How do you put a game like that into words? I’m at a loss. It was easily the biggest hockey game I have ever watched and that is a major understatement. Everything was on the line. The Olympics being held in Vancouver put such enormous pressure on everyone. Olympic Gold wasn’t just on the line, but our national identity as well. I’m not exaggerating. Canadians love hockey more than anything else. Is there another nation that loves anything as much as Canadians love hockey? Hockey is so intrinsically tied to our national identity. Paul Henderson’s goal in the ’72 Summit Series is probably a top-5 moment for Canada as a nation. I’m serious. It matters that much to us. So, being challenged so fiercely in our own game, in our own country, that certainly felt like an attack on our identity.

Failure was not an option. This was the most stressful sporting event I have ever witnessed. They couldn’t lose. I don’t know how I would react. The nation would be in a daze. Our collective spirits shattered. I had such a nervous energy this whole morning. My friends and I went to the local bar early to ensure we had good seats, but that was almost worse than waiting around at home. Waiting for the game to start was excruciating. Watching the game was almost torture. Every American rush down the ice was frightening. Jonathan Toews’ opening goal was the biggest relief. There was such a stress coursing through my body and that goal helped calm me down. It was certainly a huge relief for the Canadian team. It made Miller seem beatable. They didn’t have to play with the added pressure of rallying from behind under the collective tension of 17,000 + fans.

The finals are set for Olympic men’s hockey gold. Both teams took very different paths to the final game. USA were major underdogs before the tournament started and did everything but lose a game. They beat Canada in a major upset last Sunday and quickly dismembered Finland in their semi-final game Friday. I left work early in hopes of catching a great hockey game. I got home at the end of the first period and by that time it was long gone. Canada makes the finals under a little more adversity. They were pre-tournament favourites and barely beat a competitive Swiss team before falling to the Americans in the preliminaries. They absolutely destroyed the Russians in the most shocking Olympic matchup since Belarus-Sweden in 2002 and then barely squeaked out a semi-final victory over Slovakia in a game that took 3 years off my life.

Sunday’s matchup will conclude what is one of the most entertaining hockey tournaments ever played. There were a ton of overtime games, a few shoot-outs, a couple of upsets, and the fastest hockey I have ever seen. Even the bottom teams played hard and when they played each other they provided fantastic games that kept me enthralled. Who knew Norway-Switzerland could be so exciting?

So, to prepare for the big game I think it’s appropriate to break it down, DX style (more like Bill Simmons style, but whatever).