In 2014, I spent a lot of time watching the Winter Olympics. A spectacle of all things chilly: skiing, snowboarding, and, without a doubt, my favorite of them all, ice hockey. My team? The red, white, and blue (and not the one that says sacre bleu).
It was a truly magical experience: the United States, not quite a favorite in a stacked tournament, took up the role of the plucky underdog that they so often are not against fantastic teams like Canada, Sweden, Russia, and Finland. TJ Oshie made his historic shootout run against the Russians just before being smothered by Canada, 1-0, in the semifinals. Maybe they weren't actually underdogs, and leaving empty-handed after a 5-0 beatdown by Finland in the Bronze medal game was seen as a disappointment. Never doubt an American's ability to rewrite history.
But there was a real sense of pride and patriotism, obnoxiously chanting U-S-A, U-S-A in an Uno Pizzeria in Northeast Philadelphia, surrounded by similarly drunken brethren donned in those red, white, and blue sweaters. I was 24 at the time, and felt a deep connection to all things bald eagles, cowboys, and monster trucks.
Then, the world got very weird, and I changed with it.
I do not plan to engage in topics like this often, for reasons I will get into later in the article. But I do feel that, as a blog with (currently) few subscribers and no advertising, this is a space that I can explore a topic I feel very strongly about without fear of not being able to pay my bills or protecting my audience.
I don't want you to assume that I will have any sort of wisdom or advice. If you're like me, you're just feeling a bit lost on how to deal with these conflicting feelings. Maybe it's good enough to know you're not alone, even if that doesn't help rationalize the emotions away.
I studied History in college. It would be a disservice to the many professors who spent their time trying to cram their expertise into my ADHD-addled cranium to assume that the election of 2016 was a surprising event and not one that was entirely predictable as the culmination of a political momentum spanning decades.
Why does this matter? Because you may have noticed the world, and specifically the United States, is in a very shitty spot right now. What are you worried about? Well, sir, open your phone and spin the Wheel of Garbage to see what brand new story will piss you off today.
Like any other person trying to do right while getting by, you try to find distractions. It's a privilege to be able to do so, all things considered, and I'm aware of that, but it helps keep you sane to do all the things required in life and puts up just enough of a guardrail on the edge of that deep, drowsy depression. And one of my favorite distractions in the whole world is that wonderful sport of ice hockey.
And wouldn't you know it, that in 2026, hockey returned to the global stage at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
Over the years, my hockey fandom has evolved; I became more active in following the team around 2014 and trying to fully understand the X's and O's, and in 2021, I started digging into the analytics after discovering that twenty years past when it would have been really helpful to know that hey, I actually like math.
This would have been an excellent opportunity to hunker down, crack a non-alcoholic beer, throw on some turkey dogs on the grill, and cheer for my country just as I did twelve years prior.
Being on the West Coast, it would have been a little crazy to get up at five in the morning to watch the Gold Medal game between the United States and Canada, the rematch that I remember so vividly and have been waiting to relive since 2014. Best on best hockey.
I woke up and saw the score.
United States 2 (OT) - 1 Canada
And I felt nothing. A twinge of disappointment, even. But mostly just...apathy.
Something was different this time. I was different.
Like a lot of people, I have become more aware of the nature of the world, often not by choice. And that radiation of news and books and media had mutated my thoughts into something new: opinions. On things, and even people. Much more than that, I had morals! Those weren't here before, and wouldn't you know it, they do happen to change how you see things.
It becomes really difficult to read the news about American citizens being murdered in cold blood by the government, ordered into cities by narcissistic (and, from all the evidence that allegedly implies) pedophiliac lunatics, before it becomes juuust a bit difficult to don those Stars and Stripes and feel true pride about your country winning a game of hockey.
There are particular rebuttals around this topic that truly bother me, and maybe they bother you on some level. It is the rallying cry typically spouted by either people who truly don't care or by those who don't want you to know what they actually care about deep down.
"Keep Politics Out of Hockey"
Here's the neat thing about politics: it influences everything no matter how hard you try to ignore it.
