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Olympics women’s hockey: Team USA vs. Canada is the best rivalry in sports

By Dave Stevenson

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 15: The referee attempts to separate Kelly Pannek #12 of the United States and Blayre Turnbull #40 of Canada late in the game during the Women's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day six of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Kwandong Hockey Centre on February 15, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 15: The referee attempts to separate Kelly Pannek #12 of the United States and Blayre Turnbull #40 of Canada late in the game during the Women's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day six of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Kwandong Hockey Centre on February 15, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Team USA and Canada women’s hockey has the most unappreciated and best rivalry in all of sports.

There are a ton of great rivalries in sports. Ohio State vs. Michigan. Alabama vs. Auburn. New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. Duke vs. North Carolina. So on and so forth. But when the question of “which rivalry is the best” comes up, there’s one everyone neglects. Ironically, it’s also the best – Team USA vs. Team Canada in women’s hockey.

Women’s hockey has been in the Olympics since 1998. There have been six gold medal games. All but one of them has been USA vs. Canada. For the fifth time in six Olympics, the two bitter rivals will square off for the gold medal late on Wednesday night, stateside time.

Despite the fact the true north has won each time except 1998, this is still the premier rivalry in all of sports. No other rivalry creates memories and excellent moments as consistently. Each game comes down to the wire with fans from both teams biting their nails to the bitter end.  The USA-Canada rivalry has the best things about each of the best rivalries.

Relatively speaking, the two sides have been rivals for a very long time. At the very least, they’ve been rivals for as long as women’s hockey has been an Olympic sport.

The Dream Team never had a rival. USA and Canada are the female versions of that famous 1992 basketball team. Much like that stacked team, the two sides are so much better than everyone else, it’s insane. Nobody can challenge them except for each other. Perhaps this is why everyone gets hyped up for the games. Fans from both sides know the other is their only true competition.

Though the USA and Canada don’t have the political history of, say, USA and Russia, the intensity is there. In hockey, women tend to be far less physical than men. Checking is illegal for the females unless they’re going for the puck.

This is why seeing such intensity and hatred from the American and Canadian ladies is so outstanding. There are shoving and trash talk after seemingly every whistle. You rarely, if ever, see that in women’s hockey. Refs seem to just let them go at it because if they did call it by the book, everyone would be in the penalty box. And no one wants to see that.

Next: Best Olympian from each state

Canada enjoys bragging about how dominant it is in hockey. The USA hates anyone who thinks it’s better than everyone else. This is the perfect recipe for a rivalry among fans. But what’s most special about the USA and Canada rivalry is the respect both sides have for each other.

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