http://msnbc.com/news/710734.asp#BODY Hey, I root for Canada. I don't know anyone who was a problem with our cool neighbor. What's his deal? Feeling a little pressure, maybe?
Yeah, I read he was trying to take pressure off the team and put it on himself. Escpecially since its the Canadian papers that have apparently been ripping the team the most.
Definitely! There is BIG pressure on this team. This is our sport afterall, and we haven't looked good at all. There is a precedent for this too. In the landmark 1972 Canada-Russia hockey series, Phil Esposito made a passionate outcry in the press that seemed to motivate the team. We'll see if Gretzky's remarks have the same effect today. GO CANADA!!
I hate how all of the media keeps focusing on Gretzky. They keep interviewing him, showing him at the games, and act like it's his team, when he doesn't even play for them. How about showcasing the players that actually play, not the guy that's sitting on the side lines watching the games.
What a baby! The Americans hate us...boo hoo! What the hell is he talking about? It sounded like he was ranting about the US completely hates Canada. If so, then why did we care so much about the damn figure skating fiasco. Every country wants their own country to win at any sport. I didn't know I was supposed to be pulling for the Canadians over my own American hockey team. Excuse the hell out of me. Has the American media been blasting the Canadian hockey team or something? Canada takes hockey way too seriously and it shows. Take a chill pill, Wayne. Geez
He has every right to be pissed what a cheap shot on Fleury and reporters are talking smack about the Canadians So all them haters will see us Canadian take home GOLD! Muahahaha
Bah, then get pissed at his own country, because they were the ones ripping the Canadian team the most. The biggest story of these games was the figure skating controversy, the Canadians are probably the third biggest hockey story so far in the States. Anyway, USA will win gold, so I roll my eyes at thee.
Well, it seemed to work. But those of you who followed him in the NHL will remember that his detractors called him "Wayner the whiner," so this is not new for him. (Yes I'm a Calgarian, and my favourite team is whoever is playing against Edmonton, so what. He was the greatest, but he whined. ) But I think it was a planned attempt to motivate the team.
in a way it is his team, though. He was actually in charge, if not solely then with the help of others, of putting together the roster of Canadian talent. So, if they struggle, he'll take some of the heat for the pseudo GM work that he did. I agree that he was likely trying to deflect some of the pressure.....also, some of it may have been getting to him, and he melted down. Probably a bit of both. Any superstar is going to catch all this media attention. What michael jordan did for basketball, Gretzky did ten times over in Hockey. If the dude is at a local high school hockey game, just hanging out, it's gonna be a story....
On the contrary, I thought Gretzky's remarks were very uncharacteristic of him, which is why his words carried that much more weight. I'm not sure about the whining reference on the Great One, but he's always been humble (asides for his infamous Mickey Mouse comment in the mid-80s) and very diplomatic. A true ambassador to the game. As for the "blaming America" part, I don't think that was the case. He was by no means saying the U.S fans or fans are evil or anything, but he was angry at the U.S media for some of the remarks they were making about the Canadian team. One sheepish comment in particular from an NBC announcer that very day was what he was primarily referring to. And his "everyone is against us" rant didn't mean just "Americans" as some of you seem to have interpreted, but pretty much the entire hockey world, Canadian fans and media included who have been very critical of the team at times. The simple fact is that in Hockey, Canada is still the country who everyone is trying to beat, despite our lack of success the last half-decade or so, and American Chris Chelios said as much to his Detroit Red Wing teammate and Canadian Steve Yzerman, half-jokingly saying Gold isn't as important as beating the Canadians. There is some truth to the notion. Besides, the crux of his comments were focused on the Canada-Czech game, where one his players was illegaly hit without any penalty or suspension. He even said, "if that were a Canada or an American, he would have been gone for the tournement." Just wan't to bring a little clarity to Gretzky's comments, before people start calling for his head. His main intention was to a) take some of the pressure of his players; b) try to get them motivated and leap-frog the precious team-building stage in a few days and c) to vent off some well-reasoned steam. Azim da Dream
I was joking. He is a truly class act. He did whine at the refs a fair bit though, thus earning the Wayner the Whiner moniker.
With only six powers in World Hockey, success has to be measured in golds, not medals in the Olympics since half the good teams get medals. Its been since Oslo 1952 since Canada took home the gold if I'm not mistaken. That's a wee bit longer than half a decade onless I just missed one. I believe Great Britain won in 1948 to put this cold streak in perspective.
Yes that is true Joe Joe. But you fail to acknowledge that the world's Hockey Powers were unable to send their pro players to the Olympics prior to 1998. This no doubt affected Canada the most, with virtually all its good players playing in either the NHL, AHL or other pro leagues. Up until 1980, there were very few American-born players playing in the NHL, and it was not until the late '80s that Europeans players made up a significant portion of the league. Therefore, the Russians, Swedes, Finnish and Czech's were able to send their best players to the games for the better part of the last 50 years. Consequently, Canada took home Silver in both '92 and '94, when the other nations were unable to send the majority of their top players. And while the Olympics are obviously the best gauge to measure a nations success, it is certainly not the only measure. If you go by World Championships, World Junior Championships (which Canada won 5 in a row of in the mid to late-90s), Canada Cups and Summitt Series', Canada has been the most dominate over the last 50 years, asides for the last 4 or 5. Azim da Dream
A little off topic, but did any of you watch the Woman's Gold medal game...Might be the worst example of clearly biased officiating I've seen since the last time I saw Jordan play...Do you realize that Canada was playing a man(woman) short for almost 1/3 of the game? And that at one point the head official, ( coincidentally an American ) called the Canadian team for EIGHT straight penalites...all in all, the penalty margin was 28 mins Canada, 6 mins USA...That is incredible, and any fan of hockey will tell you that 8 straight penalties is unheard of. Beyond the fact that an American official was refereeing a Gold Medal game in an American site, which is questionable enough, the final numbers are startling..and if you watched, the WHEN and HOW these calls were made was very...er..timely, let's say. I'm not an advocate of Gretzky's "poor Canada!" whine, and at first dismissed the complaints I heard about the womens game as more of this, but when I saw the numbers, and then watched the game (taped) I was stunned...and what is more, the fact that NO American source has ven mentioned this discrepancy is amazing me further still... Can you imagine if the U.S. team was in a 1 goal Gold Medal game, in Russia, and the head official was Russian, and on the way to a 28-6 penalty minute differencial in favor of the Russians the Americans were called for 8 straight penalties at a key period? It would be Hockeygate... Any thoughts?
