Heidi Stevens: Dissenting Americans keep making lemonade out of Trump’s lemons — including his hockey call |
For the first time in history, the USA women’s hockey team and the USA men’s hockey team both won gold at the same Olympic Winter Games.
The men’s team last won gold in 1980, against Finland, shortly after defeating the heavily favored Soviet Union in a match that stunned and sustained a weary nation. The game against the Soviets, which inspired the fantastic movie “Miracle,” happened exactly 46 years — to the day — before the USA men’s team grabbed the gold this year.
If you saw this year’s win, you know it was epic. Team USA beat rival Canada 2-1 in overtime. Jack Hughes gave up some teeth a few minutes before scoring the winning goal, making for the hockey-iest of all hockey photos when he grinned, bloodily, and wrapped himself, literally, in the flag. When it was time for team photos, the players brought the children of hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, killed in 2024 by an alleged drunk driver, onto the ice and posed with Gaudreau’s jersey. A beautiful event, start to finish.
The women’s hockey team also beat rival Canada. Also 2-1. Also in overtime. Also for the gold.
This is the women’s team’s third gold (2026, 2018, 1998), in addition to their four silvers (2002, 2010, 2014, 2022) and one bronze (2006). But women weren’t competing in Olympic hockey the last time the men won gold. So this year was historic on top of historic. Emotional, beautiful, unifying.
Then the president called.
He congratulated the men on their gold and invited them to Tuesday’s State of the Union address and he told........