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Oh, Canada: Women's Team Victory Beers, Cigars On Ice
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 26, 2010
Modified Feb 26, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 26, 2010
Modified Feb 26, 2010
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After shutting out the U.S. women's hockey team 2-0 and winning the gold medal, the Canadian women's hockey team celebrated their victory by—what else—breaking out beer, champagne and cigars on the rink's ice. Photographs of the revelry were taken and it did not please the International Olympic Committee. The AP apparently told the IOC's executive director of the Olympic Games, Gilbert Felli, who said that an investigation would be conducted, "[This is] not what we want to see... I don't think it's a good promotion of sport values. If they celebrate in the changing room, that's one thing, but not in public. We will investigate what happened."
Team Canada issued a statement, "The members of Team Canada apologize if their on-ice celebrations, after fans had left the building, have offended anyone. In the excitement of the moment, the celebration left the confines of our dressing room and shouldn't have. The team regrets that its gold medal celebration may have caused the IOC or COC any embarrassment. Our players and team vow to uphold the values of the Olympics moving forward and view this situation as a learning experience."
Of course, one wrinkle is that Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored both goals, is only 18—and the drinking age in British Columbia is 19. COC spokesman Steve Keough said, "In terms of the actual celebration, it's not exactly something uncommon in Canada... I think Canadians understand it's quite an emotional moment for our team. It was not our intention to go against any IOC protocols."
In related news, the U.S. men's hockey team plays Finland at 3 p.m. You can watch it via NBC Olympics.
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2010 Winter Olympics
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canada
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hockey
Team Canada
Winter Olympics
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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