When I was a kid, I remember somebody knocking the European players in the NHL, saying that they didn't play all-out in the playoffs because the Stanley Cup didn't mean anything to them. I don't remember if the criticism specifically said that the European guys cared more about Olympic medals or if that was only implied. (I also don't remember the critic...sounds like something Don Cherry would have said, but I wasn't able to find anything with a quick Google search.)
Anyway, I was reading a few of the "what went wrong" columns in the US and Canadian papers today. I can't help but wonder if maybe you could apply the logic of the obnoxious criticism...maybe the European players have more motivation than the North American guys when it comes to the Olympics.
I don't necessarily believe that. I also don't necessarily think that not winning a medal has to boil down to "what went wrong," either. Maybe the other teams are just better?
Posted by Nic at February 23, 2006 12:59 PM | TrackBack