I spent my boyhood years in Montreal, a sojourn from which I retain a love of hockey, snow, and — most of all — poutine, the world’s greatest food. But one thing I never got used to in the Canadian character was a kid-brotherish resentment of the superpower next door; as a proud American, I thought it would have been psychologically healthier for the Canadians to have been located somewhere, say, between Samoa and Goa. “Be yourselves, guys! You’ve got nothing to prove!” The Olympics were an especially sore point: The Summer Olympics were held in Montreal when I was 12, and the host country won exactly zero gold medals. So I am genuinely thrilled that at these Winter Games, Canada has tied the record for most gold medals at a Winter Olympics, and set a record for the most ever won by a host country. (Lest my jingoistic credentials be questioned, though, I must point out that the U.S. has set a new record for total number of medals. U.S.A.! U.S.A.!)

UPDATE: Whoops! The victory over the U.S. in hockey means Canada actually breaks the record for most gold medals.