It's not often that you will find me praising an opposing teams fan-base, especially the Pittsburgh Penguin's fans. Frankly I find them annoying, but then again I'm a Ranger fan so I know it comes full circle. But what they did the other night truly highlights why hockey--and especially their fans--are so awesome.

The other night the Pittsburgh Penguins faced off against the Buffalo Sabres. As they were announcing all of the Pittsburgh players, they gave a special announcement to Ryan Miller (who wasn't even starting) for his performance in the Olympics. The Penguins fans (some of whom booed Sidney Crosby) gave Miller the largest standing ovation of the night, surpassing Crosby's. 

I have always said that hockey has the best fans of all the major sports. Obviously I'm not naive enough to say that we have the most "die-hard" fans, or the smartest fans, I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about real fans. When was the last time you heard of someone "pretending" to be a hockey fans to either impress someone or blend in? (If you live in Canada you can't answer that question.) In my personal opinion hockey has the biggest density of "real" fans to "fans who are just fan because it's popular." That's why hockey games are so great, not that other sports aren't remember this is a personal opinion.

Join me after the jump for more.

It's special to see the United States taking the Olympics to heart the way that they have. We speculated on Rink Side Radio, that the United States (the actually people) love a winner. And some even thought that the only way for the NHL to get a good carryover from these Olympics was going to be if the United States won the gold.

But that's not the case. The Pittsburgh fans giving Miller a standing ovation means something to me, and if you are a fan of the sport then it should mean something to you as well.

After the United States lost in overtime I wrote up a recap for Blueshirt Banter. In that story (click the link if you want to read that story) I wrote this:

I bold this because it's vital. While it sickens me to watch Canada dance up and down and celebrate their gold medal at the expense of my country I can't help but swell with pride. Those are my boys over there, scaring the crap out of Canada bringing the United States within a scoring chance of wearing gold instead of silver. Some Canadians will tell you that they knew all along they would win, that this is status quo, that this isn't a big deal, don't believe them. The United States put on a hell of a show, kicked Canada in the pants, and told the world that we have a team to believe in. Don't let anyone sell that short for you, that is way more special than a gold medal, even if it doesn't feel like it right now. Miller might cry, then again so might I ... 

To me the point is clear. The NHL has begun to gain some steam since the lockout. The NHL owned Phoenix Coyotes seem poised to make a playoff run (and a deep one at that). The L.A Kings seem ready to make the playoffs, as do the Atlanta Thrashers and nearly every other team (save a few) on both sides of the conference.

The Olympics did do something good for the NHL in the end, it let people know or even reminded them that hockey was exciting, jaw dropping, spectacular, and an intimate game. It reminded people that the boys wearing the Red White and Blue are winners, they are competitive, and they will be dangerous come 2014.

That's what the NHL wants, that's why the NHL is going to be a huge fan of the 2010 Olympics. And to save a big discussion, that's what is going to make the decision of whether or not to send the players to the 2014 Olympics is going to be a very hard and interesting one.