Fans showed a lack of class by booing Norway's junior team in a 10-1 loss to Canada.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Canada and Norway's tilt will be remembered not for what we learned from the players, but what we learned from the fans.
It was a lesson about class. It was about sportsmanship. And if grades were handed out for either, not everyone would have passed.
The Norwegians were met with the same rude welcoming as every other team that played against the Canadians: by a chorus of boos. Of course, it wasn't the entire crowd and not everyone is being lumped into the same category.
But for those in the crowd to boo a team like Norway before the third period in an already one-sided game is the epitome of classlessness.
For many fans, this was a "nothing" game. This was the game-ticket fans would either sell or simply give away. It was another game for Canada to beat up on a weak opponent. It was another opportunity to watch the goal light flicker with reckless abandon.
And through it all, we also learned nine goals weren't enough for the crowd's insatiable desire for scoring. Fans booed almost as loudly after Brayden Schenn's goal was disallowed in the dying moments as they had for regular goal calls. This coming shortly after chanting, "We want 10! We want 10! We want 10!"
The beauty of being a fan is that you never need to consider the feelings of those you're heckling. But in some instances, perhaps a little more gracefulness and humility is warranted.
The Norwegian team is not on the same talent level as the Canadians nor the Russians nor the Slovaks or even the Germans. They are quite simply in the infancy stages of developing a passion for the sport so many Canadians call their own. But does that mean the Norwegians need to be reminded of how far they are behind?
There's nothing wrong with cheering passionately for your team. But how is it acceptable to rub salt in the wounds of a nation that is simply trying to improve and embrace the game Canadians already love?
Would Norwegian fans boo a Canadian skier prior to his run in the Olympics?
This game may have been almost completely meaningless to the fans in attendance, but it was far from meaningless to the 22 players who represented Norway. This was their only game at the larger HSBC Arena and the only time they would have any form of spotlight on them in this tournament.
And on top of it, they knew they were going to lose -- probably by a margin just as one-sided as the outcome.
But to them, this was the game they looked forward to the most. It was their only opportunity to reach out and show the hockey community that they're here and they're on the same ice surface as the world's best.
What do they find when they get their fifteen minutes of fame? A rude welcoming.
"It's big to play in front of so many people," goaltender Lars Volden said when asked which memories will stick out when he returns to Norway. "This game will also be a memory when we lost by so much with so many people (watching)."
Let's face it: Norway is far from a hockey-first nation. Volden, who began playing hockey when he was a three-year old, can count on one hand how many of the approximately 500 students in his elementary school played hockey. That number shrank from four to one when he was in high school.
It isn't too surprising when considering the country's population is actually smaller than that of the Greater Toronto Area alone.
Norway head coach Geir Hoff had his pick of a small litter. Hoff estimated he had 150 players upon which he could have chosen from to represent his team in this tournament.
"We don't have too many players, but we have a good program with the kids going and we're working hard to try to involve more," Hoff said. "It's a really small, small sport compared to skiing and all the (other) sports."
Volden called his team's inclusion in the tournament a "win-win situation." He noted there was excitement for the team and that the sport was growing in popularity. More rinks are being built while more kids pick up the previously foreign game.
It meant more to these Norwegian players to play in a National Hockey League facility than anyone in attendance could possibly know. But the response they got from the partisan crowd didn't surprise them.
"We knew that the crowd would boo us," Volden said. "Canada is always hating the other team."
What does that say about us?
