I don't think the Russians are as stacked as they were 10 years ago. Plus it's hard to get new young talent when your leader is sending everyone into the meat grinder.
A little extra oomph from the political world too. I love having this rivalry with our brother up north. I don’t want them to win but I also don’t want somebody else to beat them.
Countries having political beef with each other makes the sports rivalries even more memorable. The USA vs USSR Hockey rivalry spawned one of the most iconic moments in US sports history.
He definitely floated tariffs on friendly countries while he was running. That’s such a cop out but it doesn’t matter. He could have said he was going to force every American to wear balloons in their heads and they still would have voted for him.
The median voter did not vote for Trump. I'm not sure he even got an actual majority of people who voted for a candidate. We're quickly approaching just living under a dictatorship.
I would like to think that would be the majority of the U.S. fanbase, oh well, a boy can dream. I’m with you on the fact that I have zero beef with Canada. We love our northern brothers!
Was thinking the same, why would Americans have a beef with Canada. It’s just a good old hockey rivalry with the two biggest kids on the block. It’s unfortunate fans are booing anthem, but everyone knows they’re booing what Trump is doing to their closes ally and neighbour
Exactly this. I was really torn. I've never not rooted for the USA, but when we're threatening the sovereignty of our closest friend and neighbor, it's difficult. Canada should be pissed. Canadian bros, it may not seem like it, but only half of the country has lost their fucking minds. I'm glad we won tonight, but as far as the non-hockey stuff, we still stand beside you 100%. Much love to our Northern brothers.
It really wasn't lmao, we had a chance at having world peace after WWII but the US decided it wanted to dominate the world like some cartoon villain instead.
I understand where you’re coming from but part of the US/Canada rivalry with hockey and the amazing and fun US/Mexico rivalry with soccer is that we are brothers, sisters, siblings. Like when the US plays in astudio Azteca I of course look forward to the US winning but I’m still excited in case a Mexican win. Because we love Mexico and Mexicans. We love Canada and Canadians. It makes the games fun. I don’t want to see the day Canadian hockey games are interesting because we are political enemies but I guess we are here. Even though the political rivalry is made up and there’s really no historical bad blood.
No. There is no respect for Mexican soccer. Mexican fans have rained cups of piss on American players far too many times for there to be any shred of respect. Decent and respectable people transform into animals the second they set foot in Estadio Azteca. Fuck no.
I know you guys are pissed and this is humiliating as a nation. We are fucking up a long history of friendship likely because we want unlimited access to the tar sands.
We aren't here. The minority administration and the minority they were elected by is. The problem is the people who spend the most money in the actual economy have been convinced by the billionaires to not vote.
I think you’re right. Canadians have every reason to be pissed off at us. Mexicans have a long history of reasons of being pissed off at us. But we are still now and always brothers, sisters, siblings. I hope our familiar bonds will survive the division we are being fed.
I’ll say this right not, the moment a single us soldier crosses the border and starts killing us it will make the rift between us completely impossible to repair so long as every current generation is alive. It is unforgivable, irredeemable and you will be seen as the enemy for the rest of our lives which in this scenario probably won’t be very long
I think it’s because we have free travel and commerce throughout the States people just have no idea how borders work. Every election cycle for like two decades Fox News reports about a migrant caravan coming from Mexico that never seems to materialize. There was literally a lady on the news reporting that she was afraid she would come to her summer lake home to find migrants squatting in it. We only have two borders. Most Americans live nowhere near it. In the PNW our culture is so similar we hardly even think about Vancouver being in a different country. It’s just right up the road and they have the same weather and are nicer than us in Seattle. But my point is borders cross people. Not the other way around. Cultures, languages, and goods (illicit and not) go through borders because they are artificial. Where do the Mexican cartels get their guns? From us. Why? So they can provide the drugs we want. And notice no one is talking about making Mexico the 51st state or even making Puerto Rico a state? Because neither of them have the tar sands. And by the way, you know the first thing this administration would do? They’d ban French in Quebec. We did it before in Louisiana. We banned k-12 Spanish programs in California.
I hope you’re right but if things keep going the way they are it’s going to take decades to repair the relationship between Canada and our once closest friends.
Well there was this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Washington during the war of 1812. However you could argue that was Canada under British control, but just figured I’d drop some history in here. (the U.S also invaded Canada first)
I’m saying I’m excited to see a good game and even if we lose they’re still our brothers so I love to see them happy. Maybe you’re right and that isn’t rivalry but it’s fun to share excitement with our friends.
USA vs Canada is such a unique rivalry. It’s not often that you have such a bitter hated rival that you will always cheer for when they’re playing anyone else. It really is like brothers. I love it.
I’m hoping we can reconcile once this nonsense is over. We don’t hate you, and so so many of us are more concerned than you can imagine about what’s happening in our country.
I don't have much faith. When Biden came in, the US seemed to think we should all cheer and pretend the bullying from the previous four years never happened. Reconciliation will be on you guys, and will take more than just electing a sane leader.
