Daughters of Title IX

Angelic Assassins

It is the best rivalry in women's team sports, by far.  Thanks to Title IX, the NCAA and the Olympic Winter Games, Canada and USA women's hockey national teams blows the doors off any other team rivalry.  In the history of women's hockey there have 21 combined Gold Medal Games at the World Championships and Olympic tournaments. 20 have been fought as USA - Canada border wars. The competitive balance is razor thin:  there have been 10 World Championships contested since 2000; Canada and the U.S. have each won each won 5 golds and 5 silvers.  They are on a crash course for yet another Gold Medal showdown at the Sochi Olympics next February.

What makes elevates this rivalry is that the two teams are mirror images of each other.  Nearly every player on both squads attended NCAA schools, and many of these rivals were college teammates, some have been roommates.  It's almost reminiscent of Civil War lore in which family members and West Point classmates found themselves battling against each other. These hockey women appear to be in a warring state when they play: pounding bodies into the boards, flying down the ice and slamming pucks toward each other at breakneck speed.  In the classroom these Daughters of Title IX might be chasing post graduate degrees at the best universities in America, but on the ice they are warriors. The only drawback of this rivalry is that it is only recognized once every four years.  Their brilliant World Championship and 4-Nations matches remain a well-kept secret to all except for a tiny group of fans.

One of the casualties of the unfortunate National Hockey League work stoppage this season was the absence of the wildly popular outdoor game, the Winter Classic, and the accompanying HBO TV series that precedes it, "24-7."  Many hockey viewers enjoy the masterful story-telling in 24-7 as much as the live game broadcast.  The time is right for a 24-7 type of program to focus on the Canada-USA women's hockey rivalry leading up to the Sochi.  Their 6 preliminary games, 3 in each country, would be perfect filming opportunities as their rivalry heats up to a fevered pitch with the Olympics in sight.

USA takes Gold on Canadian soil, ratcheting up the Olympic tension

There's never been a better time to get women's team sports in the spotlight than this time prior to the Olympic Games, and there's never been a better vehicle than 24-7.