2010 Vancouver Olympics: Team USA and Team Canada Faceoff in Rivalry Game
There will be a series of games today that have some history to them heading in, but Sunday’s main event will be when the United States of America takes the ice with their rivals from up north, Team Canada.
Both teams are undefeated thus far in the tournament, and both teams have looked sharp at sometimes and bad at others. Both teams are comprised entirely of a National Hockey League lineup. So even though they are rivals, they have many similarities, which makes the battle even tighter.
The differences? Well, the most obvious one is that from top to bottom, front to back, the Canadians have a much deeper lineup than the USA. Head-to-head, Team Canada’s first line is superior to that of the U.S.’s, their second is better than the Americans’ second unit and so on and so on.
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Right on through Canada is a better team, offense, defense, goaltending; it is all deeper, it is all stronger.
With that said, the better team does not always win, because quite frankly, they may or may not be the better team on the ice, regardless of what they look like on paper. This holds true for Thursday night, when it took overtime and later a shootout to decide the final between Canada and Switzerland.
Canada ended up winning that game, but the Swiss gave them a run for their money and almost put Canada Hockey Place, hell, the whole country of Canada into a state of shock.
They may not admit it, but both the team and fans right now are nervous going into this game against the United States. I was fortunate enough to hear the reactions of Team Canada’s faithful after that game during my stay in Vancouver.
Based on what has been said, they will no longer underestimate an opponent in this tournament, which I see as disrespectful in any sport and in any scenario, especially the Olympic Games.
I do not know what the state of the locker room is right now, but the fans in Canada have lost a little of their confidence in their team. Canada was outplayed in that game at times, which they believed would not be the case for the entire tournament. That team over there felt indestructible, but that no longer is the case.
The reason I am stating all of this is because it could work to Team USA’s advantage.
There is absolutely zero pressure on the United States. In fact, more than half of the country couldn’t care less about the sport of hockey. Across the border, though, almost every household will have that game on the television set.
And if they are not home watching it, they are at the arena sporting their country’s colors live. That leaves all of the pressure on Team Canada.
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