WEST VALLEY CITY — In Vancouver, they're going mad with joy. In Toronto, they're dancing the night away. In Montreal, they're speaking in even more than two languages.
And in Detroit, they've decided not to overturn any cars.
So there's THAT good news for the Americans.
The gold medal women's hockey game was all it should have been Thursday night. Nobody held back or gave up. Nobody tossed down the gloves. Canada's 3-2 win wasn't decided until the final seconds, when it held off the USA's last desperate attempt at a shot.
All was well in Canada. The skating pair had its gold medal and the women's hockey team had one, too. Things can now get back to normal, which in Canada means having the best hockey team in the world.
It's been a long four years in the Land of Gretzky and Lemieux, particularly if you're Gretzky and Lemieux. The Canadian men's team has gone 50 years without a gold medal. It wasn't that long for the women — it only seemed like it. In Nagano, 1998, the Americans offended every maple-leaf-red-blooded Canadian. They took away their claim.
On Thursday, the Canadians got back what they felt was theirs. When the medals were awarded, both teams had trouble keeping their composure. The Americans wept inconsolably after losing to a team they had defeated eight straight times. The Canadians wept with relief.
Losing to the Americans once in a gold medal game was bad enough. Losing twice would have been unforgivable.
"Losing to the Americans . . . has been an emotional roller coaster," allowed Canadian forward Cassie Campbell.
The intensity of the USA-Canada women's hockey rivalry is no big mystery. For starters, they don't have anyone else to compare. It's like the race for space in the '60s — only superpowers competing. Everyone else is just spectating. In earlier rounds of the 2002 Winter Games, the Canadians beat up on their opponents by a composite score of 32-3. Not to be outdone, the Americans won by a cumulative score of 31-1.
That didn't leave much doubt as to who should be playing in the gold medal game.
Women's hockey, it should be noted, owes its existence to the American and Canadian women. Four years ago, it barely registered on the radar screen — until Canada and the USA met in the championship game. When the Americans won, that meant the media in general, and NBC in particular, were obliged to make a big deal. Suddenly people knew Cammi Granato and, well, at least Cammi Granato.
Since then, it has primarily been a waiting process for Round 2. Neither team lost a game in between Nagano and now, except to one another. In fact, they have never lost to anyone else. Ever. Canada owns all seven world championships, but until Thursday, America had won the only Olympic gold medal. Also, the Americans won 35 straight games, including eight in a row over the Canadians.
Americans were calling the streak over Canada "momentum."
Canadians were calling it "exhibition play."
Along the way, neither team made any concessions. They're bitter enemies, joined at the hip. They can't live with one another and can't live without. Canada was once the best team in the world; then Team USA came along and butted in line. When the teams warmed up Thursday, they pointedly ignored one another.
It probably didn't help that Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser predicted that the USA wasn't up to the pressure of defending the gold medal. "I don't think they can handle that," she said earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, America's Sarah Tueting offered a thinly veiled reply: "We're scary good. Sometimes, I'm like, wow, we're phenomenal. So I think our biggest challenge is not worrying about Canada and what they're saying, but getting all 20 players showing up on Thursday."
As it turned out, everyone showed up, but it still wasn't enough. Canada skated better, played better defense and was stronger in goal. It acted like the best team in the world. It even spent 14 more minutes in the penalty box.
Didn't matter.
Because somewhere in the past four years, the Canadians figured something out: When it comes to hockey, beating the Americans is difficult, but it's a lot easier than explaining a loss.
E-MAIL: rock@desnews.com
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