VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Canada ends these Olympic Games with 14 gold medals. But looking at the hundreds of thousands of exuberant Canadians who flooded the streets after Canada's 3-2 win in the men's hockey gold medal game against the United States, you get the feeling that if Canada would have only won one, that would have been OK. Just as long as it was men's hockey.
The golden goal came 7:40 into overtime, as Sidney Crosby slid the puck past American goalie Ryan Miller. Crosby, the biggest star in Canada before the goal, should find himself launched onto the Canadian equivalent of Mt. Rushmore, alongside Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky. Crosby, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup title last season, had missed several opportunities, including a breakaway late in the third period that would have sealed the game. The US went on to score a goal minutes later, tying the game at 2 with just 24 seconds remaining.
The game was an epic. Seriously, if you've never been a hockey fan, watch it. It had everything -- good skating, tons of emotion, hugely physical play, and outstanding goaltending. It was one of those rare moments that you knew you were watching something historic as it was happening.
Before the Games, I wrote: "It’s not that Canada cares about hockey: It thinks it is hockey." What I meant by that is that the country defines itself through the game, and vice versa. Canadians think that the things that help you win hockey games -- toughness, hard work, humility, determination, strength -- reflect the best of their country. And the world of hockey, even at the highest level, takes on the humble, self-depreciating, slighly-stoic spirit of Canadians.
The Prime Minister of Canada was sitting about 20 feet behind me at the hockey game, and he was completely out of his mind. After Canada gave up the late goal to tie the game, he held his head in his hands, just another frustrated hockey fan.
There's simply no analog to it in America. The best comparison I can think of it anywhere is soccer and Brazil, another game and nation that are inseparable.
That the win came against the States, as Canadians tend to refer to us down south, only made it more sweet. The US set an all-time record for medals won at a Winter Games here in British Columbia, with 37 total medals. Canada has 26 medals, placing third. But those 14 golds were the most of any nation, and for the happy Canadians packing the center of not only Vancouver, but cities around the country, those wins will not be forgotten.
In talking to residents here over the last two weeks, I've heard again and again that they've never been more proud to be Canadian. Remember, this is a country that's struggled for the past 30 years to simply keep itself whole.
So to hear chants of "Go, Canada, Go!" and to see thousands of people proudly wearing their red and black team Canada gear has been a revelation to Canadians from around the country. Walk down the street, and you'll hear crowds spontaneously break into "O Canada," looking for a way to express their identity to one another, and the world.
It's been a great 17 days here at the Olympics, with huge highs and lows. But these Games end as one might have hoped -- with a celebration, and newly forged relationships between people that sports foster like little else.
- Photos: Chris O'Meara/AP Photo (Crosby); Bela Szandelszky/AP Photo (Crowd)*
