The Four Nations Face-Off hosted by the NHL includes the nations of Sweden, Canada, U.S.A, and Finland, where the best of the best from each nation faces off in a play-off style series where the winner takes home gold medals, along with a substantial amount of pride for their country. Throughout the series, the competitive nature was apparent, but most notable in the two games between the United States and Canada, where they showed extreme pride in their nations, along with possible political tensions.

The first encounter of the two teams was on February 15th where Team USA secured a 3-1 victory over Canada in Montreal. This game was characterized by extremely high political feelings, which was expressed by Canadian fans when they booed “The Star-Spangled Banner”, while also singing over it with “O Canada” during the pre-game ceremony. This reaction was directly caused by the rising political tensions between USA and Canada, mainly due to President Donald Trump’s suggestion of the annexation of Canada as the 51st state. Just two seconds into the game, a physical altercation occured between Canada’s Brandon Hengel and USA’s Matthew Tkachuk, while Canada’s Jacob Trouba went against USA’s Brady Tkachuk. All while this was happening, Canada’s Nick Paul took on USA’s Zach Werenski. These altercations set the tone for the rest of the game, and it was clear with the multiple fights in just a few seconds that there was an underlying reason. Post-game, Hagel was interviewed about the national pride that was taking place on the ice that fueled the rivalry: “We’re out there playing for a flag, not the cameras.”

Their rematch was on February 20th in Boston, which was the finals of the 4 Nations Face-Off, and stakes were high. American fans reciprocated the actions of the first game and booed “O Canada,” intensifying the arena right away. This game consisted of many physical battles, fierce competition, and overall applaudable hockey from both sides. The intensity was reflected in the outcome of the game, Canada being victorious with a 3-2 overtime win, the final goal being scored by Canadian Connor McDavid. Canada’s Prime Minister Jusin Tradeu’s message after this game “You can’t take our country- and you can’t take our game,” was a pointed remark to President Trump’s annexation suggestions, which reflects not only the rivalries in sports, but Canada’s nationalistic behavior.

This series of games emphasized how sports can reflect and intensify political tensions between nations. Canada vs. USA hockey rivalry lives not just in players, but as an overall nation. This story reminds fans and citizens that sports are not just competitive in terms of winning, but it is also for national pride and identity.