Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998 | 1:42 a.m.
A LOT OF PEOPLE across America were scratching their heads Wednesday, not to mention rubbing their bloodshot eyes, wondering to themselves, "I stayed up late for this?"
"This" was the dismal, underachieving performance put forth by this country's men's Olympic hockey team, a team of highly-skilled, well-paid NHL stars who simply put, went in the tank and failed to deliver.
Not since the 1980 "Miracle On Ice" had this country looked forward to the Olympic puckfest.
In '80, we didn't know who Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione or Buzz Schneider were. In Nagano, most Americans had heard of Brian Leetch, Mike Richter and Jeremy Roenick.
This was our brightest and our best. This was essentially the same group that had dominated the world less than two years ago by winning the World Cup. It was why the NHL consented to take an unprecedented two-week hiatus so the game's elite could be showcased for the entire planet to see.
So what happened?
Hockey is a relatively simple game. Left-wing locks and neutral-zone traps aside, the team that puts the puck in the net more than the other guy wins. And the Americans were unable to light the lamp enough. Nine goals in four games isn't going to do it.
In a short tournament like the Olympics, once you fall behind, it's awfully tough to recover. Sure, the U.S. ran into hot goaltending in Sweden's Tommy Salo, Canada's Patrick Roy and the Czech Republic's Dominik Hasek. But with all the firepower at coach Ron Wilson's disposal, the Americans should have overcome that and at least given themselves a shot.
But they didn't. Where the Canadians have taken this tournament as a matter of redemption for national pride, giving this competition a crusade-like feel, the Americans didn't bring that same zeal to the rink. It showed on the ice.
Perhaps the NHL fatcats should have taken a cue from their female counterparts. The American women played with tremendous intensity and purpose in the first-ever Olympic women's hockey tournament, and they gave the kind of effort and enthusiasm that was reminiscent of Lake Placid in 1980.
The U.S. women played for nothing more than pride, love of country and sport. And to see the American gals wrapped in the flag, hugging and singing "The Star Spangled Banner" on the medal platform, it brought home what the Olympics are truly supposed to be about. You got that warm, fuzzy, patriotic feeling watching that team achieve its goal.
The fire, the passion that we saw with the U.S. women was absent in the men's team. To succeed, you need more than effort. You need that special something to get you over the hump.
And maybe that's the difference. To the Canadian stars, this is a matter of avoiding national disgrace, of restoring national pride, which is why Wayne Gretzky and his teammates still are playing.
To the Americans, this is a matter of disappointment, not disgrace. Which is why they have returned home medal-less.
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