as well, but also Russia (more just Malkin and Gonchar) and the USA. Also still interested to see Jagr and how much he has left. Definitely rooting against Sweden (Lundqvist, Zetterberg, Holmstrom…).

I’m pretty pumped about this Olympic games (basically just the hockey) , because the best talent in the world will be battling it out for 3 weeks. I will be cheering for the USA, but I have a feeling it will come down to the juggernauts of Canada vs. Russia for the gold (though there can always be an upset!).

I hate the Olympics in a lot of ways. I hate how this season has been compacted and will now have an absurdly long break. I hate the risk of injury to the NHL’s very best players in games that won’t even “count”. I hate that NBC won’t even be showing the US v. Canada preliminary.

That said, I know it means a lot to most of the players. If I were betting money, I’d bet on Canada. Since I’m not, I will cheer on the USA, and then Russia. (I am married to a Russian who gets Olympics-crazy every time.) I hope there will at least be really excellent hockey from really excellent players, and no major injuries. I’m looking forward to seeing womens’ hockey, too, and cheering for the USA womens’ team will be ridiculously easy for me.

I’m cheering for Russia, because Russia has the most Penguins actually playing… and because Canada left out Jordan Staal — a fatal mistake. I also want to see Geno win a gold medal, and I know how much it would mean to him to lead the Russian team to victory. It would help to make things right between him and Russian fans, and it would be a great boost to his confidence and his spirits. Also, a Russian victory would bring joy to Vladimir and Natalia Malkin:

If cheering for Malkin’s parents’ to be happy instead of cheering for my own country (U.S.) is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.

Crosby is already beloved in Canada, and he can go back there and have parades thrown in his honor whenever he wants. Of course, I hope Crosby has a great Olympics, and that Canada only loses (wins silver) because Canadians from other teams accidentally score on their own goal, so it’s really clear that it’s not Crosby’s fault.

Would like to see U.S. win bronze so that Orpik gets a medal.

whatevs. i’m excited. go team canada (and know, jordan staal, you should have been there).

Ohhhh Canadaaaaa, mainly because they have the best team to win it all. Would love to see a Canada-Russia final.

I’d give my interest a 10. That’s because I’ve been able to follow hockey in ways I never could (or did) before. I put in a 5 because traditionally, my true interest in the Games has never really lasted more than a couple days.

I voted a 9, I’m very excited to see this Olympics with the new generation of great young players all in their primes….

I hope Crosby, Malkin and Gonchar do well, but I can’t say I’ll be cheering for their teams at any costs. That in itself’s going to be odd.

As long as no one gets hurt, it’s all good. Let the games befin.

I’m interested, but not as interested as the NHL playoffs. I think I’d be a lot more interested if NHL players weren’t allowed to participate. I’m just worried that someone is going to get hurt and miss a significant amount of time. Not to mention that we’ve played more games than any other team in the NHL during the past 2 years (exception to Detriot), and it would be nice for EVERYONE to get a bit of a break, but then again, if NHL players weren’t playing there’d be no break… catch-22 I guess.

See, here is my take on this whole thing. Four years ago I was sitting at a poolside bar in the Bahamas talking to some dude from England about soccer (the World Cup was in full swing at this point). At the time he was amazed at how many Americans, particularly second or third generation Italian-blooded folks (such as myself), could root for Italy. Isn’t the USA more a home to them than Italy? (For the record I was not rooting for Italy, which spurred the conversation).

It’s kinda how i feel about the Olympics, but at the same time not. I’m rooting for Team USA out of obligation, but I’m also not a gun-toting, flag-waving hyper American. I will however root for USA because I just can’t justify rooting for another team since I’m not from another country. And even if there was a Team Italy I wouldn’t be rooting for them either, the same way I didn’t root for them in the World Cup. Does this mean you HAVE to be from Russia to root for Team Russia? No. Does this mean you have to part or all Russian to root for the team? No. To each his own I suppose and you’ve all given some pretty solid reasons to root for whichever team of choice.

30 years ago during the hype of CCCP and Team USA games at Lake Placid, do you think anyone in the US, outside of Russian immigrants, would be cheering for Russia to win anything? No. But I suppose times have changed a bit since then and there’s no longer this international Us vs. Them stage between rival countries. Our favorite NHLers are playing for their native countries and sometimes dedication to a team can cross international boundaries. Of course one could argue the political undertone fueled that 1980 rivalry, but I also think it was a huge statement for US hockey at the time and an obvious stepping stool for the next generation of US-born NHLers.

