A sad loss

I once heard Jerry Seinfield talk about winning the silver medal and what a drag it is because you lose the game. Well, Canada finished second here in Davos Switzerland, in a game we should have won because we did outplay our opponent. But you know, the luck didn't go our way in the last half of the game. Just to recap--we played Russia and lost that game 5-0 but that was okay because we knew we had one more game in the round robin and if we won that then we would be in the final gold medal game. That game was last night against Berlin and Canada played awesome. So...today was the big game. And we were against Davos the home team. The arena was packed and the Davos fans were wild. Man, can they yell and sing and whistle. Canada scored the first two goals, and I honestly thought we were going to win. Then Davos scored. The score stayed 2-1 for the longest time then Davos scored again to tie the game. Okay, so now I'm on the edge of my seat because we have lost our two goal lead. When they scored their third goal, we were crushed because Canada had been outplaying them but couldn't get the bounce. The puck would hit the post, crossbar or the Davos goalie would make some stupendous save. The breaks weren't going our way. The fans yelled for the entire last two minutes of the game, and I mean yelled. I have to say, it was such exciting hockey. Two of our players collided and both ended up in the hospital, which seemed to make our team lose a bit of momentum. Anyway, we lost 3-2.
Now, to discuss winning and losing. I've been there for both. In Salt Lake City 2002 we won both the mens and womens hockey and it was fabulous, so exciting, adrenalin flying. But then when you lose, the adrenalin rush is turned into something that I almost can't describe. Your stomache aches and you can't help but say, "I can't believe we lost." The thing is you learn as much from losing as you do from winning and you have to keep saying that to yourself, but at the moment that's tough to take. I'm a competetive person and I like to win so losing is hard--and I'm not even one of the players. We Canadians love our hockey and we like to win. Our son was stick-boy for this team and he had to listen to the dressing room talk after the game. Of course it would have been way more fun if they had of won but they didn't so maybe he learned something. Anyway, to me Jerry Seinfield is right--the silver medal is a tough one to take.
I hope you have enjoyed my recapping of this tournament. DAvos is a beautiful little town, the ski hills are fabulous and the weather has been amazing. So all in all, my trip has been great, despite the loss.
And it's New Year's Eve so have a good one!

Davos switzerland

Hello, Well I promised to write from Switzerland! We've been here a few days but had a little trouble hooking up our internet. Davos is a beautiful little Swiss town in the heart of the Alps. WE flew in to Zurich and drove two hours to get to Davos. The Spangler Cup is a great sporting event and the people inDavos are crazy, crazy fans. They take seats out of the arena and everyone stands. They are packed in like sardines. And they yell. One guy brings a huge set of drums and then there is another guy with a massive cow bell. They sing and whistle--an extremely high pitch whistle. It is crazy. Canada beat a team from Sweden the first game and then last night we beat Davos--the home team. The fans were so mad at the refs they booed them and I mean booed them. And when our goalie--Justin Pogge who was on Canada's World Junior team and he wrote a quote for my book--is in the Swiss end they scream at him. They were so mad at the refs in the Davos game and they were booing them like crazy. The atmosphere is so crazy in Europe. Pat Quinn is coaching and his wife Sandra (a great lady) fell and broke her wrist yesterday. She's a trooper though and now is walking around with a cast on.
We've been really busy with outdoor sports. Outside our hotel is a huge ice rink--I've been told one of the biggest in the world. Today the speed skaters were out practising. I'm not quite as fast as they are! And we went tobagganing. NOw, this is not your regular run of the mill tobagging. We rented sleds and took the chair lift to the top of the ski hill. Then there are these tobaggan tracks and you sled down. It is so fast! You have to dig your feet in to slow down. At first I freaked I was going so fast. My hubby crashed. He flew off the edge. He wasn't hurt and our kids thought he looked a little funny rolling off the sled. It is a crazy thing to do but tons of fun. And...we also went skiing at Parsonns ski hill. It was fabulous even though there is not tons of snow. There are lifts everywhere. And you can actually ski down to the town of Klosters which is around 13 km away. We made it to the halfway point because of the snow situation and caught the gondola back up. I love all the trams and gondolos. You can also catch one from one mountain peak to the next mountain peak. I think we will ski again, try another area. There are so many ski areas and they are situated so close to each other.
Time to go! Say it with me. GO CANADA GO.
I'll update ou tomorrow after we play the team from Russia. And after I've eaten my first Bratwurst and had my first fondue!!!

I won't be home for Christmas!

I can't believe that the last time I posted was November 28th! Here it is December 18th already. Christmas is in one week. Every year time seems to move faster and faster. I won't be home for Christmas! On December 23rd we're heading to Davos, Switzerland for the Spangler Cup. This is one tournament I've never been to. Maybe, just maybe, I'll come up with some new ideas for hockey books!
I've been going online to check out the snow situation there, since Davos is a ski town. (Anyone been there? Can you tell me some good tips--skiing, restaurants, shopping, etc.) So far there is not a lot of snow but...I'm hoping for a white Christmas and a chance to ski the alps. On January 1st I'm heading to Paris with my two daughters and my hubby and son are heading to Sweden for the World Junior hockey championships. I will try to blog and tell you about Switzerland and Paris. So...I won't be home for Christmas.
But we had a small family Christmas last weekend. My sister-in-law Linda and nephew (Ian Schultz, a budding actor who I'm sure will one day be in the bright lights), and my sister Val from Vancouver all came in for a visit. We didn't do the turkey but certainly did the sweets and festive drinks. It was great to say Merry Christmas before leaving.
I'll be taking some books to read. Right now, I'm reading an Agatha Christie--They Came to Baghdad--and loving it. I'm finding it interesting to read about Baghdad in the early 50's. Even though this is a light mystery, it still documents Baghdad in the 50's. And now that this city has been somewhat destroyed it is important to grab whatever there is on what it used to be like. Agatha Christie puts in quite a bit of description about setting. I always appreciate this in a book--novel or non-fiction. She has a great scene in the book about "air travel." I loved the part when she talked about how when they were in the air everyone lit up a cigarette. Times have changed--thank god. I think copyright on this book is 1951. During busy seasons I love mysteries as they are easy to pick up and put down. And I think I might pick up another Agatha Christie because she has one titled Passenger to Frankfurt. Or does anyone know a mystery set in Paris?
I went to see The Christmas Carol at Theatre Calgary the other day with my sister. What a brilliant production. The sets were phenomenal. And they used the original Dickens script. I enjoyed that. He was an amazing writer.
I promise to blog more once I'm in the air. I'll let you know if global warming (I think climate change would be a better slogan for global warming) has taken over Europe and I'm skiing on grass instead of snow!
Merry Christmas Everyone!