It's a bitter pill to swallow, but I suppose that some things simply aren't meant to be.

I grew up a hockey fan in Canada; one in several of the millions who reside in our country. I grew up hearing about hockey stars gone by, about the sports heroes of my father, about the 1972 Summit Series. I grew up hearing about a legacy in the sport of hockey. OUR sport. OUR game. A part of OUR heritage.

The 1998 Olympics in Nagano meant an enormity to me. They were to be MY Summit Series. The defining moment in hockey history for MY generation. The passing of a torch borne by those of generations before me. Perhaps something which I could tell my children. "Son, I remember watching that game in 1998 when Canada fought hard, gave every ounce of effort they could, and triumphed over excellent teams."

But that, unfortunately, isn't going to happen. The torch wasn't dropped. Nobody stumbled. No gust of wind extinguished the flame we bore, but yet, somehow, it didn't get to its destination. It wasn't meant to be, perhaps. Maybe fate was against us. It really doesn't matter.

I believe that many Canadians hockey fans were cut deeply by this defeat, and losing it in a shootout was perhaps the salt on the open wound. It stung. Badly. I felt while watching the 10-minute overtime period that it was just a matter of time before Canada would eventually score. The Czechs were playing for the shootout. They got their desire, and it worked for them.

Seeing Wayne Gretzky alone on the Canadian bench after the game crying was one of the most difficult things I have seen in my short life. I was a young child when Gretzky was perennially leading the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup, and remember only parts of those years. I remember well his time spent in Los Angeles, and their march to the finals in 1993. For a man who averaged 168 points per year in his first ten seasons in the National Hockey League to sit on the bench with a tear falling from his eye had a more profound effect on me than I could have imagined.

1998 is not 1972, no matter how much I could imagine it to be. The Canadian team played a fantastic game, and we really couldn't have asked for more. Both Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya weren't able to participate, and may have helped us, but then again, the way Dominik Hasek played, it's quite possible - perhaps even likely - that they wouldn't have made even the slightest bit of difference. All the hypotheticals in the world won't change what happened.

There is but one thing that we can do at this point... thank the Canadians who played their hearts out in the 1998 Olympics, fighting for a chance at the gold medal. I am certainly proud of them, and I believe that all Canadians should be.

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