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                         February 22, 2002

Olympic hockey a good 'watch'

Commentary by Jim Fox
Staff Writer

I have found an Olympic sport that sparks my interest -- ice hockey is the only sport I have followed closely during the games of the XIX Winter Olympics.

The U.S.A. women are steamrolling toward their second gold medal, but it is the men’s tournament that is really exciting.

The U.S.A. men’s team is playing well and the National Hockey League’s talent is spread throughout the rest of the remaining teams. The American squad faced Germany Wednesday for the right to play in the semi-final round.

The Canadian team struggled early, but rebounded to even their record at 1-1-1 before facing Finland late Wednesday.

I’ve been torn between rooting for my country or my favorite players scattered amongst the rest of the medal-hopeful teams.

I have never considered rooting for American team captain Chris Chelios before. I still see him as a long-time Chicago Black Hawk and current Detroit Red Wing thug. He’s wearing the red, white and blue nowadays though, so now he is viewed as a grizzled veteran. I have never considered Brett Hull, John LeClair, Mike Modano or Brian Leetch among my favorites either. They were just opponents that I hoped would choke when playing my teams.

You see I am partial to the Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins. I have no use for players from the Red Wings, Flyers, Rangers, Stars or Devils.

I was glad when Team Canada left Avs goalie Patrick Roy off their roster. Now he’ll be all rested up for the stretch-drive after the Olympics and ready for the playoffs.

Some of my favorite NHL players are sprinkled throughout the rosters of Team USA, Canada, Sweden, Russia the Czech Republic and Finland.

That doesn’t mean I necessarily want them to beat Team U.S.A., I’m more concerned for their health than anything else.

The games, for the most part, have been tight, exciting affairs that make me want to watch. Of course, its no coincidence that my interest is rising as the fortunes of the U.S. squad continue to improve.

It was curious though to hear Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky’s comments Monday night after Canada tied the Czech Republic 3-3 that the world wants Canada to lose, especially the U.S., which he said would love to see Canada fail.

Far from hating Canada, I want to see them do well. A U.S.-Canada showdown for the gold would be great.

Olympic hockey as it is structured now is something that means more than any NHL All-Star game ever could. The national pride and fervor it elicits from the hockey faithful is only exceeded on a worldwide scale by soccer.

It is a special event that heightens the amount of pressure on players and makes for interesting sports action.

If the U.S. team ends up winning a medal, hopefully, it will increase national interest in hockey and bring the fastest game on ice more to the forefront of American sports.

If the U.S. doesn’t win a medal then let’s hope that the men’s hockey team goes off into the night a little more quietly than they did four years ago in Nagano.