Disappointed in Finland
Well first Niinistö’s loss and now this. I’ve never seen so many people upset over a silver medal. The Olympics are over and Finland receive no gold medals, tieing for 12th place in total medals, quite impressive for a small country of 5.2 million. Just like after this past summer olympics, I’m waiting for the first bureaucrat to say that Finland needs more tax money spent on youth sports if we wish to do better.
Oh, and I’m going to personally buy a plane ticket and fly over to whichever asshole journalist is the first one to write, “Finland got Finnished by Sweden” or anything similar.
The bureaucrats you might wanna lobby are the ones at the Citizen Participation Policy Programme http://www.om.fi/29378.htm ,
who are this year trying to revise the funding (amongst other things) of youth organisations, including sports. (I’m not sure the English pages go to much depth on this issue, but the CPPP (heh), and the Ministry of Education through who funding to youth organisations is channelled, are the ones you’re looking for…)
Comment by Miriam — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 5:58 pm
Funny how you blame political system even both Sweden and Finland (those free-riding welfare bastards) were in final.
Comment by M — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 6:06 pm
I’m not blaming the political system at all! I just remember a few summers ago when Finland performed poorly in the summer olympics and some politicians blamed it on lack of tax money.
Comment by Phil — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 6:16 pm
“Funny how you blame political system even both Sweden and Finland (those free-riding welfare bastards) were in final.”
You obviously didn’t get it. To me, what Phil wrote sounded more like:
“Even though Finland lost the final they did pretty well overall, so we don’t really need to spend any more tax money on sports”.
Comment by nirva — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 6:18 pm
“Finland receive no gold medals, tieing for 12th place in total medals, quite impressive”
Extremely miserable compared to the good old days!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Olympics_medal_count
But even that one gold could have saved it all.
Yeah we’ve seen some great achievements ja se on niin pienestä kiinni…
Comment by Esko — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 6:22 pm
“Oh, and I’m going to personally buy a plane ticket and fly over to whichever asshole journalist”
Ruutu should take out YLE’s Saarinen next…
Comment by Esko — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 6:23 pm
I thought Saarinen was really chancing his arm tonight - especially when he dragged out the same question to the fourth or fifth guy, after they’d had a chance in the locker room to warn each other what was coming. I figured he’d get at least a v-word and a handful of p-words. Poor old Teppo was pretty cut up. He’s had a great career, and for him alone, I’d have wished for a different outcome.
But so it goes. Back to the drawing-board, one experience richer.
Comment by Anonymous — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 6:39 pm
I’m repeating myself here. Teemu was such a total class act in the post-game interviews, while the Swedes just talked about themselves and how it was “their turn”. WHAT??
Comment by Ravvy — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 6:42 pm
Of course they lost…the entire country practically gave up on them even before the puck hit the ice. And watching the guys nearly crying on camera in interviews after the game was totally depressing.
Comment by hfb — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 6:51 pm
And of course Finland doesn’t seemingly plough lots of money into sport now at schools etc and have an active organisation life.. At least it does outside the grand ring anyway (I have no experience of living in the inner ring or wish to ).
Comment by Paper — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 7:26 pm
Phil, seems like it’s the other way around this time!
“How Swede it is”…
http://sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=/olymp/news/BON4006788.htm
Comment by Esko — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 8:32 pm
The problem is not that Finland got silver, its that Sweden got gold.
Finland could have come in second to last, and that would have been great, as long as they beat Sweden.
“Of course they lost…the entire country practically gave up on them even before the puck hit the ice.”
- Now that is in the true Finnish spirit!
Comment by Fred Fry — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 8:39 pm
Now they are coming home, to be feted. Well, to stand in front of yet another microphone and say how disappointed they are, more like, and then at sparrow-fart, they will all have to fly off to North America, because their two-week Italian holiday is over and they have to go back to work as highly-paid slaves of the NHL again. What a glamorous life they lead.
Gold lost just now, bound for an hour at home,
Cheered in a market down in Helsinkee.
Scarred old Teppo know he ain’t doin’ alright.
Hear him cry a river just around midnight.
Ah white sugar how come you play so good
(a-ha) white sugar, just like a league-slave should
A-huh.
Comment by Anonymous — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 8:56 pm
This is just too sad. I feel sad and frustrated for the Finnish stars who never won anything big in their careers. The tragedy: Forsberg: 2 Olympic golds, 2 WC golds. Selänne: no golds at all.
Comment by Passer-by — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 11:23 pm
There’s only one thing for it. At moments like this, when the going gets weird, it is time for the weird to get going:
http://my.opera.com/velmu/homes/blog/calculus.jpg
Be afraid, Sweden, be very afraid. The puck just got BIGGER.
