Jan 8, 2023
HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH CZECHIA
i thought i'd be done being emotional over sports but i guess not, apparently. i may never be, will never be.
i was okay though. i was quite alright.. until i saw kulich sitting on the ground crying and blaming it on himself. the pain on his face was dreadfully sad to see, this was a breaking point i started crying. i could not take him being heartbroken like that.
kid played like a man amongst children all tournament. to have one little skid of the puck and finish your world juniors like the way it ended.. damn too harsh. it turned out the shitty ice in halifax all the canadians were complaining about the whole time was actually a tough break for the czechs that eventually ruined their hopes and dreams. the ice was terrible, lots of misplays in the third period.
there is no hockey god. you cannot do this to this young man, he absolutely doesn't deserve that ending.
don't cry jiří. you are going to be a stud.
seeing all the czech players just collapse and cry on the ice was heart wrenching, yet i didn't shut my laptop off still although tsn was neverendingly interviewing the entire canada team, which was understandably so as it's a canada broadcasting network and they just won on home soil. i somehow managed to keep turning it on with the stream muted of course.
as much as i didn't want them to show me the czech boys in pain and tears, i was so damn proud of what they had done throughout the tournament that i wanted to see them until the very last minute when they received the medals and the trophy. i couldn't even imagine what was going through their minds while waiting for the medal presentation after losing the biggest game they had ever played in their lives. it sucked, however, they had a lot to be proud of, they had a helluva tournament. one thing i could say 100% for sure was that team czechia stunned the hockey world and all should be fucking proud of themselves in spite of the feeling they had at that moment.
and then there was the second breaking point. the shot camera caught kulich and suchánek hug and console each other in the line literally shattered me that's where i completely lost it.
suchánek played so brilliant all day even after getting hurt. he was the only reason why the czechs kept in the game in the third period. needless to say, there would be no overtime without him.
suchánek and kulich both need to remember that their team wouldn't be in the finals if there wasn't for them. no matter what they think they deserve to be celebrated for how good of a game they played, i hope they know that.
and i'm sorry, really don't wanna be a sore loser here, but in what world was that not goaltender interference? you can run over the goalie with no consequence? why the whistle if no goal or no penalty? that guy did absolutely truck suchánek, it should have been a 5 on 3 power play for czechia, which could've changed the whole atmosphere around as a two men advantage in a hockey game is a huge turning point.
goalie interference (both the infraction and penalty) is the worst called rule in this sport.
i was practically ready to just calmly watch canada win 2-0 and all of sudden czechia scored twice in less than a minute and it was a tie game, and that was fucking insane. they never took their foot off the gas in this game after being down 2-0 with just inside 7 minutes left. they played their hearts out there and battled back, battled back hard just like they did in the semifinals against sweden. no quit in this team.
and with hamara picking up an assist on the equalizer in the most important moment, every single player on the roster had a point in the tournament including the 13th forward sapoušek, who barely played, as well as the goaltender who had 4 points, one of the most unbreakable records in wjc history. isn't it lovely.
sweden comes back against finland in the quarterfinals and then loses to czechia the same way in the semifinals.
czechia comes back against sweden in the semifinals and then loses to canada the same way in the finals.
you win some, you lose some. hoceky is truly a cruel sport.
i love team czechia so very much and was really, really cheering for them to be the champions especially after watching gabriel szturc being adorably wonderful in the pregame interview. i wanted czechia to win it all cause they deserved gold so fucking much.
despite the outcome, i was so proud of this team for making it this far and working as hard as they had been.
honestly czechia deserved a much better fate. one thing is clear, a 3-2 loss in regulation would hurt these boys a lot less. still, winning silver and not losing a single game after 60 minutes was a tremendous achievement, notwithstanding that, this loss was devastating and seeing them crying made me utterly sad.
i feel for these young players that lose in the world junior championship all the time. it just breaks my heart every time i see these prospects who represent their countries hanging their heads and crying like children after a loss. i mean, it's impossible not to be emotional in this international competition. so how hard would it be to swallow a defeat when it is so so close. they are kids. that's what guts me.
as devastating as it was for them, the entire czechia team was an absolute class act. the sportsmanship they were showing in the handshake line was amazing to see. gracious and respectful in defeat. couldn't be more proud of them.
and i, once again, was impressed by the czech captain svozil, who was the only one not visibly crying on the ice, i think?
i always love his composure and maturity in his game, which is rare for a 19 year old. and even after a heartbreaking loss in the final which is his last tournament of his junior international career, he kept his calm and collected demeanour hugging and consoling every single one of his teammates and coaching staffs. it seemed all he wanted to do was being with them as long as possible, he almost forgot to come over to get the trophy. so wholesome. he was surely wretched and heartbroken from inside, but behaved like a man(stan the man!) in a dignified and courteous way during the whole ceremony. and that was so damn cool, i now adore him more.