I had been like “well, you know, I’ll cheer for Canada, Russia, and the USA…and we’ll just see what happens.” After all, I am American and I love Sid, Geno, Flower, Gonch, and Brooks (obviously). However, watching the people chase Gretzky down the street, when he was going to light the cauldron, was just magical. It was the absolute essence of what hockey means to Canada. From regular people, to children, to rich men in suits, it seemed like everyone stopped what they were doing and ran after the Great One’s car (in the freakin’ rain, no less). The only way it would’ve been better was if it was Mr. Lemieux, but you know…you can’t always get what you want. Anyways, that whole scene made me realize how special it would be to the Canadians to win gold in hockey.
Canada.

National pride’s gotta come first, I’m all for USA! That said, since the odds of them being in the Gold medal game are slim to none, my 2nd choice is Canada all the way. Maybe Brodeur and Luongo will fail epically and they’ll have to turn to Fleury to win the gold! I can dream…

Geno and Sarge winning the gold medal would also mean that Ovechkin and Semin would win the gold medal…and I cannot have that. USA made a huuuuge mistake not including the great Billy G.
As of last night, I am officially Canadian. Sid is the best big game player in the sport and this is the biggest stage in the world. What we have seen in the NHL this season will pale in comparison to what he will do in the Olympics.
However, in some semblance of patriotism, I am looking forward to Brooks dishing out some Free Candy on behalf of the red, white, and blue.
As a footnote, I’m deeply interested to see what Jagr is still capable of…and if that would mean we’ll see him back in a Penguins jersey next season.

I think a lot of the players are thinking too much about the Olympics and not their team, examples being Fleury and Gonchar, seeing as their play hasn’t been the best, at least in my opinion.

I said it before, I would rather win a Cup than a Gold Medal.

As far as teams go . . . I like Canada because they’re Canada, and I just think the country is better than the U.S. general (I’ve very pissed at my country.) But I am Russian, so I’m gonna go with Russia too. As for the U.S: the best U.S. hockey team was in 1960, and they went undefeated.

Here’s the thing, hockey, above all other major sports in the US, is an international sport. Somewhere above, Cari said about most sports, that you root against other CITIES, and as such, you don’t root for a national interest. That’s true, but in the case of basketball, 80% of the guys who you’re rooting for or against are Americans, and when they get together on a team, you’re going to root for the national color.

(Baseball’s not a good example, because the big time major leaguers don’t play Olympic baseball.)

By contrast, when you root for a team in hockey, you’re rooting for those individual players, and when they get together to form their national teams, more likely than not, they’re not going to be wearing the red, white and blue.

That was my case growing up. As a Red Wings fan, Steve Yzerman was THE GUY. Add in the fact that the biggest names in hockey, the guys I’d see most often watching Hockey Night in Canada, the Gretzkys and Lemieuxs wore the maple leaf, and I’m not surprised that I was a team Canada fan. The 1998 Olympics, it was Yzerman and Shanahan versus the hated Brett Hull and Chris Chelios, who was I going to root for? No doubts there.

2002, it was a little more dicey, since Hull and Chelios were on the Wings then…but it was still an easy call, I was rooting for Canada. My brother still gives me crap for that, but like I said, easy call.

Since then, things have changed a bit. I was glad Sweden won the 2006 Olympic gold, because of the Red Wings connections, but those players didn’t automatically make me a Tre Koners fan. This year…I don’t know who I’m cheering for. Some exciting games would be at the top of that list, probably followed by team Canada, residual rooting interest from childhood carrying over to this day.

It’s hard not to cheer for all of the team’s that Pens’ players are representing. I would like to see the U.S. do well, but I think, realistically, they won’t even medal. By now it’s cliche, but the Gold Medal match will be between Russia and Canada, and I think I’ll be cheering for Canada. I’ve nothing against the Russians – love Malkin and Gonchar – but they do have Ovetchkin on their team – and whether he’s wearing Capitals white or Russian red, I just don’t like the guy! I really would like for all of the games to be exciting, and I’m happy for the Pens that get to represent their respective countries.

I’m pulling for the US, although I’m not at a full-on 10 for the Games (mainly because NBC’s coverage is pretty terrible). If I could pull non-US feeds consistently it’d be a 10, though.