Kimota said:
As for resident of other countries saying that the NHL playoffs are less important than the Olympics because "hockey players play all their lives for the Olympics" must be living in a dream World. First the NHL is the Elite league of everything that is related to hockey. To win the prize is war, a grueling 82 Games season. The Olympics heck it has not even been ten years since the best players went there, most of the time it has been an amalgam of patching of guys brought left and right. But most of all EVEN THE EUROPEAN PLAYERS AND GUYS FROM AROUND THE WORLD DON`T CARE. Sure it`s nice to win for your country. But ask anybody in 2006 and it sure means more to them to go all the way for the Stanley Cup. You think Jagr has trained all his life just because of the Olympics. Sorry their day-to-day lives means more, having a career in the NHL means a lot more. The goal of guys in Russian, Sweden and so forth in this day and age is now to make it into the NHL.
As for poster GiganticSnake you represent the worst sort-of poster I thought this Forum did not welcome. From pure blind fanboyism chauvenistic zealotry. And the other posters that applauded this type of behavior are as worst if not more. Because I deplored the trap and i`m Canadian suddenly all Canadian are simple-mind and trying to find loopholes because our teams are losing?
Great Hockey.
That`s all it should matter.
Bull.
Players:
Both Kurri and Tikkanen said at the end of their careers that they'd swop their Stanley Cup rings for an Olympic gold.
Fans:
Whoop-de-doo if Tampa/Toronto/Shanghai wins the Stanley Cup. I can't go around Helsinki giving high fives to anybody and celebrating it. Nobody cares, they'll enjoy it and discuss it, especially if at least one Finnish player was on that cup winning team. We were happy for Kurri, Tikkanen, Lehtinen, Nieminen when theyn got their rings. But that's it.
We won world championships gold in '95. The streets overflowed with people celebrating. Picture scenes of the Red Sox winning, insert that into Helsinki. There you go.
Slovakia won the world championships in 2001, exact same scenes. Czechs won the Olympics in 98, world championships in 99, insert the same scenes.
If Finland wins gold, its a national holiday. You forget about your own problems and celebrate. Max out your Visa to get completely and utterly sloshed. Sing songs, burn Swedish flags (ok not really but.. make jokes about Swedes). If we beat Sweden in the final (all the better), go to Swedish websites, chatrooms and flame away/make fun (this is you're a 15 year old nerd).
Montreal wins the Stanley Cup - Congrats Saku.. that's about it.
Same for Sweden. They win the Olympics? Stockholm will run out of beer before midnight. The stockmarket will go up 10 points for no other reason. Aftonbladet will have a 55 page special detailing each and every single second of the game and the lives of the players. Stamps will be printed celebrating the medal.
Forsberg/Lidström/Näslund wins the cup.. congrats.. but hey, soccer season just started! Go AIK go go go! Walk around town in your AIK shirt, scarf and socks. Insult opposing teams fans..
Wait, there was a Stanley Cup final? Oh, good for Foppa that he got another ring.. so about this seasons football..
It's the same for Swedish players. Why did Forsberg go over to Turin despite not being 100% ? Because he's willing to die for that Olympic gold.
If he get's the Cup and a Olympics silver, he'll consider his career a disappointment as he coudn't help Sweden win best vs best during his era. If he get's an Olympic gold and Philly chrash out of round 1. He'll retire a happy man and a national hero.
There is no parade by x NHL team in downtown Europe (inc Russia) when they win the Cup. There's a million man march through town and the bars if your national team wins Olympic gold though.
Giantsnake made an excellent post. But some of you still don't get it. It makes no difference to us who wins. I consider myself a Flyers fan, and I'm excited when they win, very happy if they get the cup. But I can't celebrate it. It's something intangible to me. So I can't ever reach that same emotional like with the club that I can make with my national team or my local club team.
If you can't understand that. Then just stop where you are, ignore the discussions and think to yourself - I can't comment on this because I don't get it.
Would you comment on a nuclear physics forum about x phenomenon if you didn't understand it? No? There you go.