By now, you are probably sick of reading columns about Sunday’s gold medal thriller from people who were at the game.
Crosby is great. Hockey is our identity. The goal was the defining moment of the Games.
Blah, blah, blah.
So I decided to give you a fresh take from the game that has already been over analyzed. (And yes, I’m blatantly trying to get an endorsement deal with Subway, or at least a free six-inch BMT).
11:07am – Hanging out by the security entrance to the rink and Jason Bateman and Will Arnett walk in with Brendan Shanahan. This is a huge thrill for me, since Arrested Development is one of my favourite shows of all-time. I’ve always been a fan of Bateman, going back to his roles in the 80s. Is this the perfect opportunity for me to pitch my idea for Teen Wolf 3? I have a rough script on my blackberry.
11:33am – Stephen Harper is one row behind me in the press box to do a pre-game interview with RDS. My French is a little rusty, but I’m pretty sure he just said the Canadian government will ask the IOC to prorogue the game if Team USA is leading after two periods.
12:31pm – Jonathan Toews opens the scoring for Canada. I remember Doug MacLean telling me before this tournament started that Toews would become a very key player for Team Canada. I countered by telling him that Brodeur would carry Canada to the gold.
1:07pm – I don’t mind the “Luuuuuu” chants when Luongo makes a save, but do they need to do it when he does simple things like stop the puck behind the net or take a sip from his water bottle? Then again, this is the same fan base that chanted “Luuuuuu” every time Lui Passaglia kicked an extra point, punted from inside his own 20 or trimmed his mustache.
1:28pm – The in-house camera shows a number of celebrities at the game, like William Shatner, Michael J. Fox and Dennis Leary. I heard director Kevin Smith was going to come, but he didn’t want to pay for two seats at this price.
1:56pm – Former NHL goalie Marc Denis is serving as the in-game host on the jumbotron at these games. Bet that’s not how he envisioned being a part of the 2010 Olympics when he was a first round draft pick a few years ago. But I have to admit, Denis is doing a terrific job on the big screen. If he falters, Jocelyn Thibault is standing by to replace him.
2:05pm – Gold medalist John Montgomery shown on jumbotron wearing a Montreal Expos hat. I love any excuse to make a Delino DeShields reference in my blogs.
2:30pm – I start typing my script for my post-game story. Two minutes to go and Canada protecting the lead. What could go wrong? Surely, they learned their lesson from the Slovakia game.
2:33pm – Zach Parise ties the game with 24 seconds left. And every annoying American friend, family member and co-worker of yours sends you a taunting text message, even though they just found out who Parise was.
2:34pm – The second guessing amongst the Canadian fans has started. Why was Niedermayer on the ice? Why was Niedermayer on this team? Didn’t they learn their lesson from Slovakia game? Why were they sitting back? We should have taken Steven Stamkos on this team. Where has Thornton been tonight? Why didn’t Crosby score on that breakaway three minutes ago? Why did Babcock call that timeout? Why is Bergeron on the team? How come Fleury was never considered? Yzerman has some explaining to do.
* 2:47pm – Gene Principe organizes a media pool to pick who will score winning goal in overtime. And for the second time in this blog, I’ll prove how smart Doug MacLean is and how stupid I am: MacLean takes Sidney Crosby in the pool. I take Chris Drury.
2:48pm – Overtime starts. I believe the last time Canada was in an overtime game for a gold medal at the Olympics, Petr Nedved was on our team back in 1994. Was he from Moose Jaw or Lethbridge?
2:55pm – Crosby scores winner. Next 45 seconds is best time to commit a crime in Canadian history.
2:56pm – It’s okay for people in Edmonton to start hating Dany Heatley and Chris Pronger again.
3:03pm – How funny would it be if the Canadian men went onto the ice with Ginger Ale and Popeye cigarettes to celebrate?
3:36pm – Sitting in the press conference room and listening to Ron Wilson. He looks so disappointed. Has nothing to do with the game. He just realized he has Leafs practice tomorrow.
3:57pm – Walking out onto the streets of Vancouver and this is pure chaos. Complete strangers are hugging and giving each other high-fives. This is exactly what we are supposed to avoid, according to the H1N1 pamphlet I was given back in the fall.
4:07pm – Starting to suffer from “I Believe” song withdrawal. I haven’t heard it in 11 minutes.
4:23pm – Sportsnet and TSN, who can resume being bitter enemies, race to be the first network to post projected Canadian lineup for 2014 games in Sochi.