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When the U.S. recession hit at the dawn of 2008, Americans were not the only ones who felt its repercussions. On a global scale, it has been a tough couple of years for all of us. But thanks to the American team’s stunning performance at the Winter Olympics, here at home we’re all walking a little taller.

The Winter Olympic Games have never been a bragging point for the U.S.—short of the 1980 Miracle on Ice, the Summer Games has been our forte. In fact, the U.S. has usually taken a backseat to the European powers since its inception. Before the 2002 Salt Lake Games, where Team USA brought home a whopping 34 medals, Americans averaged a medal count in the teens. We had a few superstars like the Apolo Ohno’s and Shaun White’s who were dependable, but on the whole we often fell short. Today however, there’s a new team in town.

With the Vancouver Games freshly wrapped up, Team USA proved to be the ultimate dark horse at the event. Leading the pack with 37 total medals – the most in the history of the Winter Olympics -- and outscoring Germany, our closest competitor by 7, the United States has taken on the Games by storm. Respect, honor, and bragging rights aren’t the only things our Olympians have brought back stateside. They’ve brought home our “mojo.”

At a time when unemployment rates have skyrocketed and economic uncertainty looms, our Olympic showing proves our resiliency. Team USA may have once been the forgotten step-child of the Winter Games, but now we’re the darling. We once dominated the world market and we will be back on top there as well. Faith in America’s ability to recover has been restored thanks to Team USA’s performance in Vancouver. We’ve shown naysayers that our Gold Standard is back and it’s bigger than ever!