It seems the Korean national hockey team, which is allowed to participate in the 2018 Olympic tournament only by virtue of the Korean cities of Pyeongchang and Gangneung being the host cities of said Olympics, has fast tracked some Canadian hockey players' citizenship applications so that they can represent Korea. I've been to a game in Seoul and I have seen some of these guys play for the Anyang Halla team. The hockey is not nearly as exciting as watching NHL or Olympics, but it's fun. And even if these guys and some other North Americans are on the Korean team, I have little doubt that Korea will get pummelled like a rented mule. And I will have a Cass beer and a pretty good laugh while watching it. In fact I can't wait!!!
But what if the unthinkable happened? What if Matt Dalton stands on his head, and Eric Regan blocks as many shots as Matt, and somehow Brock Radunske and Michael Swift combine for a goal assisted by other Canadian defenseman, Bryan Young and American, Mike Testwuide or however you spell that? What if this goal stands up and they beat, I dunno, Uzbekistan? A Korean hockey victory at the Olympic games! That would be outstanding! I sincerely hope it happens! I do! Because THEN Korea would invest more time and money into the hockey program here. Kids would be more likely to understand that hockey is infinitely cooler than the soccer they all think is cool because of the Korean performance in World Cup 2002, which they co-hosted with Japan.
I'd love to see hockey explode here! But having lived for so long in the land of the morning calm, I question whether Koreans would be satisfied with only one win. I wonder if they would even be satisfied with a miracle on ice like the 1980 American team made up of some mediocre hockey players beating the most extraordinary hockey force maybe ever, the Soviet team. Every time I look at the sheer unlikeliness of THAT miracle, I think it wasn't just a little, but a LOT too unlikely to have actually happened. And I really DON'T want to investigate any further lest I lose my faith in the sanctity of Olympic hockey. Because the only plausible way that could have happened was a legitimate, Almighty God assisted miracle or a fix. Money changed hands. It was the cold war era and Russia needed money and America needed victory. I don't want to EVER find out that the Russians took a dive, but come on! Look at the players! Men against boys!
At any rate, it is without a doubt the upset of all time in sports. Even if the Washington Generals beat the Harlem Globetrotters, it wouldn't be as unlikely a victory. Not even close. But if Korea were to win a few games in 2018... How big would this be? The cheerer for the underdog in me dearly hopes it happens and I am here to see it! The skeptic in me thinks, "Does Korea have enough dough to pay off an Olympic hockey team or two? And would it be worth it for them?" The answer to that is most likely, YES! Korea would gain a great deal from being the mouse that roared! Look what the soccer World Cup of 2002 did for the country! It put Korea on the world soccer map, but more than that, it put Korea on the world map in the minds of a lot of its citizens who maintained to that point, a sort of small country humility. I am certainly not saying being as yet the only Asian country to reach the World Cup semis is the only thing that caused this, what, is "haughtiness" too strong a word? And I'm not saying it was good. But I have witnessed Korea develop a swagger since I first came here in 1997, and the World Cup was a HUGE contributor to it.
Again, the skeptic in me must be heard. Guus Hiddink was the coach of that Korean team. He was the first person to be given honourary Korean citizenship for his contribution to the shocking success in World Cup 2002. He's still a hero here. I have seen more than one restaurant/bar named after him! But the minds of all soccer fans, (which I am not, as you can tell by my use of the word, "soccer"), and all skeptics, (which I am), think back to the officiating of the tournament. Again, I'm not saying the refs were bought but, 2 red cards against Portugal and 2 disallowed goals in their match against Spain were bigger reasons than any that Korea did so well. Who's to say that a couple of World Cup officials weren't the second and third people to receive honourary citizenship?
I have already heard some buzzing in the comments posted by the locals when this article was featured on an expat website about how the refs in the Olympic hockey tournament will be bought and the Korean hockey team will benefit. I HATE to think that the purity of my national sport could be sullied like that! Sport is one of the few remaining things that hasn't been ruined yet by money. Well, amateur sport, that is. Which is what the Olympics is supposed to be. Which brings up the question of whether the pros will participate or not. If the pros are disallowed from the Olympic hockey tournament for Pyeongchang then none of the listed players would be allowed to play. And none of the pros on the other teams would be allowed to play. But would the amateur players of Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, etc. not make a bigger punching bag of an amateur Korean club? They most certainly would! So I think Korea is counting on the pros remaining. I think they will. And with the pros playing, and the pros officiating, (that is, players and referees who are paid to play hockey and officiate it), they are USED to being paid off! How much easier will it be to fix this tournament? That's what the skeptic in me is thinking.
I also wonder other things. Like if this "miracle" were to happen, what would the general feeling be throughout Korea? Would they feel as proud as they did for their 2002 soccer team, even with all these ringers on the team? I have a feeling they would. Another part of that swagger development in Korea has been the gradual change from grateful thanks to the nations that assisted during the Korean war to "We really kicked some ass in that war didn't we?" And I know that countries like Turkey, the U.K. countries and Australia figured largely and I recall the U.S. having some say in that skirmish, but Canada's contribution to the Korean war is all but forgotten. So eventually the contribution of these Canadian hockey players to any success in 2018 would likely be forgotten as well.
And from the standpoint of an ESL teacher in Korea, imported from the more educationally experienced, refined and forward thinking country of Canada, who has consistently been encouraged, micromanaged, demanded and even forced to abandon the sophisticated teaching philosophy and methodology that took many years of study and experience to acquire and force myself into antiquated but popular 1950's training in Korea, I wonder if this won't happen with the hockey team. Will the Korean team coach, Jimmy Paek, use the sophisticated, well honed, hockey methodology of the hockey playing nations of the world that he was exposed to during his days as an NHL player, or will some Koreans pay HIM off to employ their ingenious KOREAN strategies, which include no forward passing, no curved sticks, line-changes only on whistles, and getting rid of those pussy helmets?
I guess it'll all be part of the colourful tapestry that is the Olympic winter games. Just one more thing to be excited about!
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