As I write this column, we are nearly one month away from the 2014 edition of the Olympic Winter Games, taking place from Feb. 6 to 23 in Sochi, Russia.
And to be honest with you, I’m already pretty excited about it.
Now to be fair, I’m not expecting things to be as crazy as it was in Vancouver back in 2010 when seemingly everyone across the country was in a mad search for red mittens, mainly because the time zone difference will cause a little bit of chaos for those who want to stay up and watch the events.
But still, this is the Olympics and since it comes around every four years, I am expecting a lot of people to mess with their sleep cycle.
Now obviously, the main focus will be on the men’s hockey team, as the best players from the National Hockey League (NHL) will look to repeat as gold-medal winners once again.
I mean, when you have a forward core that could potentially have Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Jonathan Toews on it, I would be pretty pumped up too.
But for me at least, the women’s hockey team is just intriguing, especially given the recent event that has surrounded them.
On Dec. 17, former Hartford Whalers star player and recently fired Florida Panthers Head Coach Kevin Dineen took over the national program from Dan Church, who had resigned a week earlier because he felt that there was ‘a lack of confidence in his ability to lead the team to a gold medal.’
So when Dineen had his first game behind the bench against the United States in Grand Forks, N.D. on Dec. 20, I was curious as to how things would transpire.
That contest ended with a 4-1 loss to the States and featured a late game brawl between the two countries, which left me with more questions than answers.
With that said, all of the intrigue around what could happen with the winners of the last three women’s hockey gold medals has me curious as to what might happen if Canada ends up struggling on the world’s biggest stage.
The amount of different storylines in the other sports, such as skiing and figure skating, will be pretty big as well, but out of every single sport at this year’s games, I’m most excited about the men’s curling event.
Now granted, as a curling diehard, I would be excited for anything involving one of my favourite sports.
But what makes this Olympics special is the fact that my hometown team from Sault Ste. Marie, skipped by defending Tim Hortons Brier champion Brad Jacobs, will be representing Canada.
To see that team, which includes third Ryan Fry, second EJ Harnden, and lead Ryan Harnden, actually get to be the faces for our country is something that I’m still wrapping my head around.
For the most part, it’s the curling teams from the major cities that get those opportunities, and I could never imagine that a team from my hometown would get the chance.
But now that is happened, I am already planning to dress myself in all things Canada and get up at the wee hours of the morning to watch Team Jacobs in action.
And if they can win a gold medal, that’s just the icing on the cake.
