The Sport Of Ice Hockey As Canada'S Identity
The 2010 Vancouver Olympics were one of the most memorable Olympics ever for Canadians as Canada broke the record for the most gold medals in one Winter Olympics with 14, and in this essay I will talk about the how the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Hockey coin represents Canada by talking about how hockey at the Vancouver Olympics was a big part of Canada and our identity because it was a moment in time where our whole country came together as one to celebrate a once in a lifetime achievement, not one, but two gold medals for hockey on our home soil as both the men’s, and the women’s teams took home a gold medal.
If someone were to ask me what Canada’s identity is, I don’t think I would be able to pinpoint it to one specific thing. ‘Canada, quite simply, is not a country in search of an identity, contrary to the polemics of poets, pundits and professors’. Canada is unlike any other country, we do not have a specific culture, race or religion that dominates this country. There are so many different things that represent Canadians and that’s what makes this country so great, due to how multicultural and diverse we really are. However, one thing I think all Canadians can agree on is that hockey is something many identify Canada with. You go ask a bunch of people who are not Canadian to describe what they know about Canada, you are guaranteed to hear a couple people mention hockey as part of Canada along with maple syrup, snow, really cold winters etc.
When people talk about Canada, they often refer to our country as a “hockey nation” due to our obsession and dominance of the sport. Hockey is a big part of our identities as Canadians. To us, hockey is not just a sport, but also a religion. Hockey is Canada’s game, although many countries have progressed when it comes to enrollment in hockey as well as how good other countries have done internationally, Canada will always be looked at as the team to beat. While not the entire population of Canada, may play or enjoy watching the sport of hockey, it is still an important part of this country. You see so many commercials and advertisements that strictly link hockey to be a true Canadian mainly from companies like Tim Horton’s. Every hockey player seems to have the same exact story of how they were brought up playing hockey as a child, the 6am mornings, trips to Tim’s before games, backyard ponds and long road trips to tournaments in different cities. In 2004, CBC conducted a national poll of who the greatest Canadians of all time were, and 13 out of 20 of them were tied to hockey.
In 1994, the parliament of Canada recognized hockey as well as lacrosse as the national sports of our country as an attempt to distinguish hockey as Canada’s sport. The group of people that were a part of the parliament at the time that recognized hockey as an official sport, gave four reasons as to why they believed hockey was Canada’s official: (1) the game was invented in Canada and its creation was an important moment in Canada's history; (2) hockey is played and watched by nearly all Canadians; (3) hockey unites all Canadians regardless of their linguistic or ethnic origins and (4) Canada's world leadership in hockey has resulted from the co-operation of persons of various backgrounds and more specifically of English and French Canadians.
