Great Britain: "We're sh*te and we know we are"

Look, I lived and worked in London for four months and something I learned very quickly is that ice hockey isn't that big across the UK. Even field hockey seemed to be more popular amongst my British colleagues, as the default for hockey popped an image of the field before it did ice.

Nevertheless, ice hockey still lives across the UK. Home of the Elite Ice Hockey League, it's not uncommon for North American players to hop across the pond and play a bit of British hockey for a few years. It's a much smaller league and the pace isn't anything comparable to the likes of the NHL, KHL, and similar leagues. So with that reputation in mind, it was miracle enough that Great Britain's national team made it to Worlds at all. And they knew it.

Matched against powerhouse Team USA, Britain put up an honorable fight and put up a strong three goals against a team mostly comprised of NHL stars. Although they lost 6-3 in the end, British players weren't phased, some feeling proud to be playing against this kind of competition at all. Laughing, one player joked that the whole experience is pretty surreal, playing against the very guys they have on their fantasy rosters at home.

So, with GB just here to play their hardest and have fun doing it, this morning's match up against France was a more familiar rivalry, but still a match overshadowed by Sweden vs Latvia playing simultaneously. Trailing 0-3, it seemed to be another uncharacteristic game.

But, in true British fashion, that couldn't have been more wrong.

In one of the most wild, fun games of the tournament, Great Britain came back with a new surge of power and energy. Goal after goal, the British finally tied it up early in the third, keeping the suspense up for the rest of regulation. All the way until the game was forced into overtime.

Then, just two minutes into overtime, Ben Davies scores and wins it for Team Great Britain, an effective comeback where France blew a 3-0 lead.

That's pretty British in itself, but it can always be more British. Always.

Riding the high of the miraculous win, Team Great Britain cellies in the most British way possible: by chanting "We're shite and we know we are". Peak British humor, really.

(Tweet Source: Jeff Veillette)

Never change, Britain, never ever change.

(Jacqueline Oiga | May 20, 2019)