We live in a very short-attention-span universe. We also live in a universe where everything happening in the moment is the most important thing in the world.

The Olympics has been the benefactor and victim of this kind of mentality. Do Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso like each other? Did Julia slam Lindsey on her Twitter page? What about that Russian ice skater? Wasn’t he better than the American guy? Oh, and what about that Johnny Weir character? How gay is he, anyway?

Who really gives a damn?

One of the other hot stories of the Olympics has been the excitement produced by U.S. hockey. The gold medal game between U.S. and Canada brought in giant ratings in the States, nothing compared to Canada of course, and it was prime water cooler talk on the Friday before.

For a team that featured only a handful of NHL all-stars, our boys made us proud and got us interested, even if we could only name a few of them. They also got everyone wondering: Will NHL commissioner Gary Bettman allow his players to continue to perform in the Olympics? What will this Olympics do for hockey in America? Will hockey see resurgence? 

The fact of the matter is, while the NHL may see a small bump, especially near playoff time, it’s not going to turn it into the kind of sport the NBA is that attracts millions of cable viewers from across the country several nights a week.

Hockey will always be a stronghold in places like the upper Midwest and the East Coast and, of course, Canada. But will the Olympics actually make people in Houston, Texas or Portland, Oregon care about the game? Probably not, and that’s OK and to be expected.

The average fan can watch a basketball game and appreciate the power and grace of LeBron James and the cutthroat mentality of Kobe Bryant. They can watch a running back dart and dash and leave linebackers with broken ankles or see wide receivers make moves like 6’6” ballerinas. They can even enjoy watching power hitters knock one of the Green Monster. But watching hockey for the simple appreciation of athletic talent is not going to happen in a country not weaned on the sport. In order to watch hockey – a game with intrigue predicated on tension and drama – requires having an allegiance to a certain team, and not enough people in the States grew up caring about a team. It is not part of our collective consciousness the way basketball, football and baseball are, and, again, that’s OK and the Olympics won’t change that.

Every four years for about 16 years, people have wondered if soccer was going to finally breakthrough in America. Despite all the jerseys and the continual influx of immigrants and the flourishing of youth soccer leagues, it still hasn’t taken off. But people know who Landon Donovan is, and they will watch the big games. Now people know who Ryan Miller is. And while he won’t ever reach LeBron status, reaching Donovan status is nothing to be ashamed of. People just need to stop hyperventilating. It is an exciting minor professional sport that gets a ton of interest every four years, and that’s about it. And that’s OK.