Neutral View on USA vs. Russia

[Evgeny Oliker]

There is so much bitterness going on on this site between the Russian and American fans that it needs to stop. This site should be dedicated to intelligent talks about HOCKEY...not to rather nationalistic and shallow fights. Although i was born in Ukraine, I have always prided myself in trying to look at BOTH sides of the story and to be OPENMINDED. thats why while i cheer for Russia, I also cheer for the U.S.A and Sweden and any other team that i think plays a FUN style. I mean, why cant a Canadian cheer for Russia if he likes their style of play? Why cant a Russian enjoy how the USA team players like KESSEL play? I know i enjoy Kessel and i'm Russian.

What i'm trying to say is, people here need to STOP being so PATRIOTIC for a second...and start showing more RESPECT to other nations and teams. The USA coverage of this WJC on ESPN has been SICKENING to me and to many other fans from Russia, Sweden, Finland, etc. The USA always makes their teams look like ANGELS and GODS, while showing no respect or recognition to other teams. I mean, look at how the USA shows the OLYMPICS...they MOSTLY show USA competitions, talk about only USA participants, etc! My point is, such SHALLOW coverage from teh USA is what triggers USA fans to not respect other nations and teams. I will be the FIRST to admit that what the Russian team did with its taunting was TOTALLY WRONG no matter what. However, did even one USA commentator on ESPN say ANYTHING about how OVECHKIN got hit in the face way before the taunting began? I will not even mention the cheap shots by DOWING and other players. I will also be the first to admit that Ovechkin is not a leader and he is rather selfish in his celebrations. But has anyone seen Malkin, who is a class act, EVER TAUNT anyone??? HE NEVER DOES THAT. The only reason why he did some taunting in this game(which he wasnt great at) is because he also got FED UP with being hit in the face and seeing these cheap shots to his TEAMMATES...he is very much a TEAM PLAYER.

MY point is, everyone here needs to learn to look at BOTH sides of a story, not just ONE side. It is a shame that ESPN hides one side of the story while glorifying the other...but that doesnt mean that the viewers have to be GULLIBLE

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[Sabes]

I agree with you 100%

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

I agree with you 100%

thanks man. I do know there are some fans here who agree with me. It is just a shame that the rest of you are so WRAPPED UP in your bitterness towards another nation. It is great to have rivalries, but rivalries are still about respecting your opponents, not LOOKING DOWN on them. Both the U.S. and Russian players did not show respect to each other in this game...and that was WRONG. i hope when those teenagers grow up they will learn from this mistake. But the fans here showing disrespect to each other and just looking at what the other nation did...thats just as bad as what the players did!

No country is perfect, no player is perfect...so how about we look at both sides of a story for once...and NOT listen to ESPN alone

 

[Panopticon]

I agree with this one too. Probably the only thing I've actyally agreed with you during the last couple of days.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

I agree with this one too. Probably the only thing I've actyally agreed with you during the last couple of days.

its nice to see a Fin agree with a Canada and a Russian...for a change. and there is nothing WRONG with that guys...

 

[Riggs]

Great post!

I also agree 100%.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

I agree with this one too. Probably the only thing I've actyally agreed with you during the last couple of days.

its nice to see a Fin, Canadian, American and Russian agree on something...for a change. and there is nothing WRONG with that guys...i wish more of you would see that.

 

[Berkut]

Best post of the day. Period

 

[Sinurgy]

I think the intention of your post was good but you kinda lost me when you went into a rant about USA fans, USA media and GODS and ANGELS.

 

[Steve Latin*]

its nice to see a Fin, Canadian, American and Russian agree on something...for a change. and there is nothing WRONG with that guys...i wish more of you would see that.

Now if we can only get a Swede to agree with a Finn, we'll be set. But, based on my experiences on this board, that's easier said than done

S L

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

I think the intention of your post was good but you kinda lost me when you went into a rant about USA fans, USA media and GODS and ANGELS.

it wasnt really a rant. I think many countries do this, where they focus more on their own teams than on other nations. I totally understand that. I just dont really understand why the USA media cant at least try to be a bit more fair. I mean, for them to just rant about how aweful the Russian players were in their taunting...and just ignore the cheap shots by some of the USA players, to me thats not professional. I mean, how many times did they show REPLAYS of the Russian players taunting? I can tell you it was at least 5 times, probably 10. how many times did they show the face punch on Ovechkin? once! how about those other cheap shots where Russian players just ended up bleeding on the ice? there were no replays, nothing was said, it was just IGNORED.

