On Being a Canucks Fan
Entry posted by Mozy
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<img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2009/11/nov1709_chbsmall_smallt.jpg" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">For Canucks fans online, most in the last week have seen the blog written by Edmonton's Dan Tencer following an Oilers loss. It reeks of the bitterness and frustration that Oilers Nation echoes, and after reading some of the responses to his blog like the one by Brian over at Canucks Corner I feel Tencer's missing one other perspective. What frustrates me is that Dan Tencer attacks the fans. It's one thing to attack the team and get off on the fact that they have (and as a Canucks fan I'll admit this) been a little more prominent in the news these days, but to get off at the fans is something that infuriates me.
What's wrong with feeling your team is entitled to win something? How does the fact that your team hasn't won it all at least once in their 40 year history mean the fans shouldn't be passionate? How does the fact that Vancouver fans hold a high standard of expectation for their team make them out to be "cocky" and "entitled"? Sure the Canucks have never won anything, but according to Dan Tencer that means we're not allowed to get up in arms over any issue whatsoever. Because the Oilers have won 5 Cups, they're entitled to make some noise in the leauge, but because the Canucks haven't they don't hold the same weight with the NHL?
To be honest what frustrates me is the fact that writers like Tencer create the breed of fan we should be trying to eliminate. We don't want GM Place filled with these passive fans who just sit there. We don't want fans that don't care. The bottom line is the reason Canucks fans voice their opinion is because they care. At the end of the day Mr. Tencer, it's just that, an opinion. Everyone's entitled to one and the fact that so many Vancouver fans make theirs vocal is something more fans should learn from.
In fact it's the distinct lack of passion and voice that leads to embarrassments like the Phoenix Coyotes. When only 500 fans turn out to a rally intended to show support for a flailing NHL franchise your fans left something to be desired. As a fan we're entitled to support our team through thick and thin, as fans we're allowed to get up in arms over an incident and our previous records should have no bearing on how it's received. I don't want to be a fan of a team in a league that perpetuates this elitism to it's fans. I haven't seen Canucks fans cocky in the days when we had nothing to get excited about but the fact is we have a superstar goaltender, the leading Art Ross candidate at the moment, one of the more dominant offenses in the league right now and every reason to expect our team to win a cup. There's nothing wrong with setting your expectations for your team high. That doesn't make you entitled. That just means you care and you expect a lot.
Being a fan of any team is about passion and getting your hopes up even when you're not supposed to. Canucks fans aren't entitled. Are they cocky? Some can be, most I'd say are extremely passionate. We care about our team. Just because we have a reason to get excited about our team doesn't mean you need to transfer your frustrations to us Dan.
Dan Tencer's dangerously close to sounding like a fair weather fan and I'd venture a guess as to who used to drive the bandwagon in Edmonton, in particular on that miraculous cup run back in 2006, but that might be going to far.
<img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2009/11/nov1709_mozy_small.jpg" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Richard Loat writes for Canucks Hockey Blog and is a fan of the underdog – first Bryan Allen, then Alex Burrows, and now Jannik Hansen. His passion for the Canucks led to the Canucks Hockey Blog and a lot of #Canucks tweets on his Twitter account.
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