Living in the Czech Republic: "Hockey players have fire in their hearts and ice in their veins." Author Unknown

The Australians have AFL, the Americans NFL and the English have football. For the Czechs it is ice hockey that is their national sporting passion. And rightfully so, as the Czech Republic boast one of the most successful ice hockey teams in the world. In 1998 they won gold at the Nagono Winter Olympics, a bronze in 2006 at the Torino Winter Olympics (becoming one of only 3 teams to medal twice at the Olympic Games along with Russia and Finland) as well as a slew of World Championships including the 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005 titles. During this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver the nation had high hopes for the team, however they finished in a disappointing 7th position. Despite this result, ice hockey has remained the Czech's national sporting passion.

2010 World Ice Hockey Championships

Over the weekend I was fortunate to experience this passion on not one but two separate occasions. Since May 7 the world's best hockey teams had competed at the German-hosted 2010 IIHF World Championship. With the Czech team having reached the semi-finals and the sun back out over the weekend, I decided to head down to my favourite (I may be biased but it is such a beautiful place!), local beer garden, Reigrovy Sady, on Saturday afternoon to watch them play their match against the Swedes.

Semi Final

And what a thrilling match it was! I had never really watched much ice hockey before, but I soon discovered the game to be extremely exciting, fast-paced and even dangerous. Both teams played well, however it was the Swedes that lead most of the way. It looked as though they were going to be victorious over the Czechs and I had almost resigned myself to this fact when in the final seconds of the match the Czechs scored to equalise the game. The garden erupted with celebrations and I instantly felt a buzz of excitement. This excitement only continued to build during the extra time (10 minutes) and with neither team scoring a golden goal the match went to a penalty shootout. Both teams scored their first penalty shot, then when the Swedes missed their second shot the excitement reached fever pitch. Then boom... the Czechs scored their third and the garden erupted once more with even louder celebrations - the Czechs were through to the grand final!

Final

I was told by some friends that Old Town Square on Sunday night was the place to be for the final, as during significant events such as this big screens were set up for the public to view. Making my way there I could feel the tremendous sense of excitement among the Prazaks. The event had brought out the patriot in everyone it seemed, everywhere I looked there were people dressed in Czech team colours, faces painted and bodies adorned with flags. I arrived to the Square to find a formidable buzz in the air - literally thousands had turned out to support their team.

The final was played against the Russians, an equally if not stronger and more successful team. There was some musical entertainment to warm up the crowd, but when the first images of the Czech team were broadcast onscreen the crowd really got going. For the next two hours a collective chorus of chanting would reign, set off by the many highs of the game.

The first high being just 20 seconds in, when the Czechs scored the first goal. Horns were blown, banners were waved and a sea of supporters jumped to their feet and chanted. The Russians had several attempts at shot but Czech goalie Tomas Vokoun, fearlessly fought off their attacks, to which the crowd responded to enthusiastically. At the end of the second third the Czechs scored once again to bring the score to 2-0.

In the final third the Russian's play turned nasty, which was evident in the numerous penalties they received. A direct hit was even taken on Czech national superstar Jaromir Jagr, resulting in loud boos of dismay. Despite being down in players, the Russians managed to score in the final moments, but it was little consolation to the might of the Czech team who moments later jubilantly celebrated their new World Championship crown.

Once again the crowd erupted in celebration. Fire crackers were set off, fans hugged one another and surrounding speakers blared the ever-universal "We Are The Champions" by Queen. As the crowd dispersed so too did the celebrations, with chanting fans spilling onto the nearby streets and public transport. Taking the metro back home was quite the experience. Passionate but well-behaved Czechs crammed into carriages, reveling in the glory of their win.

As I got off and walked back home I felt a certain sense of pride. The enthusiasm had been contagious and, as tired as I was from standing several hours in the masses, I felt really lucky to have experienced such a momentous occasion.

So as the locals would say - Česky! Česky! Česky!

Australian in Prague