What the Canada-U.S. tension at the 4 Nations Face-Off says about our national identity

The fierce hockey rivalry between Canada and the U.S. will be on display tomorrow at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament championship game in Boston. 

Tensions between the two countries boiled over last weekend when three different fights broke out between players from team Canada and team USA within the first nine seconds of play.

The U.S. won that first game, but now they're set for a re-match. As geopolitical tensions rise off the ice, what does this moment in Canada's national sport reveal about our identity as a country?

Today on Commotion, musician, writer and hockey player Dave Bidini joins guest host Rad Simonpillai to talk about the symbolism of tomorrow's 4 Nations Face-Off final.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Rad: What was going on in your head watching those opening minutes?

Dave: I think like a lot of us, my jaw was on the floor seeing the game start the way it did. After that initial "hot" moment of excitement and violence, in hindsight, I found it really ugly. I think the game has tried to push itself into a place where fighting is not part of the fabric. There aren't fights in the NHL anymore. 

Honestly, I had a bit of, like, 1974 post-traumatic ripples because of the ugly nature of fighting. I think the Americans, the Tkachuk brothers are thugs. I think they tried to throw the game into the ditch. Hockey doesn't have to live in the ditch. Hockey can be a beautiful game. And like I said, the game has kind of pointed towards that and made a lot of steps. And I think it set the game back years. That's what happened.

Rad: Look, more people in Canada play soccer than hockey, and basketball has huge traction here. But hockey still has this reputation as Canada's national game. Has there ever been more on the line?

Dave: It's an important game. It really is, considering where we're at geopolitically and our understanding of ourselves as a nation, as we relate to the United States. I think it's pregnant with drama, and it's going to infuse the game. I mean, it's a Thursday night in February. Usually it's Pittsburgh versus Columbus. It's not nation versus nation. So I think in that sense, narratively, it really it's going to inform the experience. It'll be exciting.

Rad: I think we constantly do this where we're projecting meaning onto sports games, right? Because they're this cultural sphere and we are trying to make sense of the complicated geopolitical forces, and we're doing that through these games. So what are you making of that?

Dave: Yeah. I mean, it's become a sad thing in a way. As you know, too often we define ourselves against the United States…. And I think just in terms of being a self-determined culture, it's better if we just cut our own path. I think the future points towards that. And I do think this kind of holds us back a little bit. But in our country being as vast and as disparate as it is, we don't have a lot of things that really tie us together from coast to coast to coast. Traditionally, hockey has been one of them.

There are other sports and other great sporting cultures that are emerging, whether it's soccer or basketball and on and on, and certainly women's hockey. But it's still one of the things that is part of the fabric…. From the Queen Charlotte Islands to the Avalon Peninsula, we're all going to be tuning in and watching this thing together. And I think that's beautiful.

Rad: We've been seeing at a lot of these games, the Canadian fans booing the U.S. national anthem… Some people are calling that our patriotic duty and others are saying this has no place in the game. Where are you standing on that?

Dave: I think it's a form of non-violent expression. I think it's OK. I think booing is OK. I don't know if I would do it necessarily, but I think it's a relatively gentle way of telling the world how we feel.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Jess Low and Nikky Manfredi.