Thursday, October 22, 2009

"why hate vancouver", you ask....?

in the comments of my previous post,"cruel glorious, indeed...." my vancouverite friend (goad) inquired, "Why are you bothering to discuss a Canuck/Blackhawk game? What do you care?" ulitmately, this is a fair query from one as passionate about his NHL club as i am about mine, wondering how an even-keeled girl like myself could throw so much spite westward....

the simple answer is this: although you wouldn't know it from looking at the current standings (heheh), the canucks are probably the flames' biggest threat at a division title and playoff placing. ipso facto, the more the orcas lose, the better it is for the club i support in a purely strategic way... i don't like the canucks for the exact same reason that i didn't like the oilers back in the '80s --they were just too good. "why not hate the provincial rivals, then," you ask ? well... i liken it to hating a blind, three-legged dog.... like, what's the point ?!? the bottom line is: what good is a rivalry without at least a sprinkling of hate ? ;)

there are secondary answers as well, though. the primary of which is, of course, that NOBODY outside of vancouver or örnsköldsvik, sweden likes either of the sedin twins. a good portion of this can be explained by the paragraph above (ie: they're just too effin' talented), but rival fans never forget a history of diving and whining ---even if it hasn't really applied for years [see: wayne gretzky]. i will never, ever forget how loud it was when the entire crowd at the globe arena in stockholm repeated a chant that ended in "sedin." i asked my buddy, pär, what it meant and he announced "it loosely translates to 'sedins are girls.'"

my most recent beef with the canucks, however, is the flip-flopping attitude of the fans/local media (cause i'm paying attention over here, too). i'm speaking from a rival fan perspective, and i'm not sure if i'd feel the same from within the paradigm of a vancouverite, but the way your CAPTAIN was treated after a single-game meltdown in the playoffs was reprehensible.... like, uh... that dude got thrown under the bus the way goalies only really can in toronto... before you get upset, allow me to explain.... the disclaimer is that OF COURSE there are knowledgeable fans who support their team and just nitpick at players ---the way i do with jokinen or mcgrattan or, historically, guys like bertuzzi. but let's be honest here: there is a difference out west.... in calgary, kiprusoff's numbers have been on the decline for three years and the fans still worship him. if he has a bad game or lets in a softie or two, the general reaction is "awww, c'mon kipper !!!" but it's on to the next save or goal or game.... personally, i think bobbylu's confidence is currently shaken, largely because of the haste with which his "supporters" turned to "haters".... because (and it hurts me to say it but...) bobbylu DOES NOT SUCK (see, again, paragraph #1). but if i spent a couple days in van-city at the end of may i would probably have thought that was the general consensus...

furthermore, i would like to vehemently argue the statement: "if the roles were reversed. If the Canucks were a Stanley Cup Champion and the Flames were a long standing pathetic under-achiever, I can't imagine Canucks fans giving two squirts what the flamers did on a nightly basis," by simply pointing out how much ridicule me and my friends in red took from various bandwagon 'nucks fans at the end of last season.... i'm not referring to the people such as its' author who live and die by every goal the canucks score, but the folks who don't follow their team until playoff time... yes, there are flames fans that fit that description as well (but i find them to be fewer and further between)...

ultimately, i love the game of hockey and there is nothing i prefer to a flames/canucks matchup for the sheer intensity of it. do i want the flames to KILL their opponent in these tilts ? why, yes of course !! do i want mcgrattan to beat the crap outta hordichuk ? well, absolutely !!! is it awesomer than awesome when dion or regehr crush a sedin in the 'tunnel of doom' ?? hellz, yeah !!! do i want kippy to pitch a shutout while we get 5 goals behind luongo (heh..heh) ? you're goddamn right i do.... but i totally acknowledge that if the 'nucks didn't have solid & healthy players, strong coaching, and smart management, none of the above would be as much entertainment for me.... in the end a win's a win, and two points are two points, that's what i want my team to get....

and that sure as hell ain't a slam-dunk on any night, so it's nice to see the 'nucks lose points to other teams.

end of story.

ps: goad ? i miss ohlund for you, too.... and samuelsson is a devastatingly good fit...
x

17 comments:

KiPA - Kevin in PA said...

This actually has little to do with your post - it's related by coincidence more than anything, really - but I'm trying to start a movement to call him Bob Luongo.

I don't know why. I'm not a Canucks fan or hater (sometime-hater, but only when the Penguins play them, which isn't often), nor am I a Luongo detractor. (More of a supporter.) I just like the name Bob Luongo.

Carry on with your regularly scheduled activities.

walkinvisible said...

you have my full support. unless predicated by the surrounding text (i find that "bobbylu" actually sounds nice), i will call him bob luongo heretofore.

i thank you for your suggestion.

Nuuuuugs said...

Nice. That Goad (well played name) comment was just begging for a rebuttal.

File this under 'Why we love Hockey.' Awesome post.

I personally like using Bob-O in my periodicals.