he smiled so radiantly like a normal teen that he could lighten up the entire universe after a thrilling ot win over sweden in the semifinals on wednesday, whereas the way he accepted the defeat in the gold medal game the very next day was something i'd hardly expect from teenagers, certainly not what i've witnessed over all these years.
he is such a gem and i love him
„Je to nezapomenutelný turnaj, získali jsme medaili… Tohle je pro mě nejvíc,“ řekl kapitán týmu Stanislav Svozil. 🏒🥈
"It's an unforgettable tournament, we won a medal... This is the most for me," said team captain Stanislav Svozil. 🏒🥈
this is gonna be a long post isn't it
what a ride, it was one hell of a journey. they were so much fun to watch, their performance was phenomenal from the day one.
i had never heard of them, never seen them, nor was a fan of theirs, but hopping on the czechia train was sincerely one of the best things i've ever done for myself. this czechia team was special and my last few days were a true blessing. i'm so extremely proud of the boys, they represented their home country with honour, put in so much work and fight day in day out, an incredible effort throughout the entire tournament particularly in the knockout stage.
so heads up boys, don't feel too bad. you shouldn't feel bad.
the next day i was brawling my eyes out all day watching another footage showing all the czech players going straight to their goalie to console him right after they lost in ot.
and the day after the next day i'm still devastated and trying to get over the loss.
following hockey is not easy, specifically when it comes to the tournaments. they aren't held every day, and when they begin, even though my team is a good team and winning, it's still a long road. so whenever i think about how these players have worked so hard for those glorious moments where at the end of the day, they fail to achieve their goals after a series of hard fought battles.. (i'm fond of mediocre teams so my team winning the championship is simply not happening) this hurts my soul every fucking single time. and i watch them nonetheless even knowing a fear of being an emotional wreck all over again.
where did i go wrong in my life to let myself care this much about this sport?
as disappointing as it is for czechia, this is a major accomplishment for them. winning a medal for your country after a 18 year drought? and when was the last time a team with 12 undrafted players and only 2 first rounders made it all the way to the world juniors finals? with not only the result itself, but also how remarkably they played in the tournament the entire time, they've definitely made czechia proud. (i've said it hundreds times already but this is what they deserve to hear, so here i go, they make me proud as if i were a czech)
it was an unreal run. czechia has no reason to hang their heads. they were unbelievably terrific when no one thought they could compete at the highest level. that's one heck of a team they've got there, they should be only excited about the damn fine talent they have and the future ahead.
stand tall and proud czechia u20 team! you are all silver medalists and that silver is undoubtedly well earned.
the saddest thing is that i probably won't get to see the same squad playing together ever again. this is a great group of talent and great young guys, and there are lots of big personalities as well on the roster. it's been overall a treat to watch, i even memorized all of their names, numbers, and faces in such a short time. given the fact that i had no idea how to pronounce and spell all those czech names right at first, this was me being wholly dedicated to them.
i was rooting for czechia like i grew up there my whole life lol. (i wasn't even this excited for the world cup when my country was in action) they will perhaps never know how hard i, no any relate to czechia whatsoever, was cheering them on the past two weeks. i won't forget how hyped i was for this czechia u20 team in the 2023 world juniors, and i'm just glad i was able to watch them having a blast.
it's all over now and where should i go to see them again? I AM SORRY I CANNOT GET OVER IT.
being a hockey fan should come with a personal therapist. seriously.
ok, this is absurdly long, i need to wrap it up.
so happy czechia take home silver!!
no words can fully describe how proud i'm of this czechia team and how ready i'm to follow their career moving forward. wish them the best of luck, hope to see all the squad members in the nhl in future so i can personally tell everyone of them that how amazing they were at the wjc. they deserve all my love and support, only sending hugs to the boys.
yes, i experienced emotional damage (again) that obviously takes more time to recover. but it's totally, utterly, absolutely, definitely, completely, thoroughly, entirely, wholeheartedly, and essentially normal in my life so nothing is actually new here. yeah i'm in pain but will be cured eventually.
hockey isn't real in fact, therefore it can't hurt me. it would be so much worse if i didn't know them at all in the first place. so if i could go back to that boxing day evening again and even if i knew that i'd be heartbroken after 10 days later, would i still be watching team czechia? hell yeah. with no hesitation yeah. a thousand times yes. unequivocally yes.
hey czechia u20 hockey team!
massive congratulations on winning the silver medal! what a team you’ve got there. thanks so very much for putting on a show i'll never forget, i had a blast watching you guys compete hard every second. this is just a beginning and wish you guys all the best.
děkujeme for the nezapomenutelné memories 🇨🇿🦁❤️
