Today's Topic: Canada's Pastime
The stage was set. The ducks were in a line. The hype was loud. The fans were psyched. All the bars in downtown Vancouver had "Sorry, we're full"signs in their front window. Yes, the Vancouver Canucks seemed poised to take home Lord Stanley. It seemed like the perfect scripted story was going to have the happy ending. All the stats, the players, the coaches...everyone seemed optimistic. Without actually saying it, everyone felt it. The media covered it remarkably. The lead story most nights on CBC involved the Canucks. From the experience I had in this industry, it is a rare thing to be a positive story and be the lead night after night. One win would pull it all together and you could here the "I believe" slogan in the echos of the city.
On the other side of the coin, it was the story of the old boys club taking to the ice. A team hell bent on trade deadline day to put all the pieces of the puzzle together to build a championship contender. You had to give Boston a lot of credit. They stuck to their blueprint. I also bet a lot of fans watching the Stanley cup finals didn't recognize Tomas Kaberle with facial hair, since it seemed he never ever had any while he was in Toronto. But it was more about the team, the adversity and the game 7 wins that brought them to the most prestigious trophy in all of professional sports.
As I watched the days leading up to the final, I remember thinking what would happen if the Canucks lost. It seemed like everyone was still riding the wave of the Olympics and that Vancouver was the magical city where dreams came true for so many athletes. Watching Canada AM, they were interviewing sports psychologist to determine what goaltender Roberto Luongo had to do and how his mind set had to be in order for the Canucks to have the glorious victory they so desired. How close they were.
Most players on that team may never get that shot again. A game seven in the Stanley Cup finals seems to be a once in a lifetime experience. I still get chills when I think about players lifting the Stanley Cup, what runs through their mind when they finally hoist it over their heads, while the ghosts of past players surround the prize and the sacred feelings of it all. To actually touch the real thing. I don't think there would be a better feeling in sports and few sports trophies can rival the history that the cup has. True Story: In 1996, Mike Ricci of the Colorado Avalanche brought the Stanley Cup to a party. The Riley's attended this same party; a couple who had given up hope on having a child after trying for almost 14 years. That night on a whims and a prayer, Cheryl Riley kissed the cup for good luck. 9 months later, little Stanley C. Riley was born. Like I said, true story.
It's amazing in Canada how attached people get to hockey. It's literally like a drug and who among us can honestly say that they don't enjoy those simple little montages they play before or after every game. You get chills thinking about some of your favourite ones. But why do Canadians crave the sport more than any other country? Is it the thrill and love of the game, the past time of the backyard rink? Is it the entertainment and the fans that drive it's success? Is it the loud sounds of the crowds, the atmosphere of the rink? Or is it because of the grand prize? I think you could answer yes to all of these questions and maybe it's a little bit of everything but sometimes the obsession takes it to the next level.
The Vancouver riots blew my mind. The images were ridiculous. The reasoning just seemed illogical. Tipping over a car because someone let a puck in a net? Setting a car on fire because the hometown team never came out on top? Looting? Really? It was like a damned Apocalypse scene that you see in the movies. And everyone just stood by with jaws dropped. The wow factor. The "are they seriously doing that" looks. Yep, along with game 7, the Vancouver riots will also go down as a once in a lifetime thing. The question no one can seem to answer is why it all happened. I mean yes, there are thousands of opinions and for radio shows across the country, it was radio chat gold. Dig in and make wild accusations, make the biggest assumptions
possible and point as many fingers as you can. Some say the NHL should take responsibility and claim the one million dollars in clean up expenses. Others say sock it to the cities taxpayers. Some would argue to bring the ones responsible to justice. It boggles my mind when I look at countries having riots over poorly run governments, war and famine and here we are throwing riots of rage because we lost a game. Now ask the question, is it more than just a game. Does it now become a political debate? Does the past time constitute as an enterprise needing it's own set of city laws and protocols? These are all valid questions and I don't even know the right answer. I do know that hockey does not justify the total thrashing of a downtown, but maybe it's our own fault for giving into the hype and temptation of the thought of winning the best trophy sports has to offer.
So to recap, that is Canada's favourite past time and that is what we cheer for; a silver cup lined with legendary names, a cup that has literally been through hell and back, has seen thousands of homes and has been touched by millions of people. Few get the quote "religious" privilege to hoist it over their head, a dream that almost every child growing up with a stick in his hand dreams of. It's a past time that is enjoyed by millions and a game that shows no mercy for the weak. Vancouver gave the country hope that it was time for Canada to take back the hockey reins and join in on the cup craze. But for now, and as they say in sports, there's always next year.
