Ek hockey diya patke

At half past six, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the intersection of Hurontario & Burnhamthorpe came alive. In a country where one could be forgiven for thinking cars didn’t have horns, the cold winter air was suddenly rent with a cacophony of honks. A spirited bunch of college kids was going berserk, brandishing hockey sticks & yelling at the top of their voices. Throw in a couple of cycle chains & this could have been a scene straight out of a Captain movie. And then I saw the flags.

It’s been 8 months since I immigrated to Canada & for some reason, I haven’t really allowed myself to assimilate. I still pronounce the second t in Toronto, I don’t go “eh”, I hate Molson & I can’t sing the national anthem beyond the first 2 words. I’m also guilty of the most heinous Canadian crime – Wayne Gretzky? No idea! But when Sidney Crosby slipped in a five-hole past Ryan Miller of the US, I celebrated a seminal Olympic gold with the entire country. I hadn’t watched a single minute of the game, preferring to catch up on the highlights of Tendulkar’s 200 on Youtube instead. But as footage of the sensational extra-time goal was played on television over and over again, it was almost impossible to remain immune to the euphoria. This country has given me a dizzying lake-side view from the top of the CN tower, rising half a kilometre into the sky, and a surreally primal experience at the Niagara horseshoe. And yet, Canada turned just a little more beautiful as she broke into a million impromptu street hockey games, with cans serving as pucks, and little kids handed out flags to the said honking drivers.

Coming against the US as it did, made it sweeter than maple syrup. The big debate over how to judge the better performer at Vancouver – a greater medal count (US 37 to Canada’s 26) or a higher gold tally (Canada’s 14 to America’s 9) – didn’t matter anymore (a debate which according to my mother wasn’t unlike the legendary Senthil-Goundamani 7th pass-10th fail argument). If the highest ever gold medal haul in the history of the Winter Olympics didn’t tip the scales north of the border, the dramatic victory in the Games’ showpiece event surely clinched it. Another loss-of-face defeat for the States following their ground-breaking earth-shattering (for Cricinfo junkies) T20 loss to Afghanistan. Well, at least an American team won the Super Bowl! And with enough Canadians in the side, one of them might even win the Stanley Cup 

Now if only the Toronto Maple Leafs could be persuaded out of the bottom throes of the league. Sigh!