can we please completely drop this topic???? Seriously, the same crap has been going ON and ON for the last 2-3 weeks. Forsberg is playing, end of story, can we just focus on the Flyers for a change...Anyone else sick and tired of this same argument???
can we please completely drop this topic???? Seriously, the same crap has been going ON and ON for the last 2-3 weeks. Forsberg is playing, end of story, can we just focus on the Flyers for a change...Anyone else sick and tired of this same argument???
Of course the swedish media wants Forsberg to participate, can you blame them? (I don't blame N.A media for writing otherwise.) I thought Clarke talked about the teams managements. But whatever, it isn't that big of a deal.
I find it very amusing how incredibly serious people from the European countries find the Olympic hockey games. Whereas I'm watching this, and the one and only thing I'm worried about is our guys getting hurt for a pointless tournament. The concept of competing nationally is too large a concept for me to care who wins or loses. Too big a place, too big a distance.
In the USA/Finland game, I was rooting for Nitty.. The Flyer.. I could have cared less if USA won or lost the game. I just wanted the Flyers to do well. Yet people from Sweden, Finland, etc seem to take this very seriously. Does it diminish the importance of it knowing that the teams you are beating don't care nearly as much about it?
I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, just trying to ask a genuine question here. Trying to understand the difference in opinions out there, the whole thing.
As for pride... Our country is run by George Bush.. Why have pride in that? It's a country full of people both that I love and people that I hate. To group them all together like that as the "USA" kinda makes me sick. Too many idiots to want to be grouped up like that.
I find it very amusing how incredibly serious people from the European countries find the Olympic hockey games. Whereas I'm watching this, and the one and only thing I'm worried about is our guys getting hurt for a pointless tournament. The concept of competing nationally is too large a concept for me to care who wins or loses. Too big a place, too big a distance.
In the USA/Finland game, I was rooting for Nitty.. The Flyer.. I could have cared less if USA won or lost the game. I just wanted the Flyers to do well. Yet people from Sweden, Finland, etc seem to take this very seriously. Does it diminish the importance of it knowing that the teams you are beating don't care nearly as much about it?
I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, just trying to ask a genuine question here. Trying to understand the difference in opinions out there, the whole thing.
As for pride... Our country is run by George Bush.. Why have pride in that? It's a country full of people both that I love and people that I hate. To group them all together like that as the "USA" kinda makes me sick. Too many idiots to want to be grouped up like that.
Sincerely,
Frank
Great post, I feel the exact same way even though I am European.
I am pretty sure other Europeans wont think that it dimishes the importance but I would personally feel that way, this olympics for example seems to be more of an afterthought and would certainly dimishe the importance, at least for me it would.
Patrick kluviert was the worst soccer player I ever seen play. He always missed the goals and choked in big games. Bobby clarke was better in soccer than him.
Patrick kluviert was the worst soccer player I ever seen play. He always missed the goals and choked in big games. Bobby clarke was better in soccer than him.
I guess you missed his Champions League winning goal in the 84th minute then or his four goals in the European Championships quarterfinals against the former Jugoslavia? Also, for someone that doesn´t score according to you, its amazing how he is third all-time in goalscoring for F.C Barcelona and first all-time for the Dutch National team.
I am not familiar with Bobby Clarke´s soccer skills so I will not make any ill advised and uninformed statements that Patrick Kluivert is the better soccer player, if anyone with legitimate sources can be of assistance please step forward.
Now, lets get back to the original topic shall we.
This thread should be put out to pasture. It is based on a half-truth (and gorilla dust).
Aren't people ever concerned that they might not have enough information to provide thoughtful insight? It's fine not to have all the facts, but one's opinion should reflect that absence of information.
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Example: If Clarke criticized European representatives for merely doing their jobs and is angry over Forsberg's decision to participate in the Olympics, then I think he's way off base.
Discussion: I don't know if the European representatives were "merely doing their jobs," of if they were going overboard in the pressure they were putting on NHL players to compete. I suspect Bob Clarke is probably in a better position to know what goes on around his locker room. Just a hunch. But I still don't know, so I should qualify my opinion with a whole bunch of "if A is true, then I think B."
In this case, I'd look like an idiot taking a stance when I don't really know the entire story. Any opinions I provide should express my lack of intimate knowledge on the topic.
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The large, self-aware brain and the thumb are all we have people. If you're only using the latter to hit the space bar and throwing caution to the wind with the former, why even exist?
can we please completely drop this topic???? Seriously, the same crap has been going ON and ON for the last 2-3 weeks. Forsberg is playing, end of story, can we just focus on the Flyers for a change...Anyone else sick and tired of this same argument???
PLEASE STOP! This has really gotten out of hand. I respect Fopps'a decision, I respect Clarkie's concerns. I respect anybody who is willing to pay back the system that nurtured his immense talent, and I respect Clark's burning desire to win the Cup for the team that has been his employer (almost) since he was 17.
Hiow did we get to the point that anyone who disagrees with what we believe is a bad person, or selfish, or has a hidden agenda.
Good luck Foppa and Nitti, tough tournament knuble, Esche, Gags, and hatcher. Nedved, Pitkannen, Sami...I respect your decision.
I find it very amusing how incredibly serious people from the European countries find the Olympic hockey games. Whereas I'm watching this, and the one and only thing I'm worried about is our guys getting hurt for a pointless tournament. The concept of competing nationally is too large a concept for me to care who wins or loses. Too big a place, too big a distance.
In the USA/Finland game, I was rooting for Nitty.. The Flyer.. I could have cared less if USA won or lost the game. I just wanted the Flyers to do well. Yet people from Sweden, Finland, etc seem to take this very seriously. Does it diminish the importance of it knowing that the teams you are beating don't care nearly as much about it?
