You know you’re up for some serious fun when you’re invited to sit in the first row of the women’s semi-final hockey game with the family of, in my opinion, Canada’s top forward Meghan Agosta-Marciano. I met the Agosta family at Canada House just over an hour before the game—Meghan’s husband Marco, a goalie coach, couldn’t make the trip but mom Char Agosta, dad Nino, sister Jade and brother Jeric travelled to Sochi to watch the Canadian women’s hockey team defend their Olympic gold medal. On the 10 minute walk to the Shayba Arena where the Canadians were to play Switzerland (considered to be a formality before Canada heads to the gold medal round on Thursday); the four were energetic and welcoming. We scored three quick goals in the first but then couldn’t get lucky with any shots after that. Though we clearly outshot the Swiss, we were anything but dominant and came away with a 3-1 victory. Watching the game was an awesome experience (I’m a super-fan of the team!) but the embedded-with-the-Agostas experience was even better. Like the rest of the family, Char Agosta was dressed in the Team Canada hockey jersey sporting her daughter’s number 2. Around her neck were fun necklaces strung with maple leaves and her fingers were polished in gold with one nail on each hand sporting a maple leaf and the other, the number 2. She brought a large Canadian flag that she hung on the railing in front and a homemade sign shaped like a shamrock (a symbol, she says, for good luck and to nod to the little bit of Irish blood Meghan has in her too). Char had a knapsack I suspect was full of many more items of homemade cheer gear but I never did get to see everything that was inside. I did ask if I could wear something special she made and was delighted when she pulled out a headband with red feathered, Canada-flagged, shamrocked, stamped-with-a-number-2 “ears” that I sported for the entire game. When I asked about the sign and the "ears," Nino tells me about all of the crafting material his wife brought to Sochi and was even up late the first couple nights they arrived assembling all of her super-fan materials. (Good thing she brought it all with her, there are not any places to buy crafting materials here. Or really to buy souvenirs.) So here it is: How does the Agosta family watch their daughter play hockey in the Olympics? And the answer is simple: Just like you and I watch our kids. They watch more intently every shift the left winger is on, they know when she’s been on too long, they cheer loudly when she gains control of the puck to make a smart play and they hold their breath and pause every time she takes a shot on net. They expect to see her very best effort every second she’s on the ice. Char yells a positive and assertive "go Meghan" just like I cheer on my 9-year-old left winger (though I may be a touch more anxious when I do—something I hope I will grow out of). Nino, a fun-loving guy who loves to joke around, talks to his daughter in a voice and tone like he expects her to hear him, cautioning her not to “pass it around the back” or demanding her to "skate, skate, skate." These phrases I have heard my husband and the other hockey dads at our home rink say in the exact same way time and time again. My big moment with the family of Vancouver Olympic gold medalist (and tournament MVP) Meghan Agosta-Marciano wasn’t nerve-wracking at all. I felt like I was back at home, sitting in my favourite place in the whole world, the hockey arena where I cheer on my son. To Canada’s hockey fans, Meghan is our superstar but I’ll never forget that she, and the rest of her awesome teammates, will always be someone’s daughter and sister. How did this happen? I’m here in Sochi as a guest of P&G’s Thank You Mom campaign and this means I have exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the families that raise our nation’s greatest competitors. I’m thrilled to bring you these stories. While I’m here, is there anything you’d like me to find out?