Dionysus was the ancient god of wine. He was the god of Release. He served to liberate the Greeks from the constrictions of everyday social life by getting them to surrender control. Yielding to the intoxicating effects of wine, the supplicants of Dionysus would let go of their individual identities, fuse together as a group in total primordial emotion and energy.

Dionysus would have been envious of our god: Team Canada.

In an otherwise rather bland, atomistic and dispersed Canadian culture, Team Canada has offered us the restorative blessings of festivity, patriotic collective enjoyment, and the exhilarating release of any barriers between our individual selves and others.

Last night’s game – remarkably, only the first and against an inferior opponent – was a testament to the power and influence of our god. A sea of red pulsating and spilling out over itself, overflowing with patriotic intoxication and collective excitement, last night’s crowd was a sight to behold.

In our everday lives we have so little experience of this sort of phenomenon. Team Canada and its power provides us with a glimpse into a vision of life sometimes needed. Thankfully ours is still a young god and we can look forward to its benedictions for many years to come.