I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, just trying to ask a genuine question here. Trying to understand the difference in opinions out there, the whole thing.
As for pride... Our country is run by George Bush.. Why have pride in that? It's a country full of people both that I love and people that I hate. To group them all together like that as the "USA" kinda makes me sick. Too many idiots to want to be grouped up like that.
Sincerely,
Frank
Yeah, I found myself rooting for Nitty, because he is a Flyer and I thought it would help the Flyers if he played well at the Olympics. Likewise, I have been pulling for Sweden all along because of Forsberg. My love for the Flyers and their players transcends culture. I'd certainly rather have a Stanley Cup for the Flyers than the US get a gold medal at Hockey or any sport. Sorry if that offends. I can't help it, cheering for Philadelphia teams is genetic. I mean, who would choose to root for a city of teams that haven't won a championship since 1983?!!! (Not including the Phantoms).
Yeah, I found myself rooting for Nitty, because he is a Flyer and I thought it would help the Flyers if he played well at the Olympics. Likewise, I have been pulling for Sweden all along because of Forsberg. My love for the Flyers and their players transcends culture. I'd certainly rather have a Stanley Cup for the Flyers than the US get a gold medal at Hockey or any sport. Sorry if that offends. I can't help it, cheering for Philadelphia teams is genetic. I mean, who would choose to root for a city of teams that haven't won a championship since 1983?!!! (Not including the Phantoms).
Add the Philadelphia Wings (6 championships) and the Philadelphia Kixx (1 championship) to you r list of teams that have won since 1983.
I'd like to see Finland win the gold over Sweden for the simple fact that I have watched Niitymaki's game develop since his first game as a Philadelphia Phantom. It's pretty amazing that Finland is in the position that they are in given that Niittymaki was their 4th goaltender choice behind Kipprusoff, Lehtonen and Toivonen.
I was born and raised a Flyers fan, have been watching them play since I was old enough to open my eyes. I have to say, I was rooting for most of this tournament for Nitty to be a huge success because of the effect it could have on the remainder of the season for the Flyers. It could propel him into stardom back in the NHL. He won a championship at the AHL level, then maybe a gold medal.. Next on the list would obviously be a Stanley Cup.
But like I said before, an international tournament is just too large a scope for me to care. But I'm assuming that the other European countrys have home clubs of their own. But their interest in the national tournaments doesnt seem to wane at all.
We're not even talking about fairweather people in the states, people who don't care about hockey in general. I know people say nobody cares about team USA because nobody cares about hockey. However, I'm finding even people who are hard core hockey fans arent even rooting for the USA. Such as myself, who has lived and breathed the sport, played it, coached it, been involved at every level of play, has no interest in the olympic tourney at all in terms of country pride.
I just don't understand it and would love to hear peoples and players interest in it.
On a weird note, I loved the movie Miracle about the 80 US team. But... That was a story of David VS Goliath. Cold war, etc. That stuff doesnt exist anymore, no more us vs them. It's not like the Iraqi olympic team VS team USA (wouldnt that be a trip? heheh, I'd be afraid the GM would get blown up if the team wasnt any good)..
I find it very amusing how incredibly serious people from the European countries find the Olympic hockey games. Whereas I'm watching this, and the one and only thing I'm worried about is our guys getting hurt for a pointless tournament. The concept of competing nationally is too large a concept for me to care who wins or loses. Too big a place, too big a distance.
In the USA/Finland game, I was rooting for Nitty.. The Flyer.. I could have cared less if USA won or lost the game. I just wanted the Flyers to do well. Yet people from Sweden, Finland, etc seem to take this very seriously. Does it diminish the importance of it knowing that the teams you are beating don't care nearly as much about it?
I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, just trying to ask a genuine question here. Trying to understand the difference in opinions out there, the whole thing.
As for pride... Our country is run by George Bush.. Why have pride in that? It's a country full of people both that I love and people that I hate. To group them all together like that as the "USA" kinda makes me sick. Too many idiots to want to be grouped up like that.
Sincerely,
Frank
No it doesn't diminish it, you can make that argument for almost all international tournaments. Some countries think it is less important than others. And I would say that all european countries sees the olympics as something big, and if you add Canada(not the fans) that always want to win, you have a hard competition. What the fans feel, isn't as important to me.
Also you can just look at how big countries like Sweden, Finland, Czechs, Slovaks are as compare to USA. USA have a much easier time to find challanges within their own country rather than looking at their neighbours.
Bobby Clarke voices his opinion and he is pressuring Forsberg. Every Swedish hockey fan and newspaper from here to Kiruna screams that he should screw the Flyers and play for his country, but yet they do not put pressure on their players.
The question of pressure is a foolish one to pursue, IMO. BOTH sides put pressure on Forsberg. The Swedish media screamed and Snider hung his paycheck and the notion of "not being fair" over Forsberg's head. Both sides did the same thing, and neither is "guilty" of anything because both are simply looking out for their own interests. It seems to me the question of playing injured had FAR more merit than a debate over pressure.
Swedish fans and Flyers management must quit grumbling about this. As has already been stated: "Get over it. They're there... They're playing."
I guess you missed his Champions League winning goal in the 84th minute then or his four goals in the European Championships quarterfinals against the former Jugoslavia? Also, for someone that doesn´t score according to you, its amazing how he is third all-time in goalscoring for F.C Barcelona and first all-time for the Dutch National team.
Look it's just like this arguing with you. btw what happend to you when sweden won the gold? You shoudl congratulate henrik for his awesome game.
