Legacy
The tournament finale was the most watched television event in Canadian history at the time. 10,700,000 people were estimated to have watched the game, representing nearly half of all Canadians in 1976. The team that represented Canada is still considered one of the greatest national teams to ever represent the nation in a hockey tournament. For many players, winning the Canada Cup was the highlight of their careers. Bobby Orr and Lanny McDonald both rated winning this tournament ahead of winning the Stanley Cup.
The Canada Cup established a new era in international hockey. It marked Canada's formal return to the international stage after a six-year boycott, and was the first true best-on-best world championship in the sport's history. For North American audiences, the tournament established that Czechoslovakia and Sweden could compete with Canada and the Soviet Union, while the Finns and Americans proved they were capable of playing with the sport's elite teams.
Read more about this topic: 1976 Canada Cup
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)