If there is a sports deity watching over Canada, it might be time to read the fine print.
Over the past months, Canadian fans have endured heartbreak after heartbreak. The Edmonton Oilers fell short in the Stanley Cup final, the Toronto Blue Jays were mercilessly robbed of the World Series, and now Canada has lost Olympic gold to the United States in both hockey events, sparking whispers of a national sports curse.
Sunday’s gold medal game between Canada and the U.S. was a tense back-and-forth that stretched into overtime. As the nation collectively held its breath, it happened. The Americans scored and the game was over. Replay of a few days earlier, when the women’s hockey team suffered the same fate. Team Canada players froze, staring at the scoreboard as the weight of it hit all at once. In the arena, in homes across the country, in the hearts of fans online, the shock spread like wildfire. Gold had slipped through Canada’s fingers.
“I am feeling like I want to die and that this is complete torture,” says a now-viral Instagram reel dubbed by a popular Toronto creator, his expression mirroring the gut-wrenching heartbreak felt by Canadians nationwide after the loss.
Canada was 60 minutes from Olympic gold.
One shot. One missed chance in a heated rivalry between two nations on a world stage, where tension was mounting as fiercely off the ice as it did on it.
It was Jack Hughes who ultimately played the hero for Team USA, scoring a minute and 40 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime period.
In some ways, this was the worst script imaginable for Canadian hockey fans.
National gut punch: Blue Jays fall to the Dodgers
The heartbreak didn’t just start in Milan. In October, the Toronto Blue Jays came within inches of a World Series return. The team battled through tense playoff games, thrilling fans with late rallies and close innings, but ultimately fell just short.
Streets were painted in blue, sports bars overflowed, and even those who once could not tell you the difference between a cutter and a slider were suddenly glued to their TVs. Then came Game 7, and the heartbreak that followed: a loss that felt like a national gut punch, as the Jays fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who repeated as World Series champs.
Oct 20, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Streamers and confetti rain down on the stage of the Toronto Blue Jays players after defeating the Seattle Mariners in game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
But the morning after, something beautiful happened. On Instagram, a watercolour illustration by Halifax artist Matt Smith began circulating widely. It’s a tender drawing of a group of diverse Blue Jays fans sitting on a bench together as a (real!) Blue Jay flies above them while surrounded by faint morning light. In just a matter of hours, it accumulated over 40,000 likes — and counting — with just about every fan, including this writer, having tearfully reshared it by noon.
Oilers fans stunned as Stanley Cup dream dies: ‘We came close’
Earlier in 2025, the Edmonton Oilers carried the weight of a decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Playoff after playoff, the Oilers showed flashes of brilliance, with stars lighting up the ice and fans daring to believe.
In the Cup final, every goal, every save mattered. And yet, when the final buzzer sounded, the Cup slipped away again, leaving the city and the country in stunned silence.
Three teams. Three stages. Three near-misses.
Curse or no curse, Canada remains a global sports powerhouse. Walking away with silver may sting for now, but it is in moments like these that we see the country come together, united by a shared love of sport.
‘We need a big group hug’: The internet responds
Fans checked in over social media in waves of disbelief, frustration and dark humour as Canada’s string of near-misses unfolded.
One user simply jotted down that “We need a big group hug.”
Instagram comment screen grab. (Screen grab courtesy: @estefaniacaceres/Instagram)
Who is good at math? Can you do up the odds of a win?
Instagram comment screen grab. (Screen grab courtesy: @boppthewop/Instagram)
Chat, do we detect some sarcasm here?
Instagram comment screen grab. (Screen grab courtesy: @sarahmmccullough/Instagram)
A neighbour from down South even offered his support in the comment section.
Instagram comment screen grab. (Screen grab courtesy: @somerandom_dude799/Instagram)
Through the heartbreak, Canadians are finding a way to laugh, vent and rally together, proving the love of sport is stronger than any curse.