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What was it like being a Canucks fan in the 70s and 80s?


freebuddy

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Caesar Maniago, Suitcase Smith, The King, Glen Hanlon, Frank Caprice, Garret, gary Bromley, Dunc Wilson........we had some real character goalies back then. I'll never forget going to a Flyers-Canucks game and a line brawl ensues.........Hanlon (as the backup) jumps on top of the bench and leads the charge onto the ice and chaos ensued for the next 90 mins. Most memorable game I've ever been to.

I know we can never go back to that, but I miss that.

Would be nice if they gave each team a pass on one bench clearer a year. Impossible, I know, but those were fun times. I may be wrong but I don't recall many serious injuries stemming from those events.

But seriously, they have to leave the line brawls alone. It's so bizarre, a line brawl takes place, the players are pumped, the fans are pumped and you have these talking heads on TV acting like the line brawl is responsible for an Ebola outbreak or something,

Just for the record, I am talking about letting people who want to fight, go at it.

That Ray Emery/ Holtby situation last year was disgusting to me. As was Cloutier/Salo, that's the reason I was never able to warm up to Clouts, it happened before he came here but It was completely dishonorable behavior in my books.

Trevor Gilles the other night? He deserved the Darren McCarty treatment for his actions, would have no problem with one of Carrier's teammates coming over the boards and letting Gilles know that, his style of "enforcing" will not be tolerated. I doubt too many of Gilles teammates would have objected either.

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I loved every minute of it. Skilled players had a much more difficult enviroment to excel in. Only the special ones succeeded.

I looked forward to all of the drafts with such anticpation, hoping that the Canucks would grab a bonified superstar and the toughest SOB`s avalable.

Frustrasting most of the time, however hope springs eternal.

The game was better then IMHO.

Agreed,

A lot of bad things happened to the game in the 90's that no one seems to want to fix,

Two games in, is seems that Trevs (WD too) vision is of an 80's style team. And I for one say THANK GOD

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Though you were obviously there and therefore a creditable voice in this discussion, I disagree with one thing.

It's not like being an Oilers fan now. those fans show up rain or shine....maybe they shouldn't?

Back in the day, well....., I posted a couple of attendance figures above, which I'm sure you are aware of anyway.

Oh yeah, you could go see Gretzky for next to nothing in a half empty arena. I used to wait until after the puck drop and low ball the scalpers with my paper route money before they left. :lol:

Part of the entertainment back then was heckling Gretzky any time he talked to the ref.

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Oh yeah, you could go see Gretzky for next to nothing in a half empty arena. I used to wait until after the puck drop and low ball the scalpers with my paper route money before they left. :lol:

Part of the entertainment back then was heckling Gretzky any time he talked to the ref.

Yeah, It's amazing actually that Vancouver largely missed some incredible entertainment in those days.

What would people pay now to watch Gretzky in his prime? Or even just to see an 80's style hockey game?

I don't think they would be prepared for the level of entertainment value,

Half way through the first, all those iPhones would mysteriously disappear.

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Vancouver finally got a team after being passed over. I was a die hard Habs fan and cheered for both teams until the Habs dynasty of the '70's were done.

Loved Andre Boudrias! A Junior Canadian who Van picked up. Great speed and a wicked shot. As Smithers Joe said Stan Smyl was that special player who played hard no matter the score. Unlike Joe my all time fav was/is Trevor Linden. He played both ends of the ice and left nothing in reserve. That is why I still consider Naslund a 'pretender', not a complete player and not a leader.

In the olden days I was a student at Selkirk College and a lot of the early games were not televised. I listened to radio. Nice thing about those days was that Castlegar/Trail were hockey hotbeds. The area produced a lot of NHLers, Ray Ferraro being one. Maniago had good stories to tell. Trail Junior Smokeaters of '71 won BC Junior B championship. What a joke calling them Junior B. That team would have given some major junior teams a run. Many coaches from the Trail Senior Smokeater World Champs.

Smyl had his great '82 run. Roger Nielson and towel power. I am taking off out of Vancouver and as the pilot guns the 737 he comes on the intercom and says Van had just scored on the Hawks, The entire plane erupts! Unbelievable flight.

'70's and '80's were pretty challenged rosters. Poor drafting and development. Always making desperation trades to make playoffs. Linden-Benning-WD are on a honeymoon with fans right now. Those who remember those days know that the Canucks have come a long way. Good ownership, good management and a much deeper roster.

