Winning is great ...

... and all the sweeter when we beat the U.S., Ryan Pyette

When Canada beat the United States in the Olympic women's soccer semifinal, it wasn't enough to celebrate Christine Sinclair finally getting her shot at gold.

Nope. We had to quickly flip over to NBC to hear vanquished American star Megan Rapinoe's response. The purple-haired dynamo didn't disappoint.

“Obviously, we never want to lose to Canada,” she mused. “I don't think I've ever lost to Canada. So it's a bitter one.”

Oh, didn't we have a field day with that salty sound clip?

We loathed it and loved it all at once.

Every Maple Leaf triumph is a thing of beauty at any major international gathering. But let's be honest, there's a little something extra fist-pumping if it comes at the expense of our neighbours to the south.

Canada does pretty well for the country's size, but the Americans are a medal-producing industry. When they decide they want to be the best at something, they pour their heart, soul and wallet into making it happen.

The bottom line is, if you want to get anywhere as an athlete — especially on the track and in the pool — you're probably going to need to supplant someone wearing the Stars & Stripes along the way. New 200-metre king Andre De Grasse was the perfect example, relegating Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles to second and third.

“I have been watching U.S. trials and I knew it was going to take something special,” he said. “These (Americans) motivate me a lot. ” They make us better. Every stroke the golden Canadian women's eight rowed in their final had the Americans in mind. There were other great boats in the field, but the U.S. had won the previous three Games.

Many elite Canucks are trained in the NCAA ranks. They spend four or five years measuring themselves against the top Americans.

University of Michigan standout Maggie Mac Neil's breathless 100-metre butterfly relegated the fastest American, Torri Huske, to a fourth-place finish. They will duel again often in the lead-up to Paris 2024.

Former University of Wisconsin-madison running great Mohammed Ahmed's silver in the 5,000-metre Friday became a little sweeter when he roared past American Paul Chelimo, who settled for bronze.

So many great Canadian sporting moments have involved the U.S. as foil and foe. It's ingrained in our athletic culture, often as youngsters who cross the border for better competition.

That's just the way it when you grow up in the Great White North, right above a world superpower.