Team America

Okay, Team USA Hockey, I’m disappointed.

While the internets, Alison and Lindsay, and our twitter feed is all a flutter with Team Canada’s Olympic Camp, all we’ve got from Team USA are crickets.

Now we know that hockey is the #4 sport in this country and we’ve reluctantly come to terms with this but the appalling lack of coverage is making us feel decidedly less patriotic.

TSN has got all the video & interviews.  All we got was Dustin Byfuglien’s man boobs.

Look, we get that Team Canada has a disproportionate amount of talent.

We get that their roster looks like the next season of “The Bachelorette.”

We get that the Olympic gold medal is theirs to lose.

But come on! Don’t forget about the Red White & Blue!

Hey thurrrrrrr….

Team USA does have one very important thing going for it.

Forty-eight of the players that showed up to Kettler Ice Plex in Virginia this week have played together on a US National teams over the course of their careers.  In fact, when team gear was passed out this week, there were no name tags.

Everyone knows each other. Everyone is friends. It’s all just one big happy family.

Team USA has an average age of 24.6 years old.  Zach Parise and Dustin Brown are considered the “veterans”.

They are 29 and 28, respectively.

Nine players from the US team that won bronze at World Champtionship as well as players from the team that won gold at World Juniors were all invited to camp.  There is John Gibson, age 20. And Alex Galchenyuk, age 19.  Jacob Trouba, age 19.

With the exception of the young whippersnappers, many of the returning players were on the 2010 team that suffered that heartbreaking loss in Vancouver.  You know that their collective disappointment over that being so close to the gold medal is going to fuel their fires.

Although they won’t be able to skate during camp due to insurance issues, the team will have plenty to do during camp – one-on-one meetings with Coach Dan Bylsma, team bonding, braiding friendship bracelets and making smores by the campfire.

Team USA will be at the Washington Nationals game tonight, so if you happen to be there and see  Ryan KeslerPatrick Kane,  Jonathan QuickBobby RyanKeith Yandle or any of the other guys, say hello.  Give ’em a high-five and one of these.

I’m sure they’ll appreciate your patriotism.

AMERICA!!!

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Leave a Reply

  1. Cassy Reply

    If I didn’t have to support #TeamCanada (scary Canadian grandmother and relatives), I’d be all over Team America: World Police like a rash.

    After all, you have Ryan Kesler’s AWESOME musculature

  2. Amanda Reply

    If American Universities decided to start AFTER Labor Day, I would totally be WUYS’s Team USA Correspondent.
    But no. Of course I was forced to miss something so fabulous happening basically in my backyard.

  3. Casey Reply

    ‘MURICA! Is it to early to start chanting USA USA USA?

  4. Beth Reply

    Chuck, how could you leave out former Foxy Friday Ryan Callahan?

    • Oops, totally forget the 2nd half of the roster. As you can see, I’m totally into this team. :-/

  5. Pants Reply

    I have to admit the best thing about Team USA is the gif of Riley in National Treasure. I shouted, “Albuquerque! Snorkel!”

    I like these guys, but not enough to drive the entire 14 minutes from my office to Kettler. Maybe on a weekend, but I’m away next weekend, and… perhaps this is the truest American support I can give Team USA, one based on my inherent laziness and overwhelming desire to vacation.

    Remember, I got in trouble last Olympics for my reaction to Crosby’s Golden Goal. I don’t intend to contain myself this time around either.

  6. Sabrina Reply

    I suck when it comes to computers…. but on Instagram, there’s a picture of Paul Martin from yesterday on “Pittsburgh Penguins”…. It’s not Team Canada… but it’s something 🙂

  7. I have total faith in Team USA, even though I *HATE* their jerseys (they look like something Ralph Lauren would design after he’d had a stroke). Team chemistry is everything (along with pluckiness & heart), and Team USA has it in spades.

    Are they accepting applications for curfew/bed check monitors? Otherwise, I’m happy to volunteer to be a WUYS Team USA correspondent. 🙂

  8. Amy Reply

    There’s a nice piece in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Paul Martin: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/olympics/penguins-martin-still-chasing-his-olympic-dream-700860/ (Super cute pic from his first bid doesn’t hurt, either.)

    Would love to see this smart, steady D finally get his shot, especially after his struggles a couple years ago and how hard he worked to return to form in Pittsburgh. A gold medal for Team USA, perhaps followed by a Stanley Cup for the Penguins a few months later, wouldn’t be a bad high point to that redemption story…

  9. Liz Reply

    Alert: Maybe it came after this was posted, or maybe you just didn’t see it, but there’s some Team USA video up on NHL.com, and I also saw some stuff on individual team sites – featured interviews with their own potential US Olympians and the like. Off the top of my head, the Pens and Wild both had two tabs of their little home-page slideshow things devoted to Team USA, and no Canada!

    Haven’t done the cross-referencing to see how much the NHL site differs from the team-specific stuff, but… it’s maybe a start?

  10. Becca Reply

    It’s so sad how little Team USA is putting out compared to Team Canada…I mean, I get that hockey is Canada’s sport but it’s still so sad…and the jerseys! omg I HATE the jerseys!!! I think I’ll be wearing my Quick jersey while watching the games….

  11. 'drea Reply

    Has there been a Team Sweden orientation yet?

  12. Melissa Reply

    I went! I have a bunch of photos, but they are all pretty bad quality, as they were taken through netting during the intro ceremony.

    I got there super late because 295 was a friggin parking lot, so I didn’t get to meet a bunch of the players who mingled earlier on. (I am devastated about not getting to meet Paul Martin or Beau Bennett)

    I got to meet Yandle and Broshie, though! They were super sweet and Broshie is seriously as pretty irl and up close as he is in pictures. (Sadly, I didn’t get any pics of meeting them)