Canadian players and the Maple Leaf after their exciting win.
HOCKEY IS OURS. Our game. It, not lacrosse, is our true national sport.
For generations, lacrosse fans have insisted that history entitles their favorite game to the “national sport” label. But after Canada’s stirring 3-2 overtime win against the U.S. hockey team last night (Feb. 21, 2025), surely it’s time to put to bed the lacrosse myth.
Not that lacrosse isn’t a worthy game. It’s older than hockey, and in recent years it’s started coming into its own after generations of being largely ignored by the general population. But it’s not hockey; never will be. It’s not as fast and it’s not as exciting.
The two games have their similarities, but never could lacrosse generate the emotions, the pride, that came to the surface during the Four Nations Face-off, especially in last night’s glorious victory.
Theoretically, lacrosse is on an equal footing with hockey. When then-Kamloops MP Nelson Riis introduced a private member’s bill in 1994 to designate hockey as our official national sport, he was actually doing something that had been tried several times before. Ten times, in fact, various politicians had attempted to do the same thing over the years. But that didn’t deter
Riis (who later would try unsuccessfully to get the federal government to ban the trade of Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton to Los Angeles).
“We are the best in the world,” Riis proclaimed in Parliament after Canada won both the men’s and women’s world championships that year.
“Playing and watching hockey is a Canadian cultural pastime. Who watching the Canadian flag being raised at the World Hockey championship and watching our players belting out ‘O Canada’ did not have tears in their eyes?
“The players said they were proud to represent Canada and we are proud of them.”
Speaking in favour of his private member’s bill, Riis enthused that “We are a northern people and hockey is a northern sport. It is certainly fair to say it is much more than a game in our country.”
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association supported his bill. But lacrosse fans didn’t. Riis Bill C-212 was amended to state that hockey is our national winter sport but lacrosse is our national summer sport. So, the National Sport Act of 1994 gave us not one but two national sports.
But the status of lacrosse as a national sport has always been a bit of a charade. While it is an important part in Canada’s sport history, it has never attained the devoted following that hockey has.
The just-concluded hockey series raised that level to new heights. It eclipsed the thrilling 1972 win over the Russians, all the world championships that followed, even the “golden goal” of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Certainly, much of it had to do with the issue of the Trump tariffs. For those who will say, “sports and politics should never mix,” re-examine history. Sports and politics have always been inseparable.
This most recent iteration of hockey was Canada’s way of declaring our national sovereignty and uniqueness. Can you imagine such defiance coalescing around lacrosse?
Hockey is one of our greatest exports. Various Canadian cities have claimed to be the birthplace of hockey and it’s a friendly rivalry that will undoubtedly go on for generations.
As Chantal Kreviazuk sang as she led O Canada preceding the start of last night’s game, “that only us command,” instead of “in all of us command.” And as Canadian coach Jon Cooper (a native son of Prince George) said after the game, “I just hope Canada is proud, because every player in that room is proud to be Canadian…. This was a win for 40-plus million people.”
And, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted so perfectly, “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.”
But most importantly, Riis’ rationale for naming hockey as our national sport prevails. Hockey, he said, is all about national unity.
Canada’s victory on ice last evening was all about that. So we’ll continue to cherish lacrosse, and it can carry on as our “national summer sport.” But the “winter’ should be removed from hockey’s designation. It’s our national sport, all year long.
Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ROTHENBURGER – Hockey is Canada’s national sport; sorry, lacrosse isn’t Canadian News Today.
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