Comment by Anonymous — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 11:32 pm
uh, passer-by(comment #14), you feel sorry for teemu selanne? exactly how many classic cars due you have in your garage in america? something tells me that a couple million in the bank more than makes up for the lack of a gold medal. can anyone tell me if they are actually made of gold?
Comment by jenkki immigrant — Sun, Feb 26th, 2006 @ 11:51 pm
There always are and have been bureaucrats and other people who want more tax money spent in their business, and sports business is no different.
Losing to Sweden in this rubber (I guess it’s rubber?) hockey slashing seems to an emotional experience to many Finnish people, so it’s easy to take advantage of the situation.
Comment by Tero Lehto — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 12:25 am
“can anyone tell me if they are actually made of gold?”
At least the outer layer is. I feel very sorry for Selänne and Numminen too (despite the fact that they’re rich as hell); this was their last real chance to win something big.
Comment by Johhnyboy — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 12:29 am
Great silver show at Kauppatori!
Olli Jokinen was one of the biggest stars!
Comment by Sale — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 4:45 am
Look at Teppo Numminen’s interview, he’s almost crying. Feel so sorry for him. He’s been around since Calgary ‘88 and most likely will quit playing soon.
http://www.yle.fi/urheilu/mediasali/torino/id32154.html
Comment by Joey Buttafuoco — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 8:10 am
If pouring tax money on the problem is absolutely necessary, let’s export ice hockey to some hothead banana republic and make their team the best in the world. When we lose to them, everybody thinks isn’t it great they do well at least in ice hockey. And if they happen to lose to Sweden for some reason, the swedish embassy gets torched.
Nah, there were these football championships, where you heard about some god’s hand goal ad nauseam. If I was god, I wouldn’t give a damn about some football game…or ice hockey…Actually, I don’t give a damn.
Comment by Antti (the redneck one) — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 8:37 am
somestuff leijonat arrived to helsinki, ye ye
Comment by Conde — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 10:51 am
Swedes arrogance is maddening as hell, i.e. Swedish prime minister Goran Perssons laughing at Finnesh hockey team.
First Berlusconi and now Perssons, who’s next?
Comment by jokumies — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 1:15 pm
What’s the difference between Great Britain and Finland?
Great Britain has won Olympic gold in ice hockey…
Comment by Pave — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 2:39 pm
sweden’s arrogance goes on: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,784762,00.html
Comment by Pepe — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 3:10 pm
why are there a man and woman in every stockholm police car?
to prevent on the job romance.
Comment by Anonymous — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 3:27 pm
>And just imagine the Finnish arrogance in the unlikely event that they win something
Comment by Anonymous — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 9:51 pm
A brionze medal you win a silver one you lose.
Comment by Green — Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 10:05 pm
Plenty of American writers have been using the ‘Finnished’ phrase
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=finnished&btnG=Search+News
Comment by Jason Ward — Tue, Feb 28th, 2006 @ 6:14 am
Hey Finland, Buck up (as we say in the U.S.A) you won a silver medal in the Olympics. What’s more, your hockey team even made it to the Olympic finals. Many countries don’t ever make it that far.
Think of one other thing as well, where are all the Swedes gonna celebrate? In Finnish bars. Think of the boost to your economy!
Congratulations on your Silver Medal.
Comment by Ms. New Jersey — Tue, Feb 28th, 2006 @ 1:25 pm
Huh. Ms. New Jersey, that “buck up” thing must be a east coast thing or something because we’d never dare to say it out in MI. And this Finland vs. Sweden thing is something a bit more true, competitive, and traditional than “At least you made it. Good job *pats on the back*”. Finland getting beat by those bastards is like a good kick in the ass.
Comment by Mo — Thu, Mar 2nd, 2006 @ 1:29 am
#
Look at Teppo Numminen’s interview, he’s almost crying. Feel so sorry for him. He’s been around since Calgary ‘88 and most likely will quit playing soon.
http://www.yle.fi/urheilu/mediasali/torino/id32154.html
Comment by Joey Buttafuoco  Mon, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 8:10 am
I feel sorry for him too. Here was a Finnish team that hadn’t lost a game in the tournament until they went up against the Swedes. However, in spite of the loss, they have nothing to be ashamed about. As born and bred Americans, my wife and I were actually rooting for the Finns. We knew that they would get by the Yanks. Sure, I like Chris Drury. I think he’s a good hockey player (aside from the fact that he plays for my Sabres). However, I really wanted Numminen, Lydman, et al to take home the gold for Finland.
If my memory serves me correctly, Teppo’s father never won a medal at the Olympics. Kalevi Numminen coached the 1980 team that lost to Herb Brooks and the US squad, but I don’t know if he ever returned to Olympic coaching after that.
Comment by HockeyGuy2k6 — Tue, Oct 3rd, 2006 @ 1:44 am