Ah, lawd. Yes: I did get sucked into the Leafs/Bruins rivalry. Yes: after numerous dirty hits and uncalled penalties on the Bruins I decided to throw my lot in with the Leafs, as they haven't made the playoffs in nine years.Living in Vancouver, means living in a city that has an exceptionally skilled and professional hockey team. The fans? Not so much. In 2011 I bought a Bruins shirt when they went to the playoffs against Vancouver: not because I love the Bruins necessarily (though yes, I love Boston for a myriad of reasons, and they also have a great hockey team), but because Vancouver fans are utterly terrible.
I should add a caveat here: not all Canucks fans are terrible. I have spoken to two people that seemed to understand that it wasn't entirely up to Luongo (a brilliant goalie) to carry the entire team, and that perhaps the Sedins and Kesler weren't necessarily pulling their weight. No one puts more heart into it than Luongo, and no one has exhibited more class on and off the ice than he has, given the vitriol spewed his way from the very city that he plays in. I can't imagine skating out into an arena where the fans will actually boo you for what they mistakenly think is an error on your part.
What the fuck does Vancouver expect? A goalie that never lets in any goals? How about a little D, and some scoring at our end.
I was so mortified at the Canucks treatment of Luongo during the 7-2 loss against the Oilers where they hung Luongo out to dry. And Luongo was showered and out of the dressing room in record time. Oh, but he was apparently good enough to be slotted in after Schneider let in three goals in rapid succession again San Jose, and went on to let in a couple more before being pulled.I've been a Canucks fan from before '94, when the guys in my high school grad class were taking their Sony Walkmans to prom to catch the game. I was there with my family, screaming at the television in game seven against the Rangers. I went to see a game against the Kings when we had Pavel Bure, and we slaughtered them at the Coliseum.
Seeing Reimer sprawled on the ice at the end of the game, where the Leafs were up 4 - 1 was definitely something I could relate to as a Canucks fan. The Canucks have blown innumerable leads against other teams and yet, somehow, it's always Luongo's fault.
I'm sorry the Leafs lost tonight. In my opinion: they outplayed the Bruins both in skill and with heart. I hope that Toronto embraces their team the way Vancouver doesn't seem to ever embrace theirs.
And I also hope that Luongo gets traded to Toronto and that they go up against the Canucks for the Stanley Cup next year.
And that the Leafs win.
Luongo has been nothing but a hardworking, consummate professional in a fickle city: Vancouver doesn't deserve him.
Hear hear! I'm not the world's biggest fan of any sport and even I can see that the Canucks and their fans treat Luongo like crap. And honestly, after living in Ottawa (another big city with a professional hockey team) I can say that I find Canucks fans, in general, (not all of them , as you pointed out) to be the rudest, most demanding, big-mouth, troglodyte, destructive, fickle jerks of hockey fans I've ever met.
ReplyDeleteSens fans are passionate and loud, and they complain when the Sens don't go all the way, but they've never participated in watching their city burn (or helping destroy it), nor do they seem interested in putting all the onus on one player to win it all.
I hope Luongo finds a team and city that appreciates his talents more than this one.
Interestingly enough, I believe the Sens are the last Canadian team in the playoffs!
ReplyDelete(And I must say I was glad to wake up this morning and see that Toronto didn't riot.)
Since when are you a big hockey fan?
ReplyDeleteIt ebbs and flows, really. I find it difficult to be a hockey fan in Vancouver, for the aforementioned reasons. This is probably why I have a Bruins shirt.
ReplyDeleteI bet a Vancouver shirt would look better on you.
ReplyDeleteI just can't wrap my mind around these fans who start destroying shit when their team wins or looses. When they participate in flipping a car over and setting it on fire to only figure out "hey, that's the car we came to the game in!" Troglodytes, that's a good description. I guess this is why I don't follow these types of sports. I prefer man/woman against the clock, or the terrain, or the ocean, or skills in handling a horse or a speeding car or a bicycle on a winding road. Guys with sticks and balls don't interest me. Wait, I take that back....
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