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Smyl had his great '82 run. Roger Nielson and towel power. I am taking off out of Vancouver and as the pilot guns the 737 he comes on the intercom and says Van had just scored on the Hawks, The entire plane erupts! Unbelievable flight.

I have a similar story about being on the Main and Terminal sky train plat form when Adams put the Canucks in the final, I don't want to write it now as I always get emotional when I do and I have clients around.

But it was a moment I will never forget, have never experienced anything like it before or since, to feel a crypt silent city go off like a roman candle around you in a matter of seconds...wow. You wouldn't have even needed to be a hockey fan, or even be aware of the reason for it, to know you were living pure poetry at that moment.

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We hated the Oilers!!

Gretzky was a whiner and a weasel

...and when he had the puck behind our net....yes BEHIND our net!!!....we through up our arms in frustration because we knew Edmonton would soon score....@$%%$$@!!!

We loved our tough guys because we knew we couldn't compete hockeywise so we cheered on Steamer, Tiger, Snepsts, Curt Fraser, Schmautz, and Kurtenback

We treated our goalies better back then because they were the only way we could win

Gary Suitcase Smith had some incredible years

King Richard Brodeur stole every series on the way to the finals

Glen Hanlon was "the franchise"

and Dunc Wilson...well.... he had an interesting mask

Oh yes and players had nicknames...not just there last name with a "y" at the end like now

Tiger, Steamer, King Richard, Suitcase, the Strangler, house too name a few

And every game was not televised...in fact few were.

But we had Jim Robson on the radio with a special hello to hospital patients and shut-ins...those who can't make it out to a hockey game

....and in our first season....Canuck hockey cards were pink....need I say more?

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I was watching games before I made it into kindergarten when the Canucks started up. No idea what my attention span was back then, but my parents say I loved it. Peter Puck could teach you a lot of things back then!

It was tough. Some of my friends didn't match my level of devotion, but that didn't matter... the Canucks were my team. It was difficult to suffer hearing the crowd cheer for the other team (esp Leafs, Habs), as it just didn't seem right. It's not like today where so many fans can afford to travel to games. They were locals, but still hanging on to their favorite teams. I can respect that now, especially since I live in California, and smile when the Canuck fans get the wave going. But back then, it just didn't make sense to this kid.

I was happy to see the Isles dynasty end, but it didn't take me long to hate on the Oilers. Sure they had all kinds of talent, but it was so hard watching games where it seemed the refs had their lips planted firmly on Gretzky's butt. One glaring thing I remember was Cement-head Semenko continually shoving/cross-checking Smyl into the boards in the Canuck end, long after the play had made its way into the Oilers side of the ice. Where's the effing penalty!!! Could well have been my homerism, but it seemed worse with Gretzky's Oilers than with most other teams.

And while it wasn't even an NHL game, Messier and Anderson tag-teaming with their flying elbows some Russian player during an international tournament. Completely classless, but then, who was surprised?

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But we had Jim Robson on the radio with a special hello to hospital patients and shut-ins...those who can't make it out to a hockey game

OMG...Dude, you just brought me back with that quote!

I want a T-shirt with that quote on it, save the offers everyone. I'll make it myself.

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One glaring thing I remember was Cement-head Semenko continually shoving/cross-checking Smyl into the boards in the Canuck end, long after the play had made its way into the Oilers side of the ice. Where's the effing penalty!!! Could well have been my homerism, but it seemed worse with Gretzky's Oilers than with most other teams.

That wasn't homerism,

Gretz was the NHL's first cross-over star, a guy who's name was known amongst non-hockey fans. People who might buy tickets to see what all the fuss was about.

And as the NHL's top gate attraction, he was protected. And I don't blame them for doing it.

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I wasn't born til 85 but I'm guessing I would have just bandwagoned Gretzky and waited for a Vancouver cup run haha

While some shake their head this would not be far from the truth. I watched hockey, but only on weekends. classic opener music and my dad got his feet up with dinner on his lap. I would rather be playing dirt bombs or playing road hockey or baseball,

BUT with what you stated here is actually fact a lot of kids were Gretzky fans. He was young and promising and lot of kids at school; that's all they talked about was Gretzky....While I liked the Canucks I wore a Bruins jersey and tshirt cuz it looked cooler. lol

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If you were a fan in the 70'S-80'S and lived outside BC it was very hard to keep up with the team. Sometimes all you had was box scores from newspapers.

