February 27, 2025

I’ve always loved the sport of hockey, and as you may have seen I’ve even gotten back on the ice again recently. The energy, physicality, and competitiveness is hard to match, and the Four Nations Face-Off featured all of it at the highest level. Huge congratulations to the boys on Team Canada and Team USA for amazing performances in the championship game. Staged by the NHL in place of a traditional all-star game to promote the league returning to Olympic participation in 2026, it had some of the most intense hockey (and hockey trash talk) I’ve ever watched. The final was serious edge-of-your-seat, nail-biter sports drama that had me fully locked in from the moment the opening puck dropped.

I was also intrigued by the response from sports fans and sports media. At first, it seemed to be nothing but love for the tournament–the concept and the game play–and it resulted in the NHL getting a ton of positive, national attention for the first time in a long time. And rightly so. I’m no hockey expert, obviously, but I trust the guys who live and breathe the game who were saying this was some of the best, high-level hockey they’d ever seen. I also trust the numbers, which say that the final between Canada and the USA was the second-most watched hockey game in North America over the last decade.

But then, the attention started to take a negative turn that didn’t sit quite right with me. The tournament took place at the same time as NBA All-Star Weekend, which is an event that has become more of a skills showcase over the years and could not be more different from the Four Nations Face-Off if it took place on the moon. For some reason, the contrast between these two events turned the sports news cycle into a referendum on the intensity of the NBA all-star game and the quality of participation from the sport’s superstars, instead of a whole-hearted celebration of amazing end-to-end hockey.

It was so confusing. Why were we talking about LeBron’s decision not to suit up and the lack of defense in the All-Star game when we could be talking about the Tkatchuk brothers dropping the gloves like a scene out of Slapshot? Or both goalies turning into octopuses made out of brick wall, or 37-year-old Sidney Crosby playing through an elbow injury, or the greatest player in the world getting himself open in front of the net half-way through overtime to bury the game winner past the best goalie in the game?

The bigger problem with all these hot takes, though, is that they don’t actually solve the problems that the talking heads were talking their heads off about. You want the greatest athletes in the world to go out and play their hearts out in an exhibition game, as if it’s a real game, but you haven’t asked the most important question: what are the players actually playing for, and is there enough to make going hard worth the risk?

I get all the criticisms, trust me. I want to see the best in the world compete, too. When the best have a chance to square off, I want to see the best be the best. I want my sport and my favorite players to shine brightly under the biggest spotlight. That’s what made the Four Nations Face-Off so great.

But then I put my player hat on, and all of a sudden the criticisms about the all-star game start to ring a little less true.

First, as a pro, your #1 allegiance has to be to your teammates, to the men or women who you share a locker room with, who you share meals with, who you travel and go out with, who you fight with, and who you fight for. This is especially important for the All-Pro or All-Star guys because your status as one of the best in the league implies that you are also disproportionately important to the future success of your team.

In the NBA, the All-Star game happens two-thirds of the way through the season and kicks off the stretch run into the playoffs. This year, all but 4 or 5 guys playing on All-Star Weekend are on teams in the thick of the playoff hunt. If SGA plays like it’s a Game 7 and plows into Evan Mobley on a drive to the rim and they both get injured, that’s two critical pieces of the #1 seed in each conference going down at the worst possible time.

I made 15 Pro Bowls and almost never played because I had 52 guys counting on me each season to lead us deep into the playoffs and hopefully the Super Bowl. These were my guys! My brothers-in-arms (even the kickers). They were also men with goals and dreams that football success was making possible. If I’m out there going 100% in a game that doesn’t matter, and Aaron Donald does his Tony Siragusa impression and snaps my collarbone, I am potentially a part of stealing their dreams and messing with their futures.

If you want guys to play hard, the only way to do that safely and effectively, ironically enough, is to up the intensity level all around. It’s to practice hard, train hard, have long meetings and detailed walk-throughs, the whole gamut. Which is easier said than done. Do you have any idea how hard it is, when you’re in Orlando or Honolulu at the end of the season, to get a bunch of offensive linemen away from the hotel bar and into pads or a meeting room? Plus, most guys bring their kids and turn Pro Bowl week into a little family vacation.

None of this is conducive to the kind of intense preparation you need in order to play a real game at anywhere close to 100%. To make an all-star game a real game, everyone has to be locked in, ready to execute at the highest level, and fully committed to each other and to a common goal. If even one person is dragging ass or cutting corners or pulling in their own direction, that’s how injuries happen, seasons get ruined, and championship windows get slammed shut.

The last thing you have to understand is that money isn’t the answer. To get players to really buy into a tournament that technically doesn’t count, you have to find something that transcends money, ego or the name on the back of the jersey. You have to give them something bigger to play for.

This is what the NHL found with the Four Nations Face-Off. They found the pride of playing for your country and wearing your country’s colors across your chest. It was clear to me watching the championship game that I didn’t need to ask what, or who, every one of these guys was playing for. Anyone who strapped on a pair of skates in this tournament hit the ice at a million miles an hour, propelled by honor, pride, fellowship and gratitude–and it was thrilling to witness.

The NBA and the NFL need to find their versions of that.

Speaking only for myself, I know that if the Pro Bowl had some element where I was playing for something bigger than individual gain or accolades—my country, my alma mater (Go Blue!), maybe even my hometown (West Coast is the best coast, baby), I definitely would have played in more of them. That ship has sailed, unfortunately.

Thankfully, flag football is coming to the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 and I cannot wait! I’m sure the US Olympic Committee is already deep into building out the leadership structure for this team, and it’s going to be an incredible honor for anyone who ends up involved in the event... But just the idea of walking into Olympic Stadium with the whole team during the Opening Ceremonies and wearing the red, white, and blue, is something I never thought might be in the cards for me. I’ll be ready if I’m called to serve!

It’s as close as I’ll get to what the guys on this year’s Team USA probably felt over the last couple weeks playing in the Four Nations Face-Off. And that’s more than enough for me.

Linked

Some of my favorite clips that pop up on social, they do a great job talking with players. Fascinating to hear the story behind that start in Montreal.

Spittin' Chiclets @spittinchiclets Brady Tkachuk walked us through the group chat that rocked the #4Nations 📱 https://youtu.be/2VuTc8-nfiQ?si=Zi4WCyzUhQlnfPn7 1:34 PM • Feb 25, 2025 113 Retweets 1966 Likes Read 92 replies

​

​My latest YouTube video captured all the behind-the-scenes of my first Super Bowl experience in the booth...

​

Keep an eye out for a new video next week!

With Appreciation,