Ice Hockey: The Canadian Pastime

While soccer is the passion in most of the world, in Canada, the national pastime[1] is hockey! Most people just think of this sport as a boxing match on skates[2]. But its much more than that. It’s the fastest team sport in the world. This sport unites the world’s second largest country. No wonder, since it’s very cold all over the country during most of the year. I believe that Canada has the most ice-rinks[3] per capita in the world. And if you add the even more countless ponds[4] and lakes that provide a frozen surface for children, you can understand the importance of hockey for Canadians. Out of 30 teams, it only has 6 teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), the professional sports league of North America, are on Canadian soil[5], but the majority of hockey players are Canadian.

I guess, I should tell you a little bit about the game of hockey. An official hockey game is divided into three periods of 20 minutes each. Obviously they use skates, and a stick[6] to hit the puck[7], that small round object they try to get into the goal. Also, a team is allowed to substitute players constantly, so that players can rest and the pace[8] of the game doesn’t slow down.

With 20 medals, including 8 gold ones, Canada has the best Olympic hockey record overall. In this year’s winter Olympics, which were held in Vancouver, Canada, the pride of the country was on the line[9]. In the gold medal round, Canada was facing a strong American squad[10], which had reached the gold medal round undefeated[11], including a victory over Canada in a previous round.

Let me give you a little background[12] information. On the one hand, it had been 30 years since the US had won its last Olympic gold medal in what is known as the Miracle on Ice, when an underdog American team beat the heavily-favored Soviet Union team (a tremendous moral victory during the Cold War years). On the other hand, Canada was on its own soil, playing for its pride. It wouldn’t matter how many Olympic medals they had won, if they lost this one, the Olympics would be considered a fiasco.

Now the game! The game was almost over, Canada was winning 2 to 1. The US squad decided to lift its MVP goalie and put an extra attacker on the ice. With about six seconds left in the third period, the US scored and tied the game, forcing a sudden-death overtime[13], which means the game ends as soon as a goal is scored. Then in the middle of overtime, the Canadian NHL star, Sidney Crosby, scored the winning goal! Canadian victory! Canadian Olympic glory!

[1] pasatiempo, [2] patines, [3] pistas de hielo, [4] estanques, [5] suelo, [6] palo, [7] disco, [8] ritmo, [9] en peligro, [10] equipo, [11] imbatible, [12] telón de fondo, [13] prorroga de muerte súbita, gol de or