The Worst 26 minutes I’ll Never Remember
Hockey Debris – Photo by Stephen Desroches
For me, those terrifying 26 minutes of World Junior hockey never happened. I have no idea what happened, other than the re-run highlights I’ve seen on TSN. For me, Canada is still winning 3-0, and I’m a happy Canadian.
I’m not delusional, and I’m not angry. Why? Because I didn’t see the “collapse.” I turned off my TV with 6:04 left in the second period, walked out my door with a smile on my face, got in my car, and drove to Memorial Arena in Chatham to coach a practice.
You see, I know Canada lost, but I didn’t feel the pain of each goal jabbing into our collective Canadian side. What I remember thinking, and what the 15 die hard teenage Canadian boys surrounding me thought, was that I was playing a practical joke on them when they first heard about the score.
About halfway through the practice, one of the boys stated he wished he knew the score of the World Junior gold medal game between Canada and Russia, so I opened my Blackberry to find a text message waiting for me, it said, “3-3, 12 min left. Russia scored 3 goals in under 5 mins.”
I thought they were joking, but they provided some pretty specific details. I told the boys, and they called a bluff. What we didn’t realize, is that I had received that message nearly 30-minutes prior. I responded, “Updates please.’
Which was followed by a short, unsweat, shocking response,
“5-3 Russia. Game over.”
I told the team, and Memorial Arena was filled with more displeasure and cries of agony than when our own team loses. As I drove home from the rink, the radio was using phrases like, “worst Canadian collapse in history,” and “worst meltdown ever witnessed at the World Juniors.”
By the time I reached my TV at home again, shakey voiced teenagers were telling their country why they lost, how such a collapse was possible, and how they felt. I felt disconnected from it all though, because I had missed those last 26 minutes. The worst 26 minutes I’ll never remember.
From the game, I took two messages. One, Team Canada is just a bunch of teenagers, and the intense pressure we have placed on our young Canadians to win, regardless of circumstance and regardless of their competition, is unrealistc. Two, in sports, especially hockey, anything is possible.
I’ve watch teams get down and hang their heads, giving up in simpler situations. The Russians proved however, that even against mighty Canada, no lead is insurmountable. Five shots is all it took, and five shots is all they needed.
Canada needs to take a collective breath though, because these are only teens. Stop blaming Mark Visentin, Ryan Ellis, or Brayden Schenn for playing less than amazing in the third period.
Why do we have to word the occurence as the “worst Canadian collapse in history?” Why don’t we call it the “best Russian comeback in history?” Or the “greatest comeback ever witnessed at the World Juniors?”
It doesn’t matter to me, nor did the game. We lost. They were the better team. Those 26 minutes are a part of history now, Russian and Canadian. Call it what you may, a stunning collapse or a stunning comeback, but give the kids a break.
Those 26 minutes are not for us to judge, criticize, or analyze, the players and coaches who lived it will be doing that for the next 26 years, so let’s just forget it, leave it to the experts to learn from, and go on with our lives. The media crucifixion of these young athletes is unfair. I’m sure all they want to do right now is to turn off their TV’s, go for a drive, and pretend like those 26 minutes never happened. If only life were so easy.
Let the games begin.