Auston Matthews’ Patriotism After Team USA Wins Gold Sparks Deranged Reaction From Sad Canadian Columnist

The United States men's hockey team accepting an invitation from the President of the United States to celebrate winning its first gold medal in 46 years in the nation's capital has exposed just how many people possess broken brains. It hasn't just been Americans outing themselves as being detached from reality; Canadians are doing their fair share of work in that department as well.

Canadians being disappointed about how the Winter Olympics finished up on the ice for their country is understandable. Three days after Megan Keller scored the gold medal-clinching goal in overtime for the U.S. women's team against Canada, Jack Hughes followed suit in the men's gold medal game, one that Team Canada had every opportunity to win.

When you add in the fact that the men's team took up President Trump's invitation to the White House, the mood of some Canadians went from disappointed to completely unhinged. 

This was the case for Toronto Star columnist Damien Cox, who decided to write a lengthy column about how Team USA captain Auston Matthews' celebration of winning a gold medal wasn't just irresponsible, but an actual failure.

Auston Matthews is a proud, gold-medal-winning American. (Photo by EyesWideOpen/Getty Images)

Miserable Canadian Bashes Toronto's Captain

Matthews is also the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a franchise that hasn't hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1967, but Cox wouldn't mind seeing the ‘C’ taken away from the American superstar, all because he visited his home country's capital to be honored for winning an Olympic gold medal. 

"One C clearly trumps the other for Auston Matthews. And because of that, a segment of Maple Leafs fans would celebrate today if the Leafs took away Matthews’ captaincy and returned it to John Tavares," the opening statement in Cox's embarrassing column read. 

"He failed in every respect as captain of the Leafs. Miserably," Cox later wrote.

Cox put together a solid effort in trying to disguise his anger towards Matthews as being centered around the fact that he has an added responsibility as the captain of the Leafs, and passing on the White House invite to return to Toronto as soon as possible would have set an example. The Leafs played the Lightning in Tampa Bay on Wednesday, a day after the festivities in Washington, D.C. Matthews played in the game, a 4-2 loss for his side.

When it was all said and done, however, Cox couldn't resist bashing the United States and its elected President. Criticizing Matthews for celebrating a truly historical achievement was an excuse to throw weak jabs at America.

"Nobody says he has to give a thundering pro-Canada speech like Mark Carney did at Davos," Cox wrote, referring to Matthews. "But a new Angus Reid poll shows 68 per cent of Canadians feel threatened by Trump and his government, and just last week the U.S. president vowed to block the opening of the new Gordie Howe bridge between Windsor and Detroit and demanded Canadian concessions.

"Matthews, however, preferred to exchange his immediate return to the Leafs for the opportunity to shake Trump’s hand."

Jack Hughes and Auston Matthews celebrate gold in Miami. (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for E11EVEN Miami)

This was just the start of Cox's bitching and moaning fest, he doesn't want Matthews to come across anything close to resembling a proud American. Instead, his brain thinks Matthews should put the city of Toronto over his home country.

"We get it. You’re a proud American. But not a proud Torontonian? Not even verbally supportive of the country that has given you the privilege of living and working here as a non-citizen for a decade," Cox wrote.

"All he had to say was he understood the feelings of Canadians in these troubled times. He could have just skipped the White House nonsense and gone back to his day job as soon as possible. But Matthews preferred to be feted by a president who dismisses the very idea of Canadian sovereignty."

Toronto Star Columnist's Delusion Knows No Bounds

If those complaints from Cox weren't sad and miserable enough, he tossed in a ‘joke’ about Matthews' mom and ICE agents to really try and stick it to Americans.

"Matthews was already widely perceived as a player who wouldn’t go through the wall for the team that helped make him a superstar. Now being captain of the team comes second to smiling for the cameras with a U.S. president who has successfully taken steps to injure the very same Canadian economy where Matthews earns his massive salary," Cox wrote.

"Of course Matthews is free to be a proud American. His mother, a Mexican immigrant, once found a new life in America. She didn’t even have to dodge ICE bullets to stay."

Matthews' mother, Ema, was originally from Hermosillo, Mexico, before relocating to the States. She worked multiple jobs in order to fund her son's dream and played a pivotal role in seeing him become a hockey superstar and, now, an American hero. Matthews' mom is a walking representation of the American dream.

It's probably just a coincidence that Cox didn't mention those facts in his column; it definitely had nothing to do with his pre-conceived, anti-American mindset.