GOLD!

GOLD!

A spectacular hockey Olympics ... every game was a nail-biter.

But Team USA was destined to win ... it was their time, and from the looks of the USA Hockey "Brotherhood", as Jack Hughes called them, every country, most especially Canada, has to now pay attention to the new Big Dog.

Canada put its best on the ice, but the best wasn't good enough to win.

But it did give all hockey fans a chance to see a young Canadian boy, only 19, play with and against seasoned men and excel—dominate isn't too strong a word. The teenager led the tournament in goals and shots on goal.

In 4 years, will all Olympic hockey medal hopefuls be 25 and under?

Honourable mention has to go to Bill Guerin, the Team USA GM and architect, who received lots of criticism for his Olympic team selections - he must have known something nobody else did. His team had lots of firepower, and their chemistry was very evident.

The game's winning goal scorer and remarkable patriot, Jack Hughes, who so succinctly and enthusiastically explained in the post game interiview, his devotion to his country, his teammates, and the USA Hockey program.

I thought of all my American friends who were watching this and their pride in this young spokesman for the team, and, thinking back to 1980, the remarkable evolution of the sport in the USA. 

50 years ago, US Division One Universities and colleges and state universities and colleges' hockey programmes were populated with Canadian student/players. Today, that's not the case, and those same institutions have built the foundation for success with their programs that have resulted in this Olympic win ... the first gold medal for hockey since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.

This was the Olympic Games.

For many Americans, these Games were a very unique sports experience ... it wasn't about your favourite college team or your favourite professional team or your city or your state; it was about your country. 

You and your friends and your neighbours and everybody in your city and your state and your country cheering for the same thing ... YOUR Team.

FUN FACT: The American hero of this monumental hockey series was Orlando, Florida-born Jack Hughes. However, he (and his brother) were classmates of my grandson, who went to high school in Mississauga, Ontario. My grandson described Jack as not full-of-himself and presented himself as a professional with no issues ... he knew he was destined to be an NHL hockey player." 

When he confidently looked into the camera on Sunday, post-game, he made it cool to admit he was proud to be an American... It's what the Olympic Games are all about.