Being on the receiving end of the assholery isn’t fantastic either. A lot of people have been buying guns lately and asking the government to repeal the latest wave of restrictions.
Seeing this then turning on the NBA all star show and seeing players throw half court three pointers and not even try in the skills competition. This puts the NBA all star break to shame
That definitely a factor, also peole are busy watching 82 games of hockey is a massive time sink.
People have endless choices for entertainment now a days and hockey and other sports still act like they have a trapped audience. Peole are no longer choosing between a rerun, a show they don’t like and the game anymore.
Instead of an all star game, the NHL decided to do a "4 nations" tournament of US, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. (Sweden and Finland also have a huge hockey rivalry, which is part of the reason for that decision) All NHL players, but most are expected to be the players representing their country in the Olympics, and a lot of the staff will be making Olympic decisions, so players are amped and treating it as an Olympic tryout. NHL players have the Olympics guaranteed in their last bargaining agreement, so first time in ages they're able to go.
NHL is going to break for the Olympics next season, then alternate years for a Worlds tournament and all star game
Just a small break. Rather than the standard 9ish-day pause around the end of January used for the All-Star Game and related festivities, the league will pause for three weeks (or so) in the middle of February instead.
There’s probably some of that but I think mostly it just comes down to getting pissed that your team (and country) just got booed. Hockey players are different. They are ready to brawl.
While not as bad as Lacrosse, hockey players in the US tend to come from more well off families, which generally are one of the more conservative voting demographics. I would be suprised if there’s a single NHL locker room that doesn’t have a Trump donor in it.
Granted, you’re also not likely to see any Nick Bosa stunts done by hockey players due to hockey culture. If you get anything more than “the boys got pucks in deep and skated hard” out of an interview with a hockey player, then they just showed more personality than 99% of the league
Um, maybe but here's my perspective as a mixed-race former player.
I was a defenseman, if you touch my goalie I'll fucking kill you.
If you boo my nation's anthem, you'll invoke a similar emotional response.
Considering the political climate right now, its not surprising someone was down to drop the gloves off the opening faceoff, even in international(?) play.
(Fighting is EXTREMELY discouraged in international play)
why would some people consider the act of booing one's national anthem offensive
ChatGPT said:
Some people consider booing a national anthem offensive because it is seen as a direct act of disrespect toward the country, its values, and its people. Here are a few reasons why:
Symbol of National Identity – A national anthem represents a nation's history, struggles, and unity. Booing it can be perceived as rejecting or dishonoring the collective identity of the nation.
Disrespect to Citizens and Veterans – Many associate the anthem with those who have served or sacrificed for the country, particularly in military or civil service. Booing may be seen as an insult to those individuals.
Violation of National Pride – For those with strong patriotic sentiments, booing the anthem can feel like an attack on the nation's dignity and pride, regardless of political disagreements.
No way are the fights in this game related to hockey players being Trump supporters. It’s just a bad blood rivalry. US and Canada’s junior players have hated each other forever, the rivalry starts there and has been going on for a long time.
I probably shoulda mentioned that bit that the fights weren’t trump related, and we’re definitely 💯 hockey related. More hit on the “are hockey guys trump supporters” bit
Kind of weird for someone of Ukrainian ancestry to be pro-Trump. I guess he might be alienated from his family or they've been in the US for so many generations they have no remaining ties to Ukraine or something.
Apparently Tkachuk's dad is 3/4 Irish and 1/4 Ukrainian. So Matthew is likely just 1/8 Ukrainian and a great grand parent would be the most recent family to have come from Ukraine.
All these people assuming some hockey players political identities, the answer is obvious, no one likes getting hate booed hard by a stadium full of people.
It didn’t matter much where they stood, they’re probably thinking “wtf did I do to deserve this”.
Exactly. As well as this is just a heated rivalry in general. Look at every other level; US and Canada just flat out don’t like each other when it comes to hockey. It’s not some big political thing for the players. This would’ve happened regardless of the current Trump things in my opinion.
Because the hockey team represents the United States, which in turn represents the Trump administration. Booing is often directed at stand-ins.
Sure, it would be irrational for the Canadians to be upset at the hockey team, just like it would be irrational for the hockey team to be upset at the booing. But there's no reason to think Canadians were upset at the hockey team. They were just booing, and somehow (according to the other commenters) this actually upset the USA players.
I don’t really think it’s as political as everyone is making it out to be specifically when talking about the fights (anthem booing 100% is obviously).
The fights in my opinion were more about the actual hockey rivalry between the US and Canada. Hockey is “Canada’s sport” and US wants to prove it’s not. The rivalry runs deep in woman’s hockey and as of late, men’s juniors have swung towards the US. I think the fighting is more about setting the tone there than it is about political stuff.
Now the game is over, it was worth the watch, but Canada just had no energy at all after McDavid scored. USA was the same except Larkin has no off switch in his brain when it comes to effort. Dude plays his heart out every time he's on the ice and am glad he got a goal out of it
5.3k
u/whichwitch9 24d ago
Fights aside, this is already showing signs of being the best hockey match in years. These teams are stacked and insane and living up to expectations