You may not realize that Canada is the country of origin for hockey, because it is so widely played throughout Europe and the United States. Though the international men’s ice hockey world championships are something that many European countries look forward to, the United States’ attention to the event is dismal because its timing coincides with that of the Stanley cup playoffs. For countries with a large number of NHL players, rounding up the best players of the sport is difficult, because many of them are playing for the Stanley cup trophy.
For many years, professional players could not play at the international level; this is no longer true, and as many Europeans play in the NHL, world championships are not made up of the world’s top players any more. Hockey has been a major Olympic sport since 1924 and its country of origin, Canada, took home gold medal 6 out of 7 times that year. Russia won all the gold medals but two between 1956 and 1988, the United States on the gold medal in 1960, and the professional Americans, Swedish, Finnish and Canadian players were all baned from Olympic competition in the late twentieth-century. It was in 1980 in Lake Placid, New York that U.S.non-pro college students beat the Russians in the search for Olympic gold.
It was then that a new surge in the popularity of the game that most Americans weren’t paying too much attention to. The Summit series in 1972 and 1974 had established Canada and Russia as hockey rivals. Following this was the Canadian Cup - where the best of the best nations were able to play. The name of the Canadian Cup was altered to the World Cup of Hockey and following that decision the United States won the match in 1996; Canada won in 2004. The ban against NHL players was lifted from the Olympics in 1998 and top players were allowed to compete against professionals from other countries. There have been 9 women’s competitions and the women’s game has been in the Olympics since 1998 and in the winter of 2006 marked the world championship or Olympic face with Canada and Sweden not Canada and the United States.
Women usually compete just as hard as males in this sport and are really coming into their own. In many ways, however, women still have a long road ahead of them if they wish to be on equal footing. Hockey was always that sport dominated by males and yet women still have long way before they’re really taken seriously. In the U.S.A and Canada, this sport still attracts the devoted following of millions of fans, who regularly break attendance records at sporting events. In the way that many Americans treat baseball, football and basketball, it is also a tradition to go see this sport.
Whether the players are pros or whether they are newbies, hockey is its own little world with its own set of rules. For many, the sport is a very time consuming one that is as much a part of their life as the air they breathe; many are as involved in it day to day as some people are with soap operas. Late night game practices are common among fans of the sport, and rinks frequently hold special hours to stay open and accommodate fans who spend 2-3 hours on the ice.