I grew up on the island and that was how I kept up with the games in the late 70's / early 80's. Believe it or not sometimes I had to wait a couple of days to find out a result (local paper only, my parents were too cheap to get the Vancouver / Victoria papers)! I don't remember a lot of hate for Edmonton when the oil were rolling. They were a class above the Canucks, and it was truly amazing to see what Gretzky was doing.

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Y'know, I was born in 95, and all my life I grew uo watching the Canucks. I grew up in the Messier era, watching dreadful Canucks hockey, I watched the rise and fall of the WCE, the Sedins becoming the Sedins. I'm thankful I was born at a time Vancouver was at its worst... When I was just happy with a W, and loved our guys who could spark the team. These entitled fans who expect us to be amazing night in and night out should watch the late 90's, early 2000's. I imagine it was even worse in the 70's, 80's because Vancouver stunk bad, but yet the fans still had their guys and their own 82 run to cheer for. Recent fans have been blessed with a good team to watch.

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That wasn't homerism,

Gretz was the NHL's first cross-over star, a guy who's name was known amongst non-hockey fans. People who might buy tickets to see what all the fuss was about.

And as the NHL's top gate attraction, he was protected. And I don't blame them for doing it.

I agree completely. Todays game is what it is because of #99. I've been a die hard fan of the Nucks almost ffrom game #1, but I loved the Oilers in the 80's because they were something special, something never seen before in the league. They were a treat to watch.

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Not many games on tv back then. Even then we were inundated with Toronto and Montreal. Rarely missed a game and used to listen to them on the radio. Many ups and downs and it seemed for a while that we were only there for Gretzky to set his records on us. You'd think that it was tough to be a fan but it really wasn't that bad. Lower expectations back then.

For some reason many sports fans choose a team and/or player/athlete that is likely to succeed. They then feel a part of the success somehow. It was no different back then. I had friends who cheered for the latest good team and many of them used to give me the business for being a Canuck fan. Now they cheer for different teams entirely. Back then it was Islanders, Flyers, Boston, or the Oilers. Now its LA, Chicago, Boston, and the Canucks were in there for a little while.

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I agree completely. Todays game is what it is because of #99. I've been a die hard fan of the Nucks almost ffrom game #1, but I loved the Oilers in the 80's because they were something special, something never seen before in the league. They were a treat to watch.

Its too bad that the NHL didn't protect Orr, like they did #99, he would have been a huge cash cow for the league. Never saw a guy get cheapshotted so often as Orr. Even though he had tough guys on the Bruins, Cashman, O'Reilly, and others.

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Joe, I remember going to the old Forum and watching Andy Bathgate, and many other guys in their twilight years. He could control the game like no one else. If I remember correctly, they were playing Father David Bauer's Olympians in an exhibition game.

bathgate and popein were on their way up...call up by the rangers....we had gump worsley, emile the cat francis and johnny bower...lou fontanato who ended up needling gordie howe and being demolished by mr. hockey...in those days guyle fielder

played for seattle and the hated connie madigan of portland. tony esposito played here in the whl...

canucks and the royals had regular donnie brooks...crazy days...freddie saskamoose played for saskatoon ..eddie and ollie dorohoy a great era..

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I was 12 when I moved to New York City with my dad(mom was here in Van). However, I always bled the beautiful yellow, red, and black of my hometown Canucks.

I would catch Rangers and Islanders games on TV. I didn't see any NYI/R-Canuck games until Games 3 & 4 of the finals the following spring. I begged my dad to let me stay up and watch the games as they started at 11pm EST. I had a gutsy feeling that the Canucks were going to have their first year of playoff success based on their unbeaten streak in the final nine games of the season(including a 4-2 win in Montreal-Rota's hat trick).

Even though the Islanders swept the final, the games were close, unlike the Tom Watt-coached '86 team vs Edmonton. Loved seeing the home yellows, listening to the great Richard Loney's anthem singing, the Coliseum organ music, and watching all my favourite players like Steamer, Harold, Tiger, Gradin, and King Richard.

A good team coming together at the right time.

We'll never know how good the Canucks could have been if it weren't for the cheapness and meddling of the Griffiths and GM Harry Neale's incompetence.

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In the 70's there was little expectation, just happy to have a team for the most part. The bigger differences were with the media: most games were only on the radio (Jim Robson at his finest); there was (of course) no internet so once the game was over, you sometimes saw highlights on the news, read about it in the paper, talked about it the next day, then moved on. None of the rehashing and microanalysis we get today.

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