Toggle sidebar

Who do you root for in the Olympics?

  • Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
Nino33 said:
I don't like this myself, as I'd want everyone to play everyone once (I really don't like it mattering so much what group you're in, or one fluke game having the significance it would in such a scenario)

The best setup the NHL ever had IMO was the 21 team NHL where everyone played everyone 4 times (2 home/2 away) and then for the playoffs every round it was the top seed versus bottom seed, 2nd best against 2nd from the bottom, etc

I think everyone playing everyone is the closest we can get to a real competition, and anything else has the rules/setup playing to much of a role IMO



I honestly hadn't thought it out that far HaHa but I wouldn't be against it (and I wouldn't really care much how many teams were in such a qualification tournament, as they won't be in any gold medal game regardless)

To be honest it doesn't make much difference to me...my whole hockey watching life (since 1976) it's been the same teams that battled for the top

I don't watch the lower teams play (even against Canada) as I find the games really boring and would rather do other things.....the reality for me is when I was younger I'd watch all the hockey I could, now I don't as overall I find modern hockey (international or NHL) boring; the NHL regular season is meaningless to me and I'll watch some of the playoffs but by later in May/June I almost always choose to enjoy the weather outside/do other things
Click to expand...

Fair enough, you make some good points about fairness of the format, even distribution of games etc. For me elimination games ratchet up the intensity of international hockey just like the playoffs do for the NHL. If you want to win you're going to have to go through good teams to get it. I'd rather have the good teams earn the right to play when it matters. I think you also have to acknowledge the vast improvement in various national teams competitiveness since 1976.
 
HankHenry said:
I think you also have to acknowledge the vast improvement in various national teams competitiveness since 1976.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, but they're still the same teams at the top; Sweden, Finland and the US are for sure all better and have "closed the gap" between themselves and Canada/Russia

Czechoslovakia no longer exists; I don't think either the Czechs or the Slovaks are as good as Czechoslovakia was in the 70s (maybe they would be if they were still a single entity, I don't know/haven't thought about it)

I don't know how good any of the teams/nations below the ones mentioned above are, but IMO they're no more relevant now than they were back in the 70s (they haven't looked like they could truely be a top team in the last 40 years, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if things don't change much at the top over the next 40 years; I simply don't see Germany, Switzerland, etc as likely to be challenging for top spot in my lifetime)
 
I concede the point to you that the separate nations of Czech Rep. and Slovakia are not as strong as the combined Czechoslovakia. That said the Czechs did win gold in Nagano on their own and both nations are capable of contending for a medal in any given tourney. I think both Germany and Switzerland are stronger now than they've ever been and along with Denmark (admittedly missing out in 2018) can provide competitive games to the top teams and potentially challenge for medals. I think the Swiss in particular are on the cusp of elite status and seem to have high end prospects every year for a while now. Countries like France, Norway and Austria have also had dramatic improvements and with further exposure to the game at the highest level they could also challenge more established nations.
 
Any hot underdog. Last IIHF i rooted for Hungary.

Also Finland an underdog? Podium finish in 5 out of 6 Olympics since 1994 Lillehammer.
 
HankHenry said:
I concede the point to you that the separate nations of Czech Rep. and Slovakia are not as strong as the combined Czechoslovakia.
Click to expand...
I LOVED Team Czechoslovakia in the 1970s (Dzurilla was one of my favourite goalies)

I idolized international hockey and the players/leagues/tournaments in the 1970s and into the 1980s....the more the European/Russian players played in the NHL, and the more international tournaments became teams of NHLers, the less and less I cared about international teams/leagues

I feel blessed to have seen what I consider "the golden age" of international hockey


P.S. I'm not in any way trying to bring up politics regarding the change from Czechoslovakia to the Czech Republic and Slovakia (I don't know the details anyway) - I'm just fondly remembering a team and players I idolized in my childhood...Dzurilla, Holeček, the Å ťastný brothers, Nový, Pouzar, Martinec, Hlinka, Bubla, Chalupa, and more!
 
Canada for me obv cause I'm Canadian and patriotic. After that US (our closest allies) then any underdog.
 