It is a WJC tournament with 10 nations, not a Rosh Limbaugh political talk show...so i think a more diverse view on things is needed.

 

[Jeff Goldblum]

Thank you for this. Summarized all of my thoughts on the recent events.

 

[Markov]

Great post. Everyone should read it this morning.

 

[Levitate]

the "face punch" on ovechkin was pretty weak...you see that in the NHL all the time...you see worse than that after the whistle in most net scrums. ovechkin played it up like he got his teeth knocked out, just like he's played it up to the refs anytime someone has touched him this tournament.

if he's really that much of a wuss, he better toughen up if he wants to survive the NHL. but i don't think he is, i think he's just sucking up for a penalty. (note: it WAS a penalty, i won't say it wasn't, but ovechkin clearly played that one up)

 

[#66]

There is so much bitterness going on on this site between the Russian and American fans that it needs to stop. This site should be dedicated to intelligent talks about HOCKEY...not to rather nationalistic and shallow fights. Although i was born in Ukraine, I have always prided myself in trying to look at BOTH sides of the story and to be OPENMINDED. thats why while i cheer for Russia, I also cheer for the U.S.A and Sweden and any other team that i think plays a FUN style. I mean, why cant a Canadian cheer for Russia if he likes their style of play? Why cant a Russian enjoy how the USA team players like KESSEL play? I know i enjoy Kessel and i'm Russian.

What i'm trying to say is, people here need to STOP being so PATRIOTIC for a second...and start showing more RESPECT to other nations and teams. The USA coverage of this WJC on ESPN has been SICKENING to me and to many other fans from Russia, Sweden, Finland, etc. The USA always makes their teams look like ANGELS and GODS, while showing no respect or recognition to other teams. I mean, look at how the USA shows the OLYMPICS...they MOSTLY show USA competitions, talk about only USA participants, etc! My point is, such SHALLOW coverage from teh USA is what triggers USA fans to not respect other nations and teams. I will be the FIRST to admit that what the Russian team did with its taunting was TOTALLY WRONG no matter what. However, did even one USA commentator on ESPN say ANYTHING about how OVECHKIN got hit in the face way before the taunting began? I will not even mention the cheap shots by DOWING and other players. I will also be the first to admit that Ovechkin is not a leader and he is rather selfish in his celebrations. But has anyone seen Malkin, who is a class act, EVER TAUNT anyone??? HE NEVER DOES THAT. The only reason why he did some taunting in this game(which he wasnt great at) is because he also got FED UP with being hit in the face and seeing these cheap shots to his TEAMMATES...he is very much a TEAM PLAYER.

MY point is, everyone here needs to learn to look at BOTH sides of a story, not just ONE side. It is a shame that ESPN hides one side of the story while glorifying the other...but that doesnt mean that the viewers have to be GULLIBLE

I'm quoting your post just to take part in such greatness. Thank You!!!

 

[Cole Caulifield]

Great post. Everyone should read it this morning.

I did AND I don't FEEL any WISER !

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

the "face punch" on ovechkin was pretty weak...you see that in the NHL all the time...you see worse than that after the whistle in most net scrums. ovechkin played it up like he got his teeth knocked out, just like he's played it up to the refs anytime someone has touched him this tournament.

if he's really that much of a wuss, he better toughen up if he wants to survive the NHL. but i don't think he is, i think he's just sucking up for a penalty. (note: it WAS a penalty, i won't say it wasn't, but ovechkin clearly played that one up)

i agree with you, he did play it up to more than it was. what i was trying to say is that the ESPN commentators never said anything about that face punch or when Russian players were left lying on the ice, one of them bleeding. Dont get me wrong, I love physical hockey, but there is a line there that the USA players crossed. Once you start doing hits from behind and hitting guys in the face, thats not physical hockey anymore, thats just doing cheap shots. The Russian players never play like that...and to them it was as bizarre as the taunting was to the American players...

