I don’t follow hockey myself, but I’d wager that even many non-fans tuned in for the final showdown of the 4 Nations Face-Off between Team USA and Canada. The rivalry carried more than just athletic weight: it was laced with political undertones. Last week, the air inside Montreal’s Bell Centre crackled with hostility and tension as Canadian fans made their sentiments clear, booing the Star-Spangled Banner in a striking moment that highlighted the widening rift between the two countries. That ended with Team USA winning 3-1. On Thursday night, a different story unfolded at Boston's TD Garden. There, a predominantly American crowd joined in a rousing rendition of the anthem, their voices swelling with patriotism in a powerful display.
ALL OF BOSTON IS SINGING THE ANTHEM 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/DnFbhdXRz6
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 21, 2025
As for the game itself, that didn’t end as well, as Canada won 3-2 in overtime.
But I’m not here to talk about the game. I’m here to talk about the media’s spin on the outcome.
Check out this headline from TIME Magazine.
Canada thwarts Trump-backed Team USA in thrilling 4 Nations hockey championship https://t.co/kLE50thO1g
— TIME (@TIME) February 21, 2025
For some reason, TIME felt it had to inject Donald Trump into an international hockey game, as if Trump bore some responsibility for the outcome. The implication is comical — did Trump personally coach the team, sharpen their skates, or handpick the roster? Of course not. But because Team USA lost, TIME seized the opportunity to frame it as some kind of political defeat, as if the players were merely proxies for Trump himself. It’s a transparent attempt to politicize a sporting event that had nothing to do with him, forcing a narrative where none exists.
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Now, I certainly don’t deny the political undertones of the game, but it’s bizarre for an American magazine to call America’s team the “Trump-backed” team in the headline after they lost to Canada, don’t you think? What bothers me the most about the phrase "Trump-Backed" is that it suggests the team’s existence or performance hinged on one man’s endorsement, ignoring the obvious: Team USA is backed by, well, the United States — its fans, its sports culture, its collective pride. When the United States competes in the Olympics, they represent the country, not the country’s president. The same goes for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The report itself noted the political undertones:
The politically-tinged tension of this championship game was unmistakable. Canada has taken exception to U.S. President Donald Trump’s pronouncement that the country could soon be America’s 51st state: during previous games in the tournament that took place in Montreal, fans booed the “Star Spangled Banner.” The atmosphere felt much different Thursday night, in Boston: red “Make America Great Again” hats dotted the crowd. “USA! USA!” chants were particularly fervent.
But it also went to extraordinary lengths to make the team’s defeat about Trump, declaring that Trump had “adopted the U.S. team as his own,” as if supporting his country’s team was out of the ordinary, and that another president wouldn’t similarly engage in harmless sports rivalry.
Trump has adopted the U.S. team as his own. He posted on Truth Social Thursday that, although he wouldn’t be able to attend the game because of a prior commitment, he wanted to “to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.” He’s taken to calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “governor”—and relished another chance to get under his skin. Trump wrote that “he’d be watching and that if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome.”
Later, the President shared a video showing that he indeed called the U.S. team before the game. “I just want to wish you a lot of luck. You really are a skilled group of people. It’s an honor to talk to you,” he said over a phone held by U.S. coach Mike Sullivan. “There’s no pressure whatsoever.” The players in the locker room laughed. “I can tell you honestly, every person in here—players, staff, management, coaches—we are all proud Americans and we want to represent the country the best way we can,” Sullivan responded.
Linking patriotism to the presidency is as absurd as linking a hockey team’s performance to a president, yet that’s exactly what TIME Magazine attempted with its ridiculous headline. Team USA’s players weren’t skating for Trump; they were playing for their country, just as they would under any administration.
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