Vancouver Blogger Sriseth

After a disappointing Day 9 at the Olympics, the whole Canada is now looking forward to one match up on Sunday afternoon. A match that won't bring any medals, it's for pride. Hockey is Canada's game. Canada invented it and Canada has always been the best at it. And as the national pastime, hockey is not just a sport for Canadians, it's the nations pride. But previous Olympics brought forgettable memories for Team Canada (except at Salt Lake- the only Canadian hockey gold in Olympic history). Canada may not be at the top of medal table and 'Own the Podium' campaign may end up in failure, but most Canadians wouldn't mind if Canada can win the ultimate price of the Winter Olympics - the last gold medal on offer - the Mens' Hockey GOLD.

After becoming the the most decorated US winter Olympian, Apolo Ohno made fun of Canada's Own the Podium campaign; “They can own the podium, we just want to borrow it. Just for the month of February, and we’ll give it back.”. He may have joked, but it was hurtful for Canadian fans since they have now realized that their neighbours South of border are making the most of this Olympics. It is in this context, Sunday's hockey match between Canada and USA has become the centre of attention. After two heart breaking events at short track 1,000m and ski cross where final races brought worst possible outcomes for Canada, fans are looking for a last chance of redemption in this super weekend of the Olympics.

Sunday's match between USA and Canada is only a first round match and not a knockout. But the winner will get a bye to quarterfinals improving the chances of advancing into the medal round. On paper, Team Canada is clear favourites over USA. But Canada with such superstars like Sydney Crosby and Jarome Iginla was struggling against Switzerland who had only 2 NHL players in their team. Team Canada knows their biggest challenge is to get the puck past goaltender Ryan Miller, one of the best goalies and may be the most inform at the moment. Although host city fans may have liked Canucks captain Roberto Luongo to guard the Canadian net, the veteran Martin Brodeur is favoured to get the opportunity. Brodeur's wealth of experience at the biggest stage makes him the best net-minder for Canada for rest of the tournament. With whole Canada watching can Team Canada cheer up the host nation in this anxious moment of the Olympics. We will soon find out.