Canadian Women's Ice Hockey Team Celebration

Canada's women's ice hockey team defeated the US women 2-0 for the gold medal in Vancouver at this year's Winter Olympics--a feat which in itself wasn't so shocking or controversial. Their celebration, however, caused plenty of stirs in the media who covered the game and the subsequent aftermath. The Canadian women stayed on the ice for over an hour drinking beers and smoking cigars. The mass media and, of course, the IOC had a problem with this and turned it into a big deal when I'm not so certain their frustration is worth the fuss. First of all, the women weren't celebrating like this in front of any of the spectators who had attended that night's game. Only arena staff and media were there at the time, and if they had celebrated like this in their locker room, (where there would still be media and staff present) nobody would have cared. If there isn't anybody there watching then there isn't anybody to set a bad example for. Secondly, the American team had already left, so it isn't a matter of poor sportsmanship. I believe that people chose to make such a big deal over this because it was the women's team who was drinking and smoking to celebrate, not the men's team, and that's not how women "should" act. Personally, I don't think they care whether they come off as ladylike or not and they should be allowed to celebrate however they want. The only true "problem" I can see with their celebration is that Marie-Philip Poulin, who is 18, was drinking while the legal drinking age in British Columbia is 19. But come on... now we're just splitting hairs.

Ingemar G.
Kin 338i class #6398