After four years, Czech hockey players are exceptionally visible with a national emblem on their chest. And they score. The popular sports server The Athletic described their sports attire from Beijing as the most beautiful hockey jersey in the history of the Olympic Games.
The subjective ranking came from a “draft” in which three web editors selected. Murat Ates was the first to pull the lot.
“I’m Canadian, you know, and I can’t get enough of our golden memories over the years,” said a journalist who otherwise covers the Winnipeg Jets. “That’s why, of course, I wanted to vote with my heart. But then I took a good look at all the Canadian jerseys. And you know what I found out? Most of them were downright boring.”
“Czech jerseys, I think contemporary beauties, are full of colors and have a coat of arms, thanks to which I feel like in Game of Thrones,” Ates continued. “A two-tailed lion? Crowned eagles with claws from which I have nightmares? The night is dark and full of horrors, friends, and it has completely engulfed me,” he added, referring to the popular series
“Aesthetically, this is the best Czech jersey ever,” agreed Sean Shapiro, whose professional domain is the hockey business page. “But I would have a weakness for the jersey from 1998, when Hasek led the team to gold. However, I understand why you did not choose him as a Canadian,” he reminded Ates Nagano, where Dominik Hasek et al. stopped the favored Canadians already in the semifinals.
“Like Sean, I would have chosen the 1998 version – not because of Hašek, but Jaromír Jágr. Do you remember his mulet? No wonder they won,” added Sara Civian, who otherwise covers Hurricanes.
He finished in the “draft” on the silver medal jersey of the United States from the 1960 California Games, where American hockey players first took Olympic gold. The third place fell Swedes of Turin 2006.
The current Czech jersey differs significantly from the previous ones in the shoulder part. According to designers from the Nike company, the triangular pattern is based on the geometry of the Czech flag and is supposed to resemble knight’s armor.
However, the most significant change at the Olympics is the presence of a large coat of arms on the chest. Normally, the Czech jerseys are dominated by the lion’s logo of the union, presented during the generally negative reactions of the public in 2018.
Hockey players compete with him at world championships or preparatory tournaments. In the case of the Olympic Games, however, this is not possible – only motifs such as the name of the country, the coat of arms or the flag can be used on the jersey. Therefore, the domestic association in Beijing returned to a proven design.
