Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Enter Search Term. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. If no results appear, use Enter to do a full site search.
Forum Closure ×
Canucks Community
Forum Closure
  • entries
    7
  • comments
    4
  • views
    4,787

A Playoff Pet Peeve - MAR.28.08

Chuck Stanley

Entry posted by Chuck Stanley

141 views

 Share

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/02/chuckstanley_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4">As the NHL playoffs draw near, so too does one of my hockey pet peeves. I’ve never understood how any loyal Canuck fan could cheer for Northwest division rivals Calgary or Edmonton just because they’re based in Canada.

I can remember watching the Stanley Cup final in 2004 and hearing many so-called Canuck fans cheering for Calgary. The same thing happened in 2006, when Vancouverites were actually cheering for Edmonton to beat Carolina! How could some people go from hating these division rivals all season long to suddenly cheering for them in the playoffs? Just because the teams are from Canada? I felt like asking these fans to turn in their Canuck jerseys.

Yes, the Flames and Oilers are based in Canada. So what? If the Boston Red Sox were playing the Toronto Blue Jays for the American League pennant, would Yankee fans cheer for the Sox because baseball is America’s pastime and they want the American teams to do well? Would the Lakers cheer for the Celtics to beat the Raptors in the NBA playoffs because they’re based in the USA? Of course not.

<img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/03/MAR2508_Oilers-NorthKorea_t.jpg" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a>Why do so many Vancouver hockey fans cheer for their so-called rivals at playoff time only because they’re based north of an imaginary line called the 49th parallel? If Edmonton is in the Stanley Cup final against North Korea, I’m cheering for the Axis of Evil.

As you watch Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary battle for playoff spots, I want you to remember what you’re feeling. I want you to remember how upset you were at the Oilers in that fight-filled game at GM Place earlier in the year. I want you to remember how frustrated you were watching the Flames come back and beat Vancouver on March 25. Think back to that arrogant, pompous smirk Glen Sather had on his face as his 1980s Oilers beat our Canucks. Think about Joel Otto cheating the Canucks out of the playoffs in 1989 when he stood in the crease, ran over Kirk McLean and bent the puck like Beckham into the net.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield-McCoy_feud" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2008/03/MAR2508_HatfieldClan01_t.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1"></a>Regardless of Vancouver’s playoff fate, I want you to recall the feelings you have for Calgary and Edmonton should you be doomed to watch them in the playoffs. No true Canuck fan should cheer for any Northwest division rival, even if Vancouver has been eliminated. Part of being a Canuck fan is enjoying the downfall of their division rivals. It’s like the Hatfields and the McCoys—they just naturally don’t like each other.

If, through divine intervention, either Alberta team makes the playoffs, remember how you felt about them as they battled your Canucks this season. Remember the happiness you felt when they lost, and your frustration when they gained ground on us. Finally, remember the Vancouver fans’ first rule—if it’s not the Canucks, it just doesn’t matter.

</td></tr></table>

 Share

1 Comment

Recommended Comments

Silverboarder25

Sorry, I don't buy this one.

You would rather us cheer for american teams? ummm no? The only way that can be justified is if the yank team has more johnny canucks on it that uncle sams or any other fictional country-character.

Hockey is Canada's game. The Cup belongs here. Yes you've got the Strapping Canadian Lads that are fighting for it for a team like Pittsburgh, but where do we want the parade?

Plus, in a series like 04's with Calgary, it was close enough that we were just beat. If Calgary becomes the best, that means they were better than every team in the east... and if we gave them a fight, it gives us the hope that we could be considered second best... we could have made it to the western conference final if we hadn't faced them right away. Not necessarily true, but this is why we cheer them on. So that if we lost, it was to the eventual best team, making us possibly the second best.

Although, to hear any albertan fan brag, yea.... that'd suck. Maybe them losing in the finals is all we really want.

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...