The news department of the College shared this report:
POV: Your sister wins Olympic Gold
Overtime at the 2026 Winter Olympics
is not for the faint of heart.
A few rows up from the rink accounting
alum and former men’s ice hockey player Casey Winn ’22 gripped
his brothers Ryan and Tommy, as the U.S. women’s ice hockey team faced Canada
for the gold medal.
When the puck hit the back of the net,
Casey didn’t just see a championship for Team USA. He saw his little sister, Haley
Winn, watching her entire life’s work culminate in a single moment.
“It was the best moment of my life for
sure,” Casey said. “That moment when they won gold — we saw everything she’s
done her whole life paying off in one second.”
With just a month’s notice before
Haley’s debut at the 2026 Winter Olympics the three brothers sprang into
packing mode. One detail mattered more than most: matching outfits.
It’s more than an outfit.
“It’s not about us,” said Ryan Winn.
“It’s about the women on the ice.”
“We were just being ourselves,” Casey
said. “We couldn’t just wear the same outfit every game. It’s the Olympics — we
had to go all in.”
From classic matching USA hockey
jerseys to Bald Eagle masks to American flag rompers with matching bucket hats,
the brothers went all out to show their support for their sister Haley and the
U.S. team.
Their bold outfits, over-the-top
antics, and overwhelming support for their sister made them stand out among the
crowd. Clips and photos of the brother’s went viral on social media and their
popularity led to features on NBC, The New York Times, The
Today Show, Associated Press, and more.
Casey Winn ’22 handshakes Snoop
Dogg in Milan, on the set of The Today Show.
“We were on our way up to the studio
when someone from Today told us, ‘Oh, by the way, Snoop Dogg is up there
too,’” said Casey. “I immediately thought, ‘Do not mess up on The Today Show in
front of Snoop Dogg.’ He’s a huge Olympics fan, and when we met him, he
couldn’t have been nicer.”
While their outfits and videos grabbed
media attention, their goal was simple – to bring as much attention to the U.S.
women’s ice hockey team as possible.
After their over-the-top USA outfits
went viral, the Winn family heads to The Today Show in Milan to show their
support for their sister on the U.S. women’s ice hockey team.
“We were grateful that people were
supporting us,” Casey said. “As long as we brought attention to the U.S.
women’s ice hockey team, that was our main goal, and they deserved it.”
The siblings’ passion for hockey began
at a young age. While Casey’s father never played, he fell in love with the
sport while attending Clarkson University and later built a backyard ice for
his four children to practice in every winter. As a teenager at Bishop Kearney
High School, Haley was selected for the USA program joining the U18 (Under-18)
Team, beginning her training on the path toward Olympic gold.
“At every level, she kept getting
better and she dominated,” Casey said. “It started to cross our minds that one
day our sister could be in the Olympics.”
Returning home to Rochester, New York,
after Haley secured a gold medal for the U.S. team, Casey remembered a special
moment he shared with his sister years ago.
“She had a yearbook picture from when
she was six years old that said, ‘Dream Job: Hockey Olympian,’” Casey said.
“Seeing her live out that dream is something I’ll never forget.”