Costa Rica = The New York Rangers

Costa Rica playing the US in the "SnowClásico"

Rangers Goalie Henrik Lundqvist. My disdain for his team has nothing to do with him.

Last March, Costa Rica played a qualifier against the U.S. in suburban Denver that shall be forever remembered as "The Snow Game" or "The SnowClásico." The match started with light snowfall that by the 2nd half had turned into a full-on blizzard. In the 55th minute, with the U.S. leading 1-0 on an early Clint Dempsey goal, the referee attempted to stop the match, which would have meant starting over at 0-0 on another date. The U.S. obviously didn't want that, but reports suggested that the Costa Rican team had-- to their credit-- agreed to continue the match and told the referee as much. The weather and the pitch conditions only worsened. Thanks to a herculean effort by the stadium's grounds crew, the game went the full 90, and the U.S. won by that 1-0 scoreline.

Then, after the game, the Ticos' tune suddenly changed. They claimed they hadn't agreed to continue the match, and they filed a protest with FIFA over its result. Something tells me that had Costa Rica scored to tie the match (never mind had they scored twice to win it), there would have been no protest. Because of that slippery move, Costa Rica gets matched up with the New York Rangers, the team with arguably American sports' most bogus victim complex. The number of Rangers fans and media who believe that the NHL is somehow "out to get" the marquee team in its biggest market is utterly ridiculous. New York Post columnist Larry Brooks is the leader of this tinfoil hat crowd, and former coach John Tortorella was all too happy to play along with it. Since World War II, Costa Rica has only won one fewer Stanley Cup than have the Rangers.

Costa Rica didn't qualify for their first World Cup until 1990. They made it to the round of 16 that year (when there were only 24 teams), and this is their 3rd trip since the tournament expanded to 32 teams. They haven't advanced out of the group in the 32-team format, and this year doesn't figure to be any different. The Ticos had a strong qualifying campaign, but they're stuck in Group D (for DEATH, MUAHAHAHAHA!!!) with Uruguay, Italy, and England.