In 1998, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back. Their legendary (although steroid fueled) home run race captivated our country, and was the springboard that launched Major League Baseball out of the hole it had dug itself during the 1994 strike shortened season. Sunday's hockey game between the United States and Canada will do the same for the NHL.
Not too long ago, there was no hockey in America. The lockout that cancelled the 2004-2005 season left hockey enthusiasts wondering if the sport would ever rebound, and put the sport in jeopardy of being removed as one of the "big four" in the United States (basketball, football, baseball, hockey).
Hockey returned for the '05-'06 season, but it wasn't the same. Gone was ESPN's hockey game coverage (Sportcenter still showed highlights, however brief), and mainstream media seemingly didn't care that the Carolina Hurricanes hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2006 (does anyone remember OLN??).
Since that time, the NHL has been gaining steam. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have provided the league with superstar appeal and intrigue, and Detroit and Pittsburgh have added excitement, suspense, and star-power to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Sunday's game was what put the NHL over the top of the mountain. Everything leading up to yesterday helped inch the NHL closer and closer to the peak, and USA/Canada provided the necessary shove over the top.
Yesterday was not comparable to Lake Placid in 1980 (nothing will ever compare to that game), but it was a start to a new era of hockey. Look at the star power that yesterday's game had - Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Jarome Iginla, Chris Pronger, and Rick Nash for the Canadian team (those are just a few), and Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, and Patrick Kane for the Americans. The point I'm getting at is that hockey at its highest level was on display yesterday. The excitement and suspense added to the intrigue of the matchup, and I don't doubt that the NHL will reap the benefits going forward.
In 1998, McGwire and Sosa were the heros. In 2010, Ryan Miller and Sidney Crosby have to be considered the heros. Miller has become the face of the United States hockey team, and has let the world know that he is currently the best goaltender on the planet. Without him, the U.S. team wouldn't have come close to the gold medal game. Crosby is Canada's favorite son. He's not "The Great One" but instead he's simply "The Next One," which is a title that adequately salutes his skill and ability without unfairly comparing him to #99. He needs a new nickname though - despite being only 22 years old, "Sid the Kid" seems far too juvenile for someone who has already hoisted a Stanley Cup and won a gold medal.
Four years after the strike-shortened season, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back. Five years after a cancelled season, the NHL is back...thanks to the Olympics.
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