* Us Versus Them
By: Nadya Semenova
Tags: Life Lessons, Self, Fans, Sports, Difference

Is patriotism a must for hockey fan allegiance?

Image by Anastasia Borisova from Pixabay and Photo by Tetyana Kovyrina from Pexels

The goal of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union was to establish once and for all whose game hockey truly was. I had been too little to realize what’s happening but the tone of voice in which the beloved Soviet sports commentator Nicolai Ozerov called Canadians the “professionals” had seemed menacing even to me. I asked my parents: “What’s a professional?”. “The professionals play hockey for money”, my father said. “While the Soviets are all amateurs and compete for the love of the game”, my mother chimed in. As a school teacher, she had never missed a chance to educate.

Canada had won that first battle for hockey supremacy, but the lesson I learned was rather personal. As a good daughter and an exemplary Soviet child, I eagerly absorbed the notion that there’s no glory in doing your work just for money's sake. I’m still struggling with the influences of my upbringing, as even joining the partner’s program on Medium has left me a bit apprehensive. Hiding behind a paywall seemed incredibly capitalist. A more conscientious person would’ve given her writing for free, and to anyone in need. But that’s a whole different topic for another time.

When I came to Canada my whole world turned upside down. I wasn’t prepared for the love Canadians had for hockey. I learned that, just like the Soviets, Canadians had stuck to the TV screens during the Summit Games, feeling heartbreak or elation depending on who had won the match. We were the great enemy, the enemy you couldn’t help but respect. They were the mean, physical “Canadian Professionals” for us. We were the skillful, team-oriented “Red Machine” for them.

The coexistence of the two once opposing strategies is obvious in modern hockey. To become a professional, the player has to be not only skillful, mean, and physical but dedicated and passionate as well. The only caveat is that in Russia of today, most of the public’s attention is given to the talent when in Canada, everything is about work ethic and tenacity. And what’s interesting, the arguably best Canadian player Sidney Crosby doesn’t look like a physical specimen. In fact, his skill set and hockey IQ are more in tune with the Russian players of old. At the same time, the brilliance and physicality of the Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin would make him a perfect fit for the Canadian team circa 1972.

For a while, I kept rooting for the Russians, my national pride swelling whenever the sound of the old Soviet anthem — with rewritten modern words — would blare over the ice rinks. However, the longer I lived in Canada, the less I knew the Russian players. I discovered some new players to root for, and not all of them were Russians. For instance, one of my recent favorites is an American Auston Matthews. The thin line “Us versus Them” becomes even more blurry when anyone from my home team Toronto Maple Leafs plays in international competitions.

In the end, simple arithmetic wins every time. I tend to support those I know. I’m better with people than with faceless concepts anyway. This is why my patriotism steps aside in favor of the love for the game of hockey.

I won't know much about the youngsters participating in this year’s Ice Hockey Under 20 World Championship, so I’ll be rooting for a grand finale where Canada plays Russia. I will brace myself and concentrate on the thought that the great game of hockey will prevail whoever wins. Because in my case it will be a game of Us versus Us, the best against the best. And may the most worthy win!