The Winter Olympics closed on a note that perfectly captured the widening cultural divide in the United States, with a patriotic American hockey triumph colliding head-on with the lefts reflexive disdain for national pride.
According to the Daily Caller, Team USAs mens hockey squad stunned Canada in overtime to claim gold, sending the Canadians home with second-place plushies and tears while igniting a wave of unapologetic American celebration. The victory did more than secure a medal; it exposed, yet again, the stark contrast between those who still revel in American exceptionalism and those who seem embarrassed by it.
For anyone familiar with the culture of the sport, the aftermath was almost as entertaining as the game itself. As a former Marine and former mens athlete, Geoff Ingersoll describes himself as a connoisseur of profanity, and he argues that no sport rivals hockey when it comes to the art of verbal warfare.
Players call it the chirp, a rapid-fire barrage of insults that can be crude, downright abusive, or razor-sharp and witty. Former Philadelphia Flyers star Claude Giroux, now with the Ottawa Senators, was notorious for gliding past the opposing bench and taunting coaches to send specific players over the boards.
Our team is better with you out here, hed say of the singled out player. Wayne Gretzky, the Great One himself, was famous for reminding pestering defensemen of their place in history with a single line.
Youll tell your grandkids you played against me. No one will remember you. That same spirit of blunt, unapologetic confidence surfaced online when Jimmys Famous Seafood decided to respond to the Huffington Post on X.
Go f*** yourself. The Baltimore restaurants three-word broadside landed just hours after Team USAs upset over Canada, a direct response to HuffPosts predictable bout of self-loathing commentary about American patriotism.
Jimmys wasnt interested in nuance or polite disagreement; they were interested in drawing a line. The public reaction was overwhelmingly supportive, with many Americans clearly tired of being lectured by media outlets that treat love of country as something shameful.
The restaurant doubled down by pinning a post promising that every member of both the mens and womens hockey teams now has a lifetime supply of crab cakes. In a culture where corporations often rush to appease progressive outrage mobs, Jimmys chose instead to reward patriotism and competitive excellence.
Democrats who tried to join the celebration, however, discovered that their own base is far less forgiving of overt national pride. Marylands Democratic Gov. Wes Moore shared an image of a bald eagle attacking a Canadian goose, only to see his replies descend into chaos.
The backlash underscored a broader reality: hockey, as a sport, leans far more right-of-center than most major American leagues. During President Donald Trumps congratulatory call to the team, one player even shouted, build a wall on the northern border!
That moment, and the players obvious enthusiasm for speaking with Trump, infuriated liberals online. Like Heidi, there are more replies to count from liberals upset that victorious American men are having a good and patriotic time talking to Trump, Ingersoll notes, adding that many of these critics likely have never watched a full game.
Theyre simply perpetually sour, self-hating, loathsome people. The data on patriotism backs up the cultural impression: conservatives overwhelmingly see America as a force for good, while progressives increasingly cast the nation as a global villain.
To liberals, America is a perpetrator and an oppressor. To conservatives, America is an enabler of greatness. The contrast was on full display as both the mens and womens hockey teams celebrated their gold medals.
They thanked God, thanked their teammates, thanked the country. They undoubtedly love all three. That kind of open gratitude and faith is precisely what grates on the modern left, which, as HuffPost framed it, claims such patriotism can make some people Feel Yucky.
All of this patriotism, according to HuffPo, can make some people Feel Yucky. The phrase, Ingersoll notes, is perfect because its utterly childish, something you might hear from a four-year-old with a stomach bug rather than adults who blame America for every misfortune.
Jimmys response too is perfect. Their constant sulking doesnt even deserve creativity.
Just three words and four syllables for the HuffPos of the world. As the rest of the country revels in a hard-fought victory and the visible joy of athletes who love their flag, the professional pessimists are left to stew.
Now watch in misery as the rest of us celebrate. Oh, and one more thing: Youre not invited.
Ingersoll closes with a warning that conservatives knew this would happen, even as he urges Republicans to settle down and focus amid what he calls truly dystopian times. The Olympic hockey saga, from the ice to X, serves as a reminder that in todays America, even cheering for your own country has become a political actand one the right is increasingly unafraid to embrace.
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