While many Team Canada fans were crushed to see the women’s hockey team lose the gold medal on Wednesday night, one Calgary fan might have the best story of hockey heartbreak.
Michael Tobin and a couple of his friends travelled to Pyeongchang to take in the Olympic Games and cheer on all of the Canadians, which of course included the gold-medal game.
Partway through the game, they spotted a pocket of seats just behind a group of Canadians and moved down closer to the ice, only to find themselves seated in front of some pretty popular fans of the opposing team.
Tobin said just as they sat down, he got a text message from his mother, watching from home in Canada, wondering where he was seated so she could try to spot him. He sent her a video of him looking disappointed as the entire cast of the Today Show cheered and danced behind him.
WATCH: Calgarian Michael Tobin appears on Today Show after viral video of Olympic disappointment.
At the time, the Canadians were tied with Team USA 2-2. The Canadians eventually lost the gold to their neighbours and opponents in a shootout.
“It definitely gets a bit awkward because you get used to the whole rivalry during the game where people are chanting, ‘Go Canada Go,’ and then in between those pauses you hear, ‘U-S-A,'” Tobin said.
“So it was that back and forth and it was such a close game… so you’re both getting that moment and then, in the end, there was no more moment for the Canadian fans.
“They were so friendly we could just have a laugh about it and congratulate them and that’s what it’s about. It’s about that sportsmanship if you’re the player or if you’re the fan.”
Tobin eventually tweeted the video, saying he guessed he “picked the wrong section to sit in TODAY” and it quickly gained popularity, getting hundreds of retweets including one from the Today Show itself. Tobin also made a guest appearance on the Today Show‘s Pyeongchang set on Thursday morning.
WATCH: Calgarian Michael Tobin talks about being seated in front of the celebratory Today Show cast as the Canadian women’s hockey team lost the gold medal to the United States on Wednesday night.
“It was pretty funny to see them having so much fun and cheering and it was great,” Tobin said.
“They were just so friendly and that’s kind of what the Olympics is all about right? You’re meeting other countries and there’s that friendly rivalry and we had a blast.”
Tobin said that while it was heartbreaking to see the women’s team lose the gold-medal game, he believes they should still celebrate their great accomplishment in getting the silver medal.
“Especially when we watched the medal ceremony, that ceremony happened so quickly after the loss and you could just see the look on the girls’ faces of despair,” he said.
“It is a bit heartbreaking but they should be so proud. It’s a silver medal and it was a fantastic game and I don’t think it could have been more exciting.”
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