(not caught on film: Mr E Man almost peeing himself laughing when I walked into that guy, me explaining to that guy that I was making a video for a Swedish friend who'd bet $20 on the outcome of this game, and then that guy laughing and saying "good luck to your friend!")
Chall, I really did feel bad by the end... we all expected a much closer game. By the third period we were rooting for Sweden to get a goal (when they did, they got a good cheer from the whole crowd - the Swedish fans hadn't stopped cheering all game), and the one guy behind us who was attempting to trash talk and mock the Swedes shut up PDQ when no-one else joined in.
As the Swedish head coach said after the game,
"Canada is the powerhouse of women's hockey. They have a coaching staff that is unbelievably good. They have worked with their players since the first of August to achieve another level of women's hockey and it happens every fourth year. Our team is much better than it was in Torino, but unfortunately Canada hasn't stopped developing".
This situation, with Canada and the US so dominant over the rest of the field, really isn't good for the game. I hope the other teams get a chance to catch up over the next four years and make the preliminary rounds a bit more interesting in Sochi.
On the other hand, it is fantastic to see how much support the women's game gets in Canada. I'd been to a couple of women's team games in England (football and field hockey), and expected the crowd in Vancouver to be a similar mix of women, children, and school groups - but really, the makeup of the crowd was very similar to the one at the men's game the day before. There were lots of groups of men (including two guys in full body fluffy bunny outfits, with a sign saying "Canadian puck bunnies"), and the level of support (including chanting, flag waving, sign making, face & body painting, clapping, stomping, and celebrating) was just the same. And there was such a demand for tickets that the semis and medal games will be in the much larger GM / Canada Hockey Place.
Chall, I will hold you to your bet... but would you mind directing the $20 to my fundraising efforts rather than to me? The fundraising campaign is not going quite as well as the Canadian women's quest for gold!
Thanks for playing, and I hope you are taking comfort in the strong showing so far by Sweden's male hockey players!
I think you should do video blogging more often!
ReplyDeleteaww... that s AWESOME! A wonderful video! (for me! :) ) You're too sweet. It's a great video.
ReplyDeleteI realised when I made the bet that it might have been the most insane bet ever, but hey- it's worth a try every once in awhile. I really thought it would have been more of a 5-3 game, not as bad as it got. I would think that the fight for the bronze will be an interesting one - not even saying Sweden is in that one, but as far as I know, US will take the silver, Canada the gold.
I will double the bet for sure and put it into you insane (but really cool and I am just a bit envious hat you dare the whole riding 150 km in two days) ride! I tried to donate earlier last week but had a snafu with the credit card. Hopefully better now! I'm hoping for at least two more volonteer donations, after two more pay checks.
and I hope you get enough money!!!
K, gimme a donation and I'll make a video for you too! :)
ReplyDeleteChall, I'm glad you liked it! It was fun to make.
My prediction for the game was something like 6-4... I'm scared of the US team though, they've beaten us in the last couple of meetings!
Thank you so much for donating! I'm more daunted by the fundraising than the actual distance (250km) to be honest!
Hehe! Love this video - you're a great reporter!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alyssa! I may be a bit too partisan for the CBC though...
ReplyDeleteHahaha very funny! I would almost make a bet with you just to see another video ;) (If you make me an offer I might end up donating it to your fundraising ...)
ReplyDeleteAnd: I have seen the "2022 winter olympics hockey generation" practising in that same arena (my nephew one of them)... Fun to see it in your video!
Nina, what kind of video would you like?
ReplyDeleteThe best of luck to your nephew! How old is he?
Hmm it seems like I'm too late, I was going to make the crazy bet that Germany would beat Canada in hockey, but I just saw they played that already.
ReplyDeletemy nephew just turned 8, but as a matter of fact he isn't soo much into hockey. He got involved through some of his friends, but it is more likely he will end up as a soccer-pro. Or fireman, or president of the universe. At that age everything is still posible ;)
So as for my 20 € donation (to keep Chall's example of donating 20 units of your local currency and euros being much more than NZdollars): any video including Vancouver in Olympic spirits is fine by me. If you find Dutch fans willing to sing me a song in your video I'll double the amount!
Nina, I will do my best for you this weekend! Unfortunately I've been off sick the last couple of days with some kind of stomach bug (4 of my friends have had it too - we think the Olympic visitors have swelled the size of the germ pool!), so my weekend may keep me closer to home than usual (i.e. away from downtown, where there are massive line-ups for everything, including bathrooms). But I will see what I can find to video for you!
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