What We Can All Learn About Respect and Differences from A Hockey Podcast

Bear with me for a moment: there is something we can all learn from a podcast about hockey.

On a recent episode of The Sheet with Jeff Marek, sports media radio host and television personality Jeff Marek was bothered by the intense and increasingly ugly political rhetoric surrounding the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, an international ice hockey tournament where Canada and the United States met in the final. The current political relationship between the two countries has been more heated than in a long time, if ever, including talk of a trade war, tariffs, and comments about annexation. This intensity started to translate to hatred and violence, on the ice and off.

Marek, a Canadian, invited a series of Canadian and American hockey players, journalists, and more onto his show before the championship game and asked them two questions. The first was a question about their favorite hockey moment from their respective country, whether that be the United States or Canada. Simple enough. 

Then, the hard part: he challenged them to name their favorite moment involving the other country, the rival country in this tournament. Canadians shared their most memorable moments in American Hockey history, and Americans replied with the times Team Canada made them proud to be North American. 

His message was clear: mutual sportsmanship and respect should always trump hate. 

We could all learn something from Marek. Or perhaps, better yet, we can take him up on his challenge.

Next time you find yourself butting heads or in a passionate argument about religion, politics, or some other important issue, pause and ask yourself the following: what’s something I admire about the person I disagree with? 

Doing so won’t erase our differences. But it will prevent us from making someone we disagree with into an enemy. It will remind us of the others’ humanity. 

For what it’s worth, as an American, my favorite Canadian hockey memory has to be when Jordan Eberle tied the game with seconds to go against Russia at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.