Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Ben Johnson

Well, I have finally had a chance to sit down and write this. Life has been hectic lately. But this is one of the few happy things to talk about.

But it finally happened. The heartbreak of 2010 and 2014 finally went away for Team USA Men’s Hockey.

I waited my entire life for this day. I got up real early and was wide awake for this entire game. The night prior, I saw a game that was very fitting with the Illini blowing a 23-point lead and missing a bunch of free throws to lose. Sound familiar? Anyway, this hockey game was one of the craziest ones I’ve seen. I was confident about the team from the start. The women’s team beat Canada in overtime days prior for the Gold medal. I was ecstatic.

But this one was deeper emotionally. The women have won Gold in ’98 and ’18. So I’ve seen that. I wasn’t alive in 1980.

A team that was well-coached and had the chemistry. It’s a shame our other teams aren’t well-coached or have players who will actually do what they need to do to win a game.

I saw the Blackhawks win three Cups last decade. I saw the Bulls win all six as a child. This Gold that Team USA Men’s won is right up there. It’s my team. Hockey is the only Winter Olympic sport I watch. Basketball for the Summer games. I’ve seen Team USA Basketball win countless gold medals. This was the only one missing.

I’m happy I witnessed it.

This entry was posted on February 26, 2026 at 4:38 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.