The black gloves and helmets littered the corner of the ice. The sticks were strewn about, joyously tossed aside as the mob of white and red jerseys piled onto each other against the boards.

The giddy hollers and yelps of Canadian fans, who only ten minutes earlier were gagging on their beers wondering if their team squandered away a gold medal, filled the arena.

Just under 7:40 into overtime of the Gold Medal hockey game Jarome Iginla fell against the offensive boards but sent a perfect slip pass to a streaking Sidney Crosby, who slipped a brilliant wrist shot passed tournament MVP Ryan Miller to give the Canadian’s the gold on their home ice, prevailing 3-2 against the U.S.

The goal was another feather in the cap of Sid the Kid, whose Canadian lore grew Sunday to near Gretzkian levels. He beat the goalie who was nearly unbeatable. He stood the star in a star-studded lineup.

But he had to do it against one of the feistiest teams to ever lace up the skates.

The Canadians boasted 14 All-Stars, the U.S. had two. The names on the back of the red and white jerseys were familiar to almost every sports fan, the names on the backs of the blue jerseys had to be googled. Canada had hardy vets, the U.S. had young bucks.

But for 67:39 both teams put on a show that will be remembered for years to come as the game that might have brought hockey back in North America.

A week ago, after the upstart Americans squashed a Canadian team crumbling under the weight of its own pressure, many compared it to the 1980 U.S-Soviet game. It was a preposterous comparison. But in a sport with few world-wide tide-turning games in its history it was the only comparison the general public could comprehend. An upstart young team defeats the old pros. Now we have a new comparison.

The U.S. team came to the Olympics as an afterthought. After Sunday, they are stubborn heroes who defied critics and never gave up. Even when they were two goals down to the best team in the Olympics on their opponents home ice.

The Americans made many mental mistakes in the first period and a half. Silly turnovers in their own end, players getting caught out of position, ill advised passes in the middle of their own offensive zone. You don’t win against good teams if you beat yourself.

But after going down 2-0, the pressure seemed to fade from the Americans and we saw the scrappy, free-flowing attacking style of play that brought them to the gold medal game as the No. 1 seed. When they finally realized that Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo couldn’t control anything that was shot his way faster than 5 m.p.h. they started peppering him with shot.

Patrick Kane zipped a wrist shot at Luongo that hit Ryan Kesler on his way to the net and slipped past the net minder. 2-1 score. Game not over yet.

The back-and-forth play of the third period was one of the most exciting 20 minutes of sports in the last decade. Hard checks, tape-to-tape passes, gutsy blocked shots, superb goaltending, and a few assistast from the trusty goal posts.

But with under a minute to play team USA still trailed by one goal. But they didn’t quit. In a game where they trailed for the first time in the tournament, the team that was labeled as too young, forgot that you aren’t supposed to come back against the favorites in the deciding game.

With their best player, Miller on the bench for an extra skater, the pests went to work on offense. And when Luongo again failed to corral a shot from the point, the boys in blue made him pay. Kane corraled a puck in the slot and whipped a shot on net that Luongo not surprisingly couldn’t control leaving a gift for Zach Parise to pound home.

Parise epitomized the effort given by the U.S. team. He was all over the ice, diving for pucks and forechecking like one of the Canadians stole his lunch money. His goal sent a cheer throughout the United States, and sent the celebrating Canadian fans back to their seats.

Then with 7:40 into Overtime, Crosby dashed the American’s dreams of gold.

There are no points for second place, no one likes a loser and moral victories are for soccer moms. But every American must be proud of the effort this team showed.

No one would have thought twice if they had packed it in agasint a more talented team after they went down 2-0. But they didn’t. They proved that while we marvel at the superstar athletes, it is the gritty grinders that make sports enjoyable for all fans.

In a sport that is often criticized for being unexciting, Sunday proved that belief faulty. In a sport whose main professional league is floundering on the outskirts of popularity, this game might have saved it.

There is nothing Americans love more than normal average Joes who go out and give it everything they have, even against all odds. And while this was no junior hockey team on the ice, they didn’t have the big names. But I’m guessing a few more fans in New Jersey know who Zach Parise is today. A few more people in Northern New York know who Ryan Miller is.

And come NHL playoff season, maybe, just maybe, a few more people will tune in to see someone other than Sidney Crosby hoist the Stanley Cup.

*************************************

Kevin Patra lives by the adage: Those who can’t do or teach, write.  Currently, he is a grad student at the University of Southern California studying online journalism, after spending four years at the University of Michigan obtaining a bachelors degree from the school of Language, Science & Fun. Patra grew up listening to Red Wing games on the radio when his parents thought he was sleeping and considers using the troughs at Joe Louis Arena as one of the most traumatic experiences of his childhood.

Related posts:

1. ⊚  Purple Fries To Celebrate Gold Championship Rings
2. ⊚  Proud to Be Relevant…I Mean American
3. ⊚  Passing Time During American Past Times
4. ⊚  72 wins possible, but unlikely
5. ⊚  A Look Back at the NHL All-Star Game