The Jetpacker

I’m surprised we survived the walk back to our room with thousands of daggers sticking out of our backs that were shot out of the eyes of Canadians.

After the Team USA hockey team defeated Team Canada 5-3 in a game that the whole country shut down to watch, Canadians glared at us the entire way back to our room.

It was the longest 10 blocks we’ve ever had to walk.

The streets of Vancouver have been loud and lively since we arrived.  Not this night.

It was as silent as a graveyard.

Thousands of fans in Canada hockey jerseys walked aimlessly down streets like zombies.  As much as we wanted to cheer and wave our American flag proudly, we refrained.

Yet we still had to endure the death stare.  For a few hours after the game ended, Canadians looked at us as if the Team USA hockey logo was a swastika.  It felt wrong to wear such a thing in Canada where hockey is life, where anything other than a gold medal is considered a failure.

Now we know what Team Canada's hockey team feels like with the weight of the world on their shoulders.

That’s why we made our best attempt to conceal our grin and hide our USA paraphernalia under our nondescript coats.  But even a glimmer of red, white and blue was enough to warrant consternation.

As much as love our team, we feel a little guilty.  Hockey is Canada’s game.  Their fans are more passionate about hockey than any other country.  And disrupting their dream of gold feels like committing a crime.

But it’s not over yet.  USA may have won this game, but it’s only the preliminary round.  Canada still has a chance to win gold.

As long as both hockey teams win medals, we’ll be happy.

The competition is stiff, however.  Today was called Super Sunday in Canada.  It’s like Christmas and Super Bowl rolled in one.  The hockey schedule featured rematches of the last three gold medal games: Finland vs. Sweden, Russia vs. Czech Republic, and the obvious headliner, USA vs. Canada.

Every team has a legitimate chance to win gold.  And every game was huge.  So today was considered a wash since we spent most of it inside a sports bar watching the first two games on the line-up instead of exploring the city.

Rotating projected advertisement on the side of a building downtown.

We called G Sports Bar, voted best sports bar in Vancouver, early in the morning to get a table.  We got the very last one.

By the time we got there, we were relegated to a small table in the back room.  They must have known we were American.

For most of the Russia vs. Czech Republic game, it was just us.  The closer we got to game time, red jerseys and Canadian flags started to pour in.  Just before game time, we were surrounded by 200 or 300 die-hard Canada hockey fans.

And we were the only Americans.

Uncomfortable?  You betcha.

Fortunately, most of ‘em were pretty cool.  A talkative flight attendant named Stacey spent equal time talking to us as she did her own group.  A rowdy group of early twenty-somethings said, “I have respect for you guys.  You’re brave.”  And our waitress jokingly said she would check on us throughout the game.

We sat at a table decorated with 20-year old hockey cards featuring players from teams that don't even exist anymore like the Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers and Winnipeg Jets.

Before the game started, it was all fun and games.  The rowdy group got a kick out of us shyly waving our American flag.  They even took a picture of us that I’m sure will wind up on the internet photoshopped with us with devil horns and a moustache.

The closer we got to the game, fun took a back seat to competition.

The chants of “Go Canada Go!” just before puck drop we’re deafening.  And the nervousness was so intense that we couldn’t stop drinking water to alleviate dry mouth.

Less than a minute into the game, USA silenced the crowd with a huge goal.  We cheered and waved our cowbells… until we realized the entire room was glaring at us.

When Canada responded to tie the game at one, the eruption of excitement rumbled through the walls and shook our table.  You would think by their celebration that everyone in the bar won the lottery.

But seconds later, the celebration turned to frustration as USA scored again.

The entire game was just like that.  Back and forth.  On pins and needles.  It was one of the most thrilling games we’ve ever been lucky enough to watch.

There was plenty to cheer about for both USA and Canada fans.  And for the most part, everyone was having a good time.  Even though we were nervous as hell.

A girl from the rowdy table would occasionally come by and playfully growl at me like a jungle cat.  She did, however, say she would come by and purr if Canada won the game.

When a scrum broke out on the ice and all the Canada fans jumped out of their seats hoping for a fight, our waitress ran by our table and said, “Don’t worry, that’s just on the ice.  That won’t happen to you.”

The last few minutes of the game were the most intense we’ve ever experienced.  After Canada scored to cut the USA lead to 4-3, it was a nonstop barrage of scoring opportunities for Canada.  Chairs were on the verge of breaking from fans jumping out of their seats and then plopping back down when US goalie Ryan Miller pulled off some spectacular saves.

When Vancouver Canucks player Ryan Kessler scored an empty net goal to salt the game, the bar deflated.  The rowdy group turned from fun to angry.  And honestly it felt a little dangerous.

We avoided celebration and quickly paid the bill.  We hoped to make it out of the bar quietly and safely, but as soon as our seats screeched across the wood floor and echoed through the room, a guy yelled “Hey!” in a not so pleasant tone.

Uh oh.

We turned to him, fearing the worst.

He smirked and playfully said, “Nobody beat them up on the way out.  They’re cool.”

The fun we had experienced before the game started was restored.  The room laughed and the frustration of a loss began to fade.

Before leaving the bar, another guy said, “You guys can have this one, but we’ll win gold.”

We might be okay with that.  As long as the US wins a medal too.