If you missed the Olympic gold medal hockey game between the United States and Canada, you missed a doozy. 

It was a truly spectacular hockey game. The US took a 1-0 lead in the first period and held it all the way until the third period, when the Canadians evened the score. Then they ended up in sudden-death overtime, where Jack Hughes delivered a game-winner for the ages. 

He’d already taken a high stick to the face, so he was missing a bunch of teeth.

It was the most hockey thing ever.

What was really refreshing about it was the way that the men’s hockey team responded: basic patriotism. I know this has now become controversial among some folks, but there’s nothing controversial about America being awesome. 

After the game, Jack Hughes said, “This is all about our country now. I love the USA. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey Brotherhood is so strong, and we had so much support from our players, and I’m so proud of the Americans.”

Isn’t that great? Can’t we simply feel good about that? 

The answer for some people, of course, is no.

Many people are not feeling good about Team USA winning gold, because how can you be proud of America in the age of Donald Trump? 

Here’s the thing: If Barack Obama were president and Team USA won gold in men’s hockey, I think we’d all still feel pretty good about it.  

So why does that change if you don’t like the president of the United States?

Notice how the men’s hockey team reacted when President Trump called. Were they upset that Trump called them? 

No, because he’s the president of the United States. 

Just get over it. You might not like him. It doesn’t matter. When the president of the United States calls to congratulate you on winning a gold medal for the United States, you take the call, and you smile. 

There are many reasons to feel good about this, and it’s a reminder of the sort of stuff that typically unites Americans. The first is that we like meritocracy. Virtually every major television event of the last year and a half has been a sports event. Why? Because sports is one of the few areas of American life where we all agree that meritocracy is taking place, that the best team wins, or the team with the most guts.

That’s where all the drama lies. Meritocracy is about the adventure. It’s about the drama. It’s about the thrill of victory. That’s why Americans love it. 

And so watching the hockey team win gold is awesome because sports are the realm of meritocracy. 

The second thing that always unites Americans is having a common enemy in sports. The common enemy is whoever the United States is playing against. 

This has been true forever, and not just for the United States. There is a very famous British phrase used in the lead-up to World War I that stated the wars won on the battlefield began on the playing fields of Eton, meaning that soldiers first learned to work as a team by playing sports as boys, and that connected them to masculinity and military prowess.

And so it’s easy for Americans to come together when there’s a common opponent. One of the reasons we have splintered so much as a nation over the last several decades is that the United States is, in fact, a global hegemon. That is why there’s a feeling that most of our conflicts are internal. 

But that’s not true. The vast majority of real conflicts on planet Earth are between the United States and nefarious powers. This game meant a lot to America because it was a unifying moment. 

But of course, I’m joking when I equate the Canadians to the Russians. If the United States had defeated a global superpower in hockey that was also geopolitically an enemy like the Russians or the Chinese, that would have been even bigger. That’s what the 1980 Olympic hockey game was all about. 

But for Americans to truly feel unified, we have to see what’s on the other side of the fence. Otherwise, we tend to tear ourselves apart internally.

The breakdown here is fascinating sociologically. You’re seeing two groups of people who are looking at this wonderful event, this fun and unifying event, and trying to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Some people on the Left are saying, “How dare we feel good about America in a time when Donald Trump is president of the United States?” 

The Huffington Post had a piece by Monica Torres titled, “There’s A Name For The Discomfort You’re Feeling Watching The Olympics Right Now.” Torres added, “If waving the American flag or chanting USA turns you off right now, you’re not alone.”

You should be alone because you suck. 

But that’s the basic idea here from some members of the Left. 

I’m supposed to feel bad that the American men’s hockey team won the gold because you didn’t vote for the guy who is currently in the Oval Office?

This is a split between the Right and the Left in virtually all polling data. Conservatives are always patriotic about the country, even when a Democrat is president. Democrats are significantly less patriotic about the country when a Democrat is not president.

There’s also a bizarre, fringe movement on the Right, trying to suggest that this isn’t a cool thing. Why? Because it turns out that some members of the U.S. men’s hockey team are not necessarily the most conservative on every single issue. So now we’re going to delve into their social media histories and try to determine whether Jack Hughes voted for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

Are you kidding me with this crap? 

I know that a lot of the time it doesn’t feel like we’re on the same team. Yes, there are Americans who are not on our team. The people who are not on our team are people rooting for foreign powers, and who see America as essentially a dispensable nation unless they win, unless they get their way. 

The reason people feel good today about what happened at the Olympics is that it was a nice reminder that we do share a country, and it’s good that we share our country.

The U.S. women’s hockey team, which won gold against Canada earlier this week, said on Monday that the players could not attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, citing “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”

Trump invited the U.S. women’s and men’s hockey teams to attend his address on Tuesday night after both teams brought home the gold medal, with each team taking down arch-nemesis Canada in overtime. While not yet official, the men’s hockey team appeared excited to make the trip to Capitol Hill for Trump’s address. The women’s team, however, said that “the athletes are unable to participate.”

“We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal–winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,” a USA Hockey spokesman said, according to NBC News.

The women’s team dominated during the Olympics, allowing just two goals throughout the entire tournament. Despite blowing past Canada in the preliminary round 5-0, the U.S. women found themselves trailing late against Canada in the gold-medal game. In a thrilling finish, Hilary Knight tied the game with just two minutes left before Megan Keller scored the game-winner in sudden-death overtime to lift the U.S. women past Canada.

A State of the Union invite is a rare honor, as members of Congress, as well as the speaker and the president, are afforded a very limited number of guests. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Monday that officials were working to “figure out logistics” for the House to host both teams, which would include dozens of players and coaches, POLITICO reported.

“There’s no way to have special guests on the floor because it’s a literal session of Congress,” he said. “But we’re going to work and do what we can to accommodate.”

After the United States won its first gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980 on Sunday, Trump spoke to the team over the phone and invited them to the State of the Union.

“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” Trump told the men’s team after its victory over Canada. He joked that if he didn’t also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

The U.S. men’s team, most of whom were chugging beers alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, was ecstatic when Trump spoke to them over the phone in the locker room.

“We’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I could send a military plane or something if you would like to,” Trump said. Some of the players then replied, stating, “We’re in!”

“If you could work that out, I would be honored to have you all,” Trump added.

The men’s team flew back to the United States on Monday, arriving in Miami after their flight was rerouted due to the massive winter storm in the Northeast. Star forward Matthew Tkachuk told reporters that the team would spend the day in Miami before flying to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Asked if they would attend the State of the Union, Tkachuk replied, “I don’t know what our plan is yet.”

Tkachuk said “it was an honor” to get a call from Trump after the gold-medal victory.

“We’re definitely honored to represent him and hundreds of millions across the country, bringing a gold medal back,” he added.