It’s Hockey, not Figure Skating

After the Canadian Womens’ hockey team won gold, they celebrated, quite as one would expect.

The players stormed back onto the ice half an hour after beating the United States 2-0 on Thursday and staged a raucous celebration – smoking cigars and swigging beer and bubbly.

Haley Irwin poured champagne into the mouth of Tessa Bonhomme, gold medals swinging from both their necks. Meghan Agosta and Marie-Philip Poulin posed with goofy grins.

Goalies Charline Labonte and Kim St-Pierre posed at center ice for Poulin, lying on their stomachs with a giant bottle of champagne resting just above the Olympic rings.

Rebecca Johnston actually tried to commandeer the ice-resurfacing machine.

Poulin, who scored both goals for Canada, doesn’t turn 19 – legal drinking age in British Columbia – until next month. The drinking age in Alberta, where the Canadian team trains, is 18. Photos showed Poulin on the ice with a beer in her hand.

Well, yeah.  They’re hockey players.  They won a gold medal against what most consider the best team (and best womens’ hockey program) in the world.  It’s just shocking that someone 19 might swig a beer afterwards.

Apparently, though, the IOC doesn’t approve.

Gilbert Felli, the IOC’s executive director of the Olympic Games, said the antics were “not what we want to see.”

“If they celebrate in the changing room, that’s one thing,” he said, “but not in public.”

Did I mention they are Canadian hockey players!!!

Steve Keough, a spokesman for the Canadian Olympic Committee, said it was “quite an emotional moment for our team” and added: “It was not our intention to go against any IOC protocols.

“In terms of the actual celebration,” he said, “it’s not exactly something uncommon in Canada.”

I wonder what the IOC reaction would be if it’s the Canadian mens’ hockey team.  Different?  Would the team apologize?  if there was some of this in figure skating, I might be more interested.