sahayman@watcgl.UUCP (Steve Hayman) (02/17/84)
Now just a minute. Since when did the USA become the only
country committed to amateurism? Perhaps our definition of
amateurs ('played less than 10 NHL games') differs from yours,
but it sure looks to me like many of the US players have the
same NHL aspirations as the Canadians.
And no cheap shots are necessary towards Canadian college hockey.
I would wager that the top Canadian college team, the University
of Toronto, could beat just about any US college team. There have
been proposals in the past for a North American college hockey
championship. I'm all for that.
I'm sure the main reason that many good Canadians go to US colleges
is because (horror of horrors!) US colleges **pay them**
(call it scholarships if you like) to play for their hockey team.
Most Canadian schools feel that you should go to college to learn
something, not to play hockey. So since when did all the American
players become amateurs?
And just out of curiosity why did the NCAA threaten to revoke the
scholarships of any Canadians playing for our Olympic team?
Really none of this cross-border name calling is addressing the
real issue, the fact that the Russians can use their best pros
in the Olympics, and we (and the Americans and Finns and Swedes)
can't. Does anyone understand the IOC ruling that you are
only a pro if you've played in the NHL? Rick Cunningham of
the Austrian team played 300 games in the WHA, but counts
as an amateur under these strange rules.
I feel badly that the American players didn't have more success
after all the work they put into their team, but that 4-2
victory of ours sure was satisfying. Better luck next time.
Remember you did a LOT better than we did in 1980.
And you sure didn't let anyone forget it.