We just witnessed something rare and beautiful at the Winter Olympics: Team USA won gold in both men’s and women’s hockey — back-to-back, overtime thrillers over Canada, the sport’s biggest rival. The women set the tone with a 2-1 OT victory, after which the men did the impossible. Their first Olympic gold in 46 years, achieved after a Jack Hughes goal in extra time, despite playing through a brutal high stick that knocked out several teeth.
Hughes didn’t talk about politics in the locker room after that. He spoke about love of country, about his teammates, about American hockey with the kind of authenticity the moment deserved. “This is all about our country now. I love America,” Hughes said. Chills.
For years, elite athletes have been pressured to speak on behalf of causes – to take the stage as a proxy for political movements that many are not even aware of, let alone understand. We have lived through endless cycles of controversy over a knee, an anthem, or an opinion on a policy issue. Most of them were not questioned until the expert class made it a litmus test. Careerists are saddled with expectations to publicly confess national “sins,” to be ashamed of living in a country that remains objectively exceptional in human history.
Yet here we are looking at our hockey teams, both men and women, who did not succumb to pressure, did not take attitude and did not preen. They competed. They fought. They proudly represented the United States – without apology.
That’s refreshing.
Yes, America is not perfect. No nation ever is. There need to be real debates about policy and leadership. We have legitimate disagreements about how to steer our ship in the future. But unity, true organic unity, comes from shared experiences that transcend ideological divides. Rarely does anything unite a country as strongly as sporting triumphs on the world stage.
Sports don’t interest your party registration. They don’t care if you’re from California, Kentucky or New York. You stand on the ice, in the arena, on the field and give it everything you have, or you watch, cheer and holler for one flag.
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That’s why moments like these are important.
Because they remind us of something that too many pundits and performative activists have forgotten: most Americans don’t wake up every day thinking about how to hate their own country. Most of us wake up hopeful: grateful for the freedoms we enjoy, proud of what we can achieve, and ready to cheer on fellow citizens who are giving it their all.
And giving it their all.
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Hughes’ goal was the storybook ending. Assisted by Zach Werenski and buoyed by 41 saves from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, Team USA’s men finished the tournament undefeated, ending a nearly half-century gold drought on the 46th anniversary of Miracle on Ice.
The women’s gold was not a consolation prize, it was a statement. Another 2-1 win against Canada in extra time, a testament to courage, skill and composure. Together, these teams showed what American hockey looks like and is a reflection of Americans as a whole: ruthless, fearless, united.
And then there was the moment after the victories: an honest, joyful phone call with President Donald Trump to celebrate their achievement. It wasn’t attitude. It wasn’t a photo session. Just pride, shared between the nation’s leader and the athletes who made every American feel a little prouder today.
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In a time when headlines capitalize on division, when the loudest voices tell us we should be ashamed of our own country simply for existing, these hockey victories remind us of something simple and powerful:
We are a free people. A resilient people. A people who rise to the occasion when the world is watching.
And when we win, we win as one nation.
So let’s enjoy this. Let’s be proud of these teams! The women who paved the way, and the men who finally brought home gold after decades. Let’s celebrate toughness, character and patriotism in the locker rooms, on the ice and in the hearts of millions of Americans watching at home.
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Ultimately, that’s what the Olympics should be about: the best of sport and the best of a nation coming together on the world stage – not to divide us, but to remind us who we are.
What’s more worth cheering for?
