The US proposal against Finland was downright disgraceful, writes Jussi Paasi.
16.5. 23:17 • Updated May 16th. 23:36
Tampere is the hockey capital of Finland. Tampere is also the wing capital of Finland.
Black sausage is the king of traditional Mandelic delicacies, but the importance of chicken wings in the local food supply is undeniable.
Hockey has attracted tourists to Tampere and Helsinki, but some of those who came to the World Cup have asked primarily after restaurants.
This is what my colleague, who knows a few players who came to the World Cup from North America, said. Canada was asked where to find the best restaurants and nightclubs in Helsinki. An acquaintance of mine instructed Canadians to turn to a person who is well acquainted with Stad’s nightlife.
The USA will play their first division matches in Tampere. I bet Yankee players have already visited the local wing restaurants several times already. That is worth doing.
After Monday night, it must be said – unfortunately – that the US players only have to be in Tampere because of their wings or something other than hockey. Such an indecisive, downright disgraceful performance was seen from the USA.
So it’s not my intention to moralize the way players play entertainment during the World Cup, so to speak. Vice versa. That is more than understandable. And underlining at the same time, I’m not claiming, I’m not even suggesting the U.S. team behaved badly or did anything stupid – out of the trough.
Usually, the US and Canadian World Cup formulations are as follows:
1. Take the first week casually, get to know others and the race city. Let’s have fun. Let’s eat and enjoy. The matches of the first series of the World Cup will be played.
2. The second week is spent more closely focusing on hockey. That’s when the players ’spouses and families also often come to the competition venue. There is a significant drop in the amount of pleasure outside the trough.
At the World Cup, you can do that. Canada as a good example in last year’s World Cup. The opening series was playfully catastrophic, but so only the maple leaf shirts eventually won gold.
North American teams come to the World Hockey Championships from quite different starting points than Finland, for example.
A group of lions camped together for weeks before the start of the tournament. There are enough common experiences both on and off the ice. It has been a significant resource for the Lions for years.
In the US, the opposite is true. They have not spent much time together before arriving in Tampere. And then point 1 above is extremely important.
I wouldn’t write such a comment if the US had just played poorly. I write this because my Lion opponent has focused on everything but playing hockey since the beginning. To the idle bulging, macho that could act as a deterrent a couple of decades ago. In 2022, it will be miserable.
Useless pigs, pounding after whistles, constant mouth ringing. The U.S. coaching leadership focused all its efforts on appealing to the judges. Maybe it would have been worth thinking about how to get your own team to play hockey.
The encounter between Finland and the USA, ie the major countries in hockey, should offer the public a high-quality start at the World Championships. Or even something like that. Now there was only one hockey team on the ice. The US blamed the game.
Greetings to the US team: The World Cup can – and should – be entertained and devoured by wings, but the game should be remembered.