"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...
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