Those hockey players you're watching and rooting for? Most had their skills developed by private coaches and had the best gear as kids because they came from wealthy families. Notice that every other commercial is a sports gambling ad? Thank your legislators for changing those laws to allow that. Want to watch the movie Miracle that they keep referencing on the anniversary on TV? C'mon.
Ok, so let's say you have the willpower that you can ignore all that. You probably need to think a little bit deeper about the issues to connect those dots, and you just want to watch some big, meaty men slapping rubber pucks. The beautiful ice sport.
So you watch the United States beat Canada in stunning overtime hockey. The victors celebrate on the ice, the losers get handed their Silver Medal and Stoat of Shame, and they head back into the locker room to turn up the music and drink champagne.
And then you see the fucking Director of the FBI, Kash Patel, partying with them.
How on earth are you supposed to ignore that? He's right there, on your screen, and definitely not back in the United States with multiple high-stakes cases ACTIVELY ONGOING.
And sure enough, the President is Truthing out (or whatever they call it on Truth Social) how great the victory is, and chatting it up with the players in the locker room who are all laughing it up and having a great time. And whoops, they just belittled the women's Gold Medal winners.
Sure is easy keeping politics out of my hockey! Can't even look up the players themselves without them taking selfies with government officials actively tearing the copper wiring out of the White House and building enemies lists. Some athletes shove it in your face what they believe in, and it makes it impossible for you to separate the two if you have any sort of care for things going on around you.
And look, I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't absolutely feel differently if it were former President Barack Obama calling them instead of Donald Trump. But the feeling remains: these are different people who believe very different things. And I think those things matter very much.
"It's Just a Difference of Opinion"
What kind of topics you prefer on your pizza is an opinion. Whether you prefer to lift weights or run daily is an opinion.
Whether or not a society should rip kids away from their parents after living in America for a decade is a moral stance.
Often this is bleated out by a certain type of individual who does not want you to actually examine why they believe the things they believe, that your stance on these issues isn't a deep reflection of your moral DNA.
A lot of these types would refer to themselves as empathetic or accepting, not morally judging others for their beliefs. I label them "cowards." At least have the dignity to state your opinions clearly, and if you aren't willing to, maybe examine that.
At the core of every political belief is a moral stance that influences the way you see the world and how it should exist. You aren't a Democrat or Republican by chance or luck. You vote the way you do because you believe the things you do.
And the way the majority of sports organizations votes is very telling in what they believe in as people.
You thought you would read one of my articles and not see a chart? You fool! You foolish fool!
I do not believe for a second that these athletes are all blind to what's going on, so dumb and naive that they just think that this is just some normal president, and how great it is to represent the United States. I'm not saying that all of them are up late on TurningPoint USA's Twitter page, or are watching John Oliver. But I would wager a lot more of them are than you think. It is very telling the way that the very wealthy, very white NHL tends to vote. Hockey has a very stifling, monolithic culture. And yes, I see the very large block of "Independent". Maybe that block votes change from election to election, but call me skeptical that it'll fill you with hope.
If you're like me, who believes in the moral foundations they believe in, it's very hard to justify putting them aside in order to watch a hockey game. I've ended friendships over politics because I think what is going on necessitates clear boundaries on what you are and are not willing to allow in your life.
Yet all of my attempts to rationalize hockey have failed. It's just a hockey game, who cares? It doesn't affect anything. Well, if it's just a hockey game, then why shouldn't I be able to not support it? Shouldn't that be easy to drop if it doesn't matter? You shouldn't allow them to taint the thing that you like. I have suspicions that this isn't a particularly new phenomenon, and that it has always been like this.
I wish I could be spending my time breaking down the players chosen for Team USA (and even Canada), and why I have my gripes, and how I think this will cause a brain worm boom from the conclusions drawn from the results. But frankly, I just feel burnt out with all the surrounding noise. It doesn't make me sad that I can't enjoy hockey. It makes me sad that enjoying it requires me to pretend the world isn't on fire.