Us vs. Them
Posted 11:39 PM ET | Comments 1
As I sit back and watch a replay of the 1994 Grey Cup game because the BC Lions game is blacked out, it reminds me of watching that game live and what it meant. For those that don't know or remember, the game was between the BC Lions and the Baltimore Colts, Stallions, CFLers whatever you want to call them. This was an American team in our CFL. This American team was composed of all American players while BC was playing with the mandatory number of Canadians. They were trying to take away our Canadian trophy. During the Canadian national anthem, Canadian players had tears in their eyes. This truly was Us vs. Them.
I know, I know.....what does this have to do with hockey??? I'll tell you.
If you look at the forums, you will read of people bashing the city of Nashville, their team, and their fan support. You will notice that a majority of these people happen to be Canadian.
Hockey is Canada's game and we, as Canadians, take that VERY seriously if you hadn't noticed. We embrace it. Heck, it's on our 5 dollar bill. We want more Canadian teams in the NHL. We want a team back in Winnipeg. We want a team back in Quebec. We want a team in Hamilton. We want Canadian teams playing Canada's game. So when Canadians see teams like Nashville, Phoenix, Florida etc. with half empty buildings and no corporate support, they can't help but feel ripped off that their cities don't have their teams. That's all it is.
This whole lashing out against Nashville is not a reflection of our feeling towards people of Tennessee or the Preds...... It is our feeling that all this work SHOULD NOT have to be done to support a team when there are cities north of the border just drooling at the chance to one day have a team.
The Nashville's, the Phoenix's, the Florida's.....to us, they're no different than those Baltimore CFLers.
I know, I know.....what does this have to do with hockey??? I'll tell you.
If you look at the forums, you will read of people bashing the city of Nashville, their team, and their fan support. You will notice that a majority of these people happen to be Canadian.
Hockey is Canada's game and we, as Canadians, take that VERY seriously if you hadn't noticed. We embrace it. Heck, it's on our 5 dollar bill. We want more Canadian teams in the NHL. We want a team back in Winnipeg. We want a team back in Quebec. We want a team in Hamilton. We want Canadian teams playing Canada's game. So when Canadians see teams like Nashville, Phoenix, Florida etc. with half empty buildings and no corporate support, they can't help but feel ripped off that their cities don't have their teams. That's all it is.
This whole lashing out against Nashville is not a reflection of our feeling towards people of Tennessee or the Preds...... It is our feeling that all this work SHOULD NOT have to be done to support a team when there are cities north of the border just drooling at the chance to one day have a team.
The Nashville's, the Phoenix's, the Florida's.....to us, they're no different than those Baltimore CFLers.
Just out of curiosity, if Hockey is Canada's game why then was the original Stanley cup made in England, and why were only two of the original six from Canada. It is a game that due to climate the country adopted. To say that all NHL teams should be in Canada is foolish. Certainly there are more who play the game in Canada as it has become part of the way of life there, it does not however give you an exclusive on it. Would you like to see all football, baseball, basketball, and other teams moved out of Canada. Likely not. So saying that Nashville, Phoenix ( Owned and coached by a Canadien, kind of a famous one at that ), and Florida do not deserve a team is somewhat of a holier than thou attitude, don't you think.Or is that just the prevailing attitude in Canada?????? Which, although self goverened, is just a part of the United Kingdom, not even its own soverign state.