R O said...

Canucks are a division rival which puts them on the watch list for me. After that, the reason I hate them so much is how dishonorable their core players are.

Luongo, the Sedins and Kesler are all divers. I don't think the diving stage is over for the Sedins, they were doing it last year and will continue to do so this year.

And Luongo... he's a damn good goalie but he'd be so much harder to cheer against if he didn't pretend to be hurt every time someone tried to run him in the crease. News flash, douchebag: 29 other starters in the league get run at.

The core guys up north are a lot easier to cheer for. Hemsky and Horcoff are beaty players (esp. Horcoff) and Ryan Smyth too when he was an Oiler. Roloson was a diva but he was never part of the Oilers core as far as I'm concerned.

walkinvisible said...

RO: and you forgot that the oilers captain is nicer to look at... ;)

fyi: goad is an awesome dude who really loves his team... so kudos to him for that.

R O said...

A YouTube of the Bieksa incident last night, courtesy of CP as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyvnqXNo_YQ

Look at where the official is. I think from that position on the ice it would be pretty easy to see whose stick hit his face.

FUBAR call.

walkinvisible said...

bad call yes. sure. fine.

i'm not sure why i'm playing devil's advocate in favour of my arch-nemesis but one thing is for sure: bieksa's face got hit by a stick. did he KNOW it was his own stick ? possibly, yes. but also, he may have just gotten poked pretty good and went down based that alone.

byfuglien, being byfuglien, will get that penalty every. single. time. no matter if it's v. kerry fraser and the flames (or if gio's involved in make-believe time).

R O said...

bad call yes. sure. fine.

i'm not sure why i'm playing devil's advocate in favour of my arch-nemesis but one thing is for sure: bieksa's face got hit by a stick. did he KNOW it was his own stick ? possibly, yes. but also, he may have just gotten poked pretty good and went down based that alone.


Oh yeah, this one's all on the ref. Piss-poor officiating, and completely separate from the diving issue (which has more of a "this is why the Canucks are evil" vibe).

walkinvisible said...

...on the other hand, just KNOWING that he was in a battle on the boards with BYFUGLIEN, when the stick came up and poked him in the face, perhaps bieksa took the opportunity (aka: dove) to ensure what would have likely happened naturally anyways --a byfuglien penalty. plus he made himself bleed (purposefully or not) which, as i said previously, is a SKILL. ;)

yeaaahhh, i'm squarely on the fence on this one. ;)

Sarah said...

I lurke here often, so *waves* Hi!

As a Flames fan living in Vancouver, I cannot agree more with this:

my most recent beef with the canucks, however, is the flip-flopping attitude of the fans/local media

Oh, how I hate this. "We have the best team in the league, we're going to win the Cup!" "Our team sucks, we need a complete restructure, trade everyone but Luongo." "Trade Luongo too, he's a bum!" "Wow, great game by the Sedins, we're going to the Conference finals!" Aaargh, it makes me crazy. Maybe it'd be the same if I lived in Calgary, but the wagon-jumpers and the media here are so fickle!

walkinvisible said...

sarah, welcome !!! *curtsey*
i love it when girls come by over here, and YIKES do i have an awesome chick-rant upcoming (later today or tomorrow)..... stay tuned !
:)


Maybe it'd be the same if I lived in Calgary, but the wagon-jumpers and the media here are so fickle!

not here, nope.... i find calgary fans/media almost infuriatingly loyal --like how much people adored bertuzzi (or theo fleury, even) when it was so painfully clear that his skills were a couple of years into the history books.... i think we're supportive to a fault....

markbow said...

Keep up the terrific work! I look to your blog several times a week for info. I know it's a lot of work, but believe me...it is MUCHLY appreciated!

walkinvisible said...

markbow:
well, i sure appreciate your appreciation.... :) i'm also extra flattered that you come here for info, when i thought i mostly spewed out information-based opinion...
:)

bring on the comments, people, i LIVE for this stuff !!

KiPA - Kevin in PA said...

Bob Luongo. Spread the word.

Calgarian in SJ said...

From the words of Angus Crock on SCTV ....

"Bob's Yer Uncle"

Goad said...

I agree that Canucks fans are some of the worst fans in professional sports but this douchebaggery is a relatively recent phenomenon.

Canucks fans were a cautious, jaded, and wary animal that had been given scant reason for hope. Why would we be boastful? Our team played in East Van, wore Halloween costumes for jerseys and trotted out line after line of has-beens and ne'erwill-be's.

Where the new breed of Cocknuck came from is anyone's guess. The team certainly didn't get that much better. I believe it was a combination of the new building downtown, an influx of easterners, the corporate takeover of the stands, and the overwhelming media barrage spewing propaganda.

Whatever the cause, the effect has been a contingent of overbearing, fickle fans with an unbelievable sense of entitlement.

walkinvisible said...

goad:
it's tough for me because i know you love your team the way i love mine...
'nuff said.
xx
wi.