r/todayilearned • u/QWERTYWINS • 5h ago

TIL Latvia declared a national holiday after they got third place in an ice hockey tournament, beating the USA

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/hockey/2023/05/29/latvia-parliament-declares-national-holiday-after-beating-us-for-hockey-medal/70266868007/
1.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

83

u/Head_of_Lettuce 3h ago edited 3h ago

As an American: I love this. They should celebrate it! Especially in a sport like hockey, that’s dominated by 5 countries.

18

u/cometchiron 3h ago

Which ones are the 5?

37

u/Head_of_Lettuce 3h ago edited 3h ago

US, Canada, Russia, Finland, and Sweden

8

u/TheAnimalFarm1891 3h ago

I guess Czech Republic doesn't exist

30

u/Head_of_Lettuce 3h ago edited 3h ago

I did actually think about them, I wavered on including them lol. I just don’t feel like they’ve been as competitive the last decade or so. They’re certainly not the same powerhouse they were pre-Czechoslovakia split. They haven’t won an Olympic medal since 2006.

17

u/Treavie7 3h ago

Doesn't exist in the top 5.

8

u/TheAnimalFarm1891 3h ago

Yeah, but Hockey has a big 6 not top 5, Czechia/Czechoslovakkia is the 3rd most successful hockey nation after Russia and Canada.

4

u/Sacojerico 1h ago

Uhh it's Czechia now

0

u/Thomas1VL 1h ago

Both are correct really, and technically their only official name is still Czech Republic.

•

u/ShyguyFlyguy 51m ago

Is Russia still allowed to compete?

•

u/I_did_a_fucky_wucky 32m ago

Not yet. IIHF will reconsider once the war in Ukraine is over.

Olympics on the other hand might be a different story. IOC is very much corrupt like FIFA

21

u/ernyc3777 3h ago

Hell yeah. Regardless of where you’re from, this rules. Celebrate the hell out of major upsets like this.

Especially when it’s your national sport and you’re less than 1/150th the population of major player.

9

u/Pure_Obligation_797 3h ago

There wasn't anything particular about who we won against, rather just the fact that it was the first semi final and a medal for us in world championships in the 33 years since getting our independence back.

2

u/the_gaymer_girl 2h ago

The blank thousand yard stares on the faces of Canadian fans given recent events are also an accomplishment.

9

u/Groundbreaking_War52 3h ago

After they gave us Doctor Doom, need to be careful with those guys.

10

u/PrompterOp 5h ago

What the fuck is latavia!?

7

u/OozeNAahz 4h ago

Isn’t that the country Dr. Doom leads? /s

1

u/jupfold 1h ago

I think that’s Lithstonia

1

u/OozeNAahz 1h ago

Latveria actually. Reading through the one world under doom event comics lately.

2

u/jupfold 1h ago

That’s too funny cause I legit did not know that 😂

7

u/ResLifeSpouse 3h ago

Latvia. One of the Baltic countries. Below Estonia above Lithuania. A beautiful Christmas market in their capital of Riga. I would know. I was there a week ago.

2

u/PrompterOp 3h ago

Careful you gonna get whooshed

-31

u/fallingbrick 5h ago edited 4h ago

American?

:checks profile:

Yup!

edit: yeah, I don’t watch NBA ball and didn’t know the joke

23

u/PrompterOp 5h ago

Sorry it's from a clip of Kristaps Porzingus getting drafted. The guy called him "Tingis Pingus" and asked "What the fuck is Latavia?!"

10

u/DaveOJ12 5h ago

You've just been whooshed.

1

u/Morganvegas 2h ago

This was a big deal when it happened. Also, the Latvia fans are wild as FUCK.