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A difference of perspective: How Europeans value Olympic medals

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Note to self; if we lose the final, claim that we don't care about gold medals anyway. :sarcasm:
 
Vikke said:
You would care for bronze if you played. As a fan? Maybe not. As a player, absolutely.
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Definitely. As a player, I definitely want a medal.

As a fan of a team expected to win gold, I would be disappointed.

USA should have played better. Losing in the semis is no excuse to not show up..because Finland faced the same circumstances.
 
TL said:
It was so cool to see the Finns value the chance to win an Olympic medal today.

Canada, the U.S., and even Russia would not care in the same way as the Finns or Sweden about the Bronze...

Is it the Finns' perceived underdog status, or is it a cultural difference that makes European teams more likely to embrace the prospect of winning a silver or bronze? (Whereas in North America we have the Nascar Ricky Bobby attitude that "If you're not first you're last.")

Discuss...

(Yes, I do recognize that Russia is in Europe, but as hosts they saw this tourney as Gold or bust, so I see them as a European exception here).
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Judging by the way the US team (not including Quick) played against Canada yesterday, they didn't really care about playing for gold either.

As far as 'cultural differences', that's hard to say. While in Canada, gold in hockey is what matters, people tend to be appreciative of the other medals when they're won in other sports. So, 'gold or bust' is specific to the particular sport.
 
I really disagree with those saying the U.S. didn't care today. There was a lot of effort on their part. They even looked like the better team to me, outplaying Finns for large stretches of the game, but couldn't score and Finland was very effective. No need for sour grapes excuses.
 
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Petri1981 said:
I remember when Gretzky was crying after Canada lost the bronze medal game in 1998 against Finland. His last chance to get an olympic medal. Maybe he cried because he didnt care.
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last chance? it was his only Olympics and if he was devastated in any game, it was against the czechs

TL said:
That's a good point, and one that counters my thesis here.
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he never cried, just because someone wrote it on the internet, doesn't make it true

nhindian said:
Maybe he was crying because it was the end of his Olympic career? Timmonen was crying today and he won.
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he has later said that his biggest regret about the Olympics in hindsight was not caring about the bronze medal game, and wish that the team had gone out and won the bronze. He said the team was so devastated after the semi, that the team didn't play as hard for the bronze as they should have.
 
UsernameWasTaken said:
Judging by the way the US team (not including Quick) played against Canada yesterday, they didn't really care about playing for gold either.

As far as 'cultural differences', that's hard to say. While in Canada, gold in hockey is what matters, people tend to be appreciative of the other medals when they're won in other sports. So, 'gold or bust' is specific to the particular sport.
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Maybe US and Canada isn't as good as you guys think ? :sarcasm:
 
hitmen19 said:
he has later said that his biggest regret about the Olympics in hindsight was not caring about the bronze medal game, and wish that the team had gone out and won the bronze. He said the team was so devastated after the semi, that the team didn't play as hard for the bronze as they should have.
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Sounds like sour grapes :sarcasm:
 
Striderr said:
Maybe US and Canada isn't as good as you guys think ? :sarcasm:
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We think we're the deepest hockey country, but on any given day I think that Nik Backstrom, Daniel Sedin and Henrik Lundqvist can outshine Sidney Crosby, Jonathon Toews and Carey Price.

We're not taking anything for granted and don't expect to win in a one game scenario like this.

In a seven game series, I'd certainly give us an edge at this time. Five or ten years from now that could change, as all it takes is a couple of special players like Jagr and Hasek to completely change the international hockey landscape.
 
It's nicer to end a tournament on a win than two losses, isn't it? And it's the Olympics, it's just not some tournament. Just being a participant in these games is considered a great honor and a goal to strive for if you are an athlete. It's a celebration of athletes and giving your best effort is the most important thing, sometimes it will not be enough for the gold, but being the second or third best in the world are the next best things. Losing a final and getting silver certainly stings but in retrospect I am sure every silver medalist appreciates what they achieved or every Olympic medalist for that matter.

Coming into a Olympic bronze medal game with an attitude of not caring because you are not playing for the gold is misguided and I am sure any athlete doing that is going to regret that choice when they reflect on their career when they are retired, especially if they never had a chance to get another chance at a medal. It's always nicer to come home with some hardware to show for your effort on the largest stage an athlete can perform at.

I am pretty sure the US would have liked to at least get a medal these games rather than come home with nothing. I don't buy it that they didn't care and if they didn't then they didn't deserve it and worst, they let themselves down by not giving their best effort.
 
Why did you Americans watch the bronze game if you didn't give a damn about bronze?
 
A medal feels better than yet another 5th place for Sweden, even if we lose tomorrow, if that answer your question.
 
You have to keep in mind that when the tournament started the Finnish situation was abysmal. Some of the best players in the country didn't participate due to injuries so nobody expected anything. The team itself only set a medal as the goal, so of course they're going to want to win the bronze. At the same time it was also the last national team game for many of the old timers.

There's no doubt that team USA went to the game with a win in mind, but Finland wanted it more and the result shows that.
 
Finns were happy to win bronze because that's what they were fighting for in this game. In 2006 some Finnish players were literally crying when they won silver. And they were not crying from happiness. They were devastated because they lost gold.
 
nhindian said:
I think for Canada and USA, the main objective of the Olympics is the gold medal. Otherwise, their focus is going back to the NHL and winning the Cup. The Fins have like 9 KHL/SEL players on their roster right? I'm sure a Bronze for them is more rewarding.
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Like Miller, Tavares or Weber are playing for the cup? How is it more important for NHLers to compete of winning with their NHL team than some KHLer with their KHL team?!
 
Not caring about the bronze medal is just a way to convince yourself that you're still a gold medal contender, despite not actually making it to the gold medal game.

The fact is that when presented with a chance to be good hockey players and win a hockey game, USA moped like petulant teenagers while Finland showed up and kicked their *****.

Finland had every reason to do the same thing. They could have won yesterday if Rask hadn't gotten sick. Instead they made the best of it and worked hard to end their tournament with a win and a medal.
 
As a player, if you don't care, you don't deserve to play in the olympics nor wear your country's jersey. As a fan, well if you truly didn't care about bronze, you didn't watch the game.
 
PG Canuck said:
Give me a bronze over fourth place anyday.
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This. I'm bummed that the US Men go home with nothing.

"Gold or bust" doesn't make sense unless you are the best team in the playing field. I knew Gold was a long shot coming into the tournament, and I would have been proud of Silver or Bronze.
 
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