[OILFAN #81]

Originally Posted by pylon

On my way home from a late night beer league game, I was listening to the Fan960, and the talk time that Jason Smith was giving to US Hockey was pretty impressive. He gave team USA a 30 minute segment, which I think was the most I have ever heard ESPN radio commit to anything Hockey related. Albeit Jason Smith is an admitted "Puckhead" it was refreshing to hear, instead of 2 hours of dissecting junk time in random meaningless NBA games.

Much of the content was:

- How stunning defeat was.
- Excitement of the game.
- How US team made front page news in many major US markets and websites.
- Depth and chemistry of team without superstars.
- Comparison to Miracle 80 team.
- How exciting Hockey is in contrast to other sports.
- How the American public doesn't know what they are missing.
- Lots of Ryan Miller best clutch Goalie in the tournament comments etc.........

Anyway, if this US team can make a miracle run, it would be awesome for the NHL, desperately looking for fans in US markets. In the big picture, this would be far better for the game long term, than a Canadian Gold, as much as I want to see Canada bring it home. Regardless of a Canadian win or loss, we will still be massive fans of the game. A US Gold could give a much needed shot in the arm to NHL teams south of the border.

I think we will see a Canada-US rematch in the semis. You heard it here first.