Essay On Gold In Canada

Wally Kozak, assistant coach of the 2002 Canadian women’s hockey team once said, “A gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it.” In the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Canada faced the USA in a gold medal game for women’s hockey. With a silver medal from 1998 and a 35-game winning streak for Team USA leading up to the finals, the pressure was high on the Canadians. After a gruelling match, the weight was finally lifted when Canada won 3-2. [ARGUMENT STATEMENT] Canada winning the Olympic Women’s Hockey gold in 2002 was significant to Canadian identity because of the sense of pride it evoked, its encouragement of women in sports, and the impact it had on international relations between Canada

The Canadian team felt, as intense as ever, a need to prove themselves to their nation, especially after such a harsh loss in 1998. When interviewed by The New York Times about the game, Danielle Goyette from Team Canada revealed that someone said, “If you don't come back with the gold, don't come back.” She then explains that they “wanted to come back home” (Robbins). The Canadian team felt a lot of pressure to win the gold medal, evident through their unwavering perseverance, and this pressure stemmed from the fact that many Canadians take a lot of pride in their success in hockey. Previously, Canada had been known as a hockey powerhouse, however, going into the gold medal game, they were expected to lose. In a recent CBC video explaining the history of the game, players from both the American and Canadian teams explain that going into the 2002 finals, the Canadians were seen as underdogs and had already lost eight consecutive games. The Americans were the better team, beating everyone that they played. This built up a lot of intensity and magnified the rivalry (CBC Sports). In addition to bringing pride and unity to Canadians, the Canadian team's underdog status and eventual victory over