Canada, if they get knocked out I don't care and don't root for anyone though there is some I don't mind winning more then others.

But I'm definitely not rooting for some long time has been country who thinks they are still actually a top team with players that bolt to the KHL once they don't get their way.
 
1) USA, because I'm American
2) Whoever's playing against Canada (it's not personal, just that seeing Canada win invokes a feeling of "Oh damn, not again.")
3) Underdogs
4) Not Russia
 
Germany until they are inevitably out. Then Russia until they are inevitably out. Then I'll probably stop caring, since it's in an inconvenient time zone anyway. Otherwise I'll make it up on the spot or apply HF Canes bandwaggon principles and root for whoever eliminated my team.
 
Fantomas said:
I'm definitely not rooting for a bunch of boring guys saying "eh".
Click to expand...

the-eh-team.png


This should be sent to you after a 3rd straight Olympic Gold next February.
 
Nino33 said:
I LOVED Team Czechoslovakia in the 1970s (Dzurilla was one of my favourite goalies)

I idolized international hockey and the players/leagues/tournaments in the 1970s and into the 1980s....the more the European/Russian players played in the NHL, and the more international tournaments became teams of NHLers, the less and less I cared about international teams/leagues

I feel blessed to have seen what I consider "the golden age" of international hockey


P.S. I'm not in any way trying to bring up politics regarding the change from Czechoslovakia to the Czech Republic and Slovakia (I don't know the details anyway) - I'm just fondly remembering a team and players I idolized in my childhood...Dzurilla, Holeček, the Å ťastný brothers, Nový, Pouzar, Martinec, Hlinka, Bubla, Chalupa, and more!
Click to expand...

You sure you were not just young? Most find their childhood hockey the "golden era".
 
Darth Yoda said:
You sure you were not just young? Most find their childhood hockey the "golden era".
Click to expand...
I absolutely 110% stand behind my views as expressed; it had nothing to do with being young

For me modern hockey's incredibly boring, the goaltenders all look the same as they play the same "wear ultralight oversized equipment and block space" style (I was a goalie, loved the goalies as a kid), I miss the hard hitting forechecking style (when players never turned their back to opponents because they knew it was stupid/dangerous), I miss an era where defensive systems weren't the way everyone played and "chip it in" was considered the neanderthal way of playing and passing/carrying the puck into the offensive zone was praised (I can't believe that chip it in, skate fast past a defensive player, and then corral the puck while turning your back to defenders in the "you can't hit me now pose" is considered offensive talent!), I miss international leagues/tournaments being exotic/special...and I could go on! HaHa Modern hockey looks like ringette to me, and goalies are essentially shooter tutors, and watching games is as exciting as watching paint dry or grass grow

Seriously, if I was a kid now I'd have zero interest in hockey


P.S. I also love/loved music (both listening to and playing/I play multiple instruments) and IMO the era of my childhood was awful for music (and IMO "the golden era" of music was around the time of my birth and when I was to young to know about it, or maybe even well before I was born).....video games are way better now than they were in my childhood.....I definitely think thoughtful/intelligent people can make determinations about what they like/liked best without childhood nostalgia being the significant/deciding factor
 
Last edited:
I'm not emotionally invested in international hockey the way I am in NHL games. Usually I don't have a favourite team per se. Just favourite players, and players I actively follow.

That's why I think the World Cup was a lot more exciting than the snooze fest that was Sochi.
 
Lari said:
I'm not emotionally invested in international hockey the way I am in NHL games. Usually I don't have a favourite team per se. Just favourite players, and players I actively follow.

That's why I think the World Cup was a lot more exciting than the snooze fest that was Sochi.
Click to expand...

Olympics is olympics. No way the World Cup could be any better.
 
If Canada were eliminated, I'd probably cheer for Sweden or Finland.

In the case of Sweden, many of my favourite players over my lifetime have played for Tre Kronor.

And I admire Finland because hockey is their #1 sport and they play with a lot of passion.

After that, I'd probably cheer for the United States because I know it would mean a lot to them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Ad

Ad

Top Bottom