 

[Sinurgy]

it wasnt really a rant. I think many countries do this, where they focus more on their own teams than on other nations. I totally understand that. I just dont really understand why the USA media cant at least try to be a bit more fair. I mean, for them to just rant about how aweful the Russian players were in their taunting...and just ignore the cheap shots by some of the USA players, to me thats not professional. I mean, how many times did they show REPLAYS of the Russian players taunting? I can tell you it was at least 5 times, probably 10. how many times did they show the face punch on Ovechkin? once! how about those other cheap shots where Russian players just ended up bleeding on the ice? there were no replays, nothing was said, it was just IGNORED.

It is a WJC tournament with 10 nations, not a Rosh Limbaugh political talk show...so i think a more diverse view on things is needed.

Well I can only guess what their mentality actually was but I think they felt the cheap shots were a direct result of the continued taunting. Pretty much everything prior to that was indeed called by the refs so it was forgotten as justice served. Perhaps they should've pointed out that while the USA players were getting penalties for their actions, the Russians may still have been irked about some of the plays and wanted to pay back by taunting. I can see how that might be the case.

 

[Absolut]

I think the intention of your post was good but you kinda lost me when you went into a rant about USA fans, USA media and GODS and ANGELS.

Did you watch the game on ESPN or anther network? ESPN coverage has been in the worst Cold War traditions. Boy, do they hate those Russkies or what...

 

[Mxpunk]

i agree with you, he did play it up to more than it was. what i was trying to say is that the ESPN commentators never said anything about that face punch or when Russian players were left lying on the ice, one of them bleeding. Dont get me wrong, I love physical hockey, but there is a line there that the USA players crossed. Once you start doing hits from behind and hitting guys in the face, thats not physical hockey anymore, thats just doing cheap shots. The Russian players never play like that...and to them it was as bizarre as the taunting was to the American players...

From what I remember, the main commentator (not the color guy) mentioned we do not see what goes on at ice level and that the taunting may have resulted from the physical play.

 

[Levitate]

they replayed the punch on ovechkin and the high stick on the other player a couple of times and commented on them being penalties...

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

Perhaps they should've pointed out that while the USA players were getting penalties for their actions, the Russians may still have been irked about some of the plays and wanted to pay back by taunting. I can see how that might be the case.
QUOTE]

Yes, that is what happened. The hits from behind and the punches in the face came WAY before the taunting, that much i know from just seeing the entire game. Russian players have a VERY different mentality from the American players. Russian players dont believe in cheap shots and they especially dislike hits from behind and such. To them, thats an INSULT, to hit someone from behind ,when that player is helpless and cant really know whats coming. So yes, although penalties were called for most of that stuff...it still left the Russian players with a "bad taste in their mouth." So although i dont approve of what the Russian players did by taunting...i do feel that there were no ANGELS in this game. That is why it erks me a bit that the ESPN commentators focuses mostly on the taunting...and said almost nothing about the cheap shots. They only replaid some of the cheap shots to show why the penalties were called...but nothing negative was ever said about any of it. However, as soon as the Russian players started taunting...there were more replays shown than in the entire tournament. The commentators COULD NOT STOP talking about how horrible the Russian players were...they really enjoyed HYPING that up

 

[Sinurgy]

Did you watch the game on ESPN or anther network? ESPN coverage has been in the worst Cold War traditions. Boy, do they hate those Russkies or what...

Yes I did watch it on ESPN and if you are asserting that ESPN does not like Russians I couldn't disagree with you more.

 

[Markov]

I did AND I don't FEEL any WISER !

All he said was to take a little more objective look at the game. That's something we can all do today since last night was just filled with nationalistic pride on BOTH sides.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

Yes I did watch it on ESPN and if you are asserting that ESPN does not like Russians I couldn't disagree with you more.

I agree, I dont think ESPN dislikes Russians or anything. I do think ESPN is VERY into focusing on just USA and how great their team is. I think if it was Sweden or Finland or any other team taunting...the commentators would be all over it. But if it was the USA taunting(or cheap shots in this case)..,.they would just ignore that and focus on the game.