>>I think bigger in the sense that more people actively curl than play hockey. But hockey is by far the more popular sport in terms of a spectator sport and the amount of news coverage and money spent. Hockey is to Canada what baseball is (was?) to the US. It is our sport. We are arguably the best at it, we invented it. As a nation, we expect and even demand to win at the international level.
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>I never considered baseball to be the national sport. I hate baseball. The time from November to February is my favorite sports time of the year because there is no baseball. When spring training begins in February (spring in February? that helps prove my point), I stop watching the sports on the local news. I'll start again after the world series.

You Hate baseball!! No wonder you live in Utah. :)