Are You Un-American?

If you're not planning on being in front of a television set or radio tomorrow afternoon at 3:15pm Eastern time, the answer to this question is a resounding yes.

Team USA has captivated hockey fans and non-hockey fans alike over the past two weeks as they have continued their improbable undefeated Olympic run toward the gold medal in men's hockey. I've always loved the Winter Olympics, and as a former hockey player and fan (I haven't followed the NHL since the Whalers left town), I always look forward to watching hockey and having a team to pull for. As a proud American, it's especially fun to root for my countrymen.

I must confess, I wasn't all that optimistic about our chances this year. Canada, Sweden, and Russia seemed to be the three medal favorites, and I figured if the US could make it to the bronze medal game that would be a very solid showing.

But Team USA has gelled. They've become an efficient unit that shares the puck well and plays as a team. Lots of analysts pointed to Team USA's lack of superstars, as opposed to the Russians with Alex Ovechkin and the Canadians with Sidney Crosby. But it may be that our lack of superstars has been a blessing in disguise, allowing the Americans to become a true team rather than just a collection of all-stars.

And a collection of all-stars is just what the Canadians are, by their own admission. That makes them a formidable opponent, to be sure, but as anyone who has watched an NHL all-star game or a NFL pro-bowl can attest, the team chemistry element is often lacking.

The USA has had a great run up until this point. They opened with a solid win, if not an entirely convincing or mistake-free one, over an able Switzerland team. They got by Norway easily. Then, they shocked the world by beating Team Canada 5-3 in front of what is essentially a home crowd for the Canadians. That game, regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's gold medal rematch, will go down in my mind as one of the most exciting games I've ever watched, in any sport.

Tomorrow, the stakes are much, much higher. Canada is hungry...you can see it in the players' faces and hear it in the cheers of the spectators. Canadian fans have been waiting for this moment, this chance to win gold in their national sport on their home turf, since Vancouver was chosen as the 2010 venue way back in 2003. And the Canadians appear to have shaken off most of the jitters that they showed in the preliminary rounds- they smoked the Russians, who many believed were the gold medal favorites, and they held a commanding 3-0 lead against Slovakia last night before allowing the jitters to resurface temporarily. They escaped with a scary 3-2 victory.

So the USA faces a real challenge tomorrow afternoon. Beating as good a team as Canada twice in the course of a week is an incredibly tall order. But the USA is still going strong, as their gritty 2-0 win over the Swiss and their dominant 6-1 obliteration of a solid Finland squad shows.

Can they get one more win and bring home the gold? I hope so. You gotta believe.

And if you consider yourself an American, you better set aside two and a half hours of your day tomorrow to cheer on our guys. Wear red, white, and blue. Put your flag up outside. Start a USA chant in your living room or go outside and start one in your neighborhood.

Enjoy it. This one's special.