Today's the final day of Special Olympics events here in Idaho, so Cathy and I headed out to the fairgrounds to watch some floor hockey medal matches.
The place was pretty packed, from the bleachers to the rink (court?) sides, with people singing and chanting and cheering on their favorite teams. We watched a bit of Russia-Hungary (Hungary took gold in D1), but were quickly swept up in the D2 gold medal match between Canada and Jamaica.
When we got there, it looked like a rout. Canada had the lead 5-0 and appeared to be doing whatever they wanted with the puck--or whatever that soft doughnut-shaped thingy they play with is called. But the tide turned, and quickly.
Shortly after we grabbed a spot behind a rowdy bunch of Trinidad and Tobago fans, Jamaican scored their first goal. Their player had run the length of the floor, through the whole Canadian team, seemingly untouched, and put it in the net. The crowd went nuts.
And Canada looked tired. There was lots of standing around on the red team, and lots of very fast movement from the green and yellow. No great passing, no amazing strategy, just push it up, dodge the defenders, and throw it at the goal. But it worked, and it kept working.
The Canadian team suddenly seemed out of breath and helpless against the speedy Jamaican onslaught. Another goal, then another, punctuated by some quality net play by the Jamaican keeper, and suddenly the score was tied at 5.
Jamaica scored to take the lead, then scored again. Canada answered with one, bringing it to 7-6. Jamaica would deny them the tie with another goal, and though Canada put another in the net, they were unable to close the gap in the final line (9 "lines" of 3 minutes each makes a match, I learned). Some confusion in the final seconds saw 3 seconds added to the clock and a keeper switch for Jamaica, but the green team cleared the puck and the game was done. 8-7 Jamaica.
It was an amazing and wonderful thing to see.
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