Czechs in History A brief history of Czech ice hockey

28-04-2004 | Jan Velinger, Katrin Bock

In Canada it is referred to simply as "The Game", a national sport, a spectator passion, and a winter pastime. But, Canadians are far from alone in their passion: though they may have invented ice hockey, this sport more than any other, carries similar resonance for the Czechs, whose own hockey tradition reaches back to the turn of the 20th century. It may have taken them forty years to become world champions and ninety to win Olympic gold, but few doubt the Czechs' place in the world of hockey today. They have stars in the NHL and one of the best goaltenders ever to play the game. What's more in 2004 the Czechs even produced an opera in the name of the sport celebrating their 1998 gold finish. Now, not even the Canadians have that!

Czechs - Austria, Stvanice stadium 1933 Czechs - Austria, Stvanice stadium 1933   Back

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