The stage was set. The ducks were in a line. The hype was loud. The fans were psyched. All the bars in downtown Vancouver had "Sorry, we're full"signs in their front window. Yes, the Vancouver Canucks seemed poised to take home Lord Stanley. It seemed like the perfect scripted story was going to have the happy ending. All the stats, the players, the coaches...everyone seemed optimistic. Without actually saying it, everyone felt it. The media covered it remarkably. The lead story most nights on CBC involved the Canucks. From the experience I had in this industry, it is a rare thing to be a positive story and be the lead night after night. One win would pull it all together and you could here the "I believe" slogan in the echos of the city.
On the other side of the coin, it was the story of the old boys club taking to the ice. A team hell bent on trade deadline day to put all the pieces of the puzzle together to build a championship contender. You had to give Boston a lot of credit. They stuck to their blueprint. I also bet a lot of fans watching the Stanley cup finals didn't recognize Tomas Kaberle with facial hair, since it seemed he never ever had any while he was in Toronto. But it was more about the team, the adversity and the game 7 wins that brought them to the most prestigious trophy in all of professional sports.
As I watched the days leading up to the final, I remember thinking what would happen if the Canucks lost. It seemed like everyone was still riding the wave of the Olympics and that Vancouver was the magical city where dreams came true for so many athletes. Watching Canada AM, they were interviewing sports psychologist to determine what goaltender Roberto Luongo had to do and how his mind set had to be in order for the Canucks to have the glorious victory they so desired. How close they were.
Most players on that team may never get that shot again. A game seven in the Stanley Cup finals seems to be a once in a lifetime experience. I still get chills when I think about players lifting the Stanley Cup, what runs through their mind when they finally hoist it over their heads, while the ghosts of past players surround the prize and the sacred feelings of it all. To actually touch the real thing. I don't think there would be a better feeling in sports and few sports trophies can rival the history that the cup has. True Story: In 1996, Mike Ricci of the Colorado Avalanche brought the Stanley Cup to a party. The Riley's attended this same party; a couple who had given up hope on having a child after trying for almost 14 years. That night on a whims and a prayer, Cheryl Riley kissed the cup for good luck. 9 months later, little Stanley C. Riley was born. Like I said, true story.
It's amazing in Canada how attached people get to hockey. It's literally like a drug and who among us can honestly say that they don't enjoy those simple little montages they play before or after every game. You get chills thinking about some of your favourite ones. But why do Canadians crave the sport more than any other country? Is it the thrill and love of the game, the past time of the backyard rink? Is it the entertainment and the fans that drive it's success? Is it the loud sounds of the crowds, the atmosphere of the rink? Or is it because of the grand prize? I think you could answer yes to all of these questions and maybe it's a little bit of everything but sometimes the obsession takes it to the next level.
The Vancouver riots blew my mind. The images were ridiculous. The reasoning just seemed illogical. Tipping over a car because someone let a puck in a net? Setting a car on fire because the hometown team never came out on top? Looting? Really? It was like a damned Apocalypse scene that you see in the movies. And everyone just stood by with jaws dropped. The wow factor. The "are they seriously doing that" looks. Yep, along with game 7, the Vancouver riots will also go down as a once in a lifetime thing. The question no one can seem to answer is why it all happened. I mean yes, there are thousands of opinions and for radio shows across the country, it was radio chat gold. Dig in and make wild accusations, make the biggest assumptions
possible and point as many fingers as you can. Some say the NHL should take responsibility and claim the one million dollars in clean up expenses. Others say sock it to the cities taxpayers. Some would argue to bring the ones responsible to justice. It boggles my mind when I look at countries having riots over poorly run governments, war and famine and here we are throwing riots of rage because we lost a game. Now ask the question, is it more than just a game. Does it now become a political debate? Does the past time constitute as an enterprise needing it's own set of city laws and protocols? These are all valid questions and I don't even know the right answer. I do know that hockey does not justify the total thrashing of a downtown, but maybe it's our own fault for giving into the hype and temptation of the thought of winning the best trophy sports has to offer.So to recap, that is Canada's favourite past time and that is what we cheer for; a silver cup lined with legendary names, a cup that has literally been through hell and back, has seen thousands of homes and has been touched by millions of people. Few get the quote "religious" privilege to hoist it over their head, a dream that almost every child growing up with a stick in his hand dreams of. It's a past time that is enjoyed by millions and a game that shows no mercy for the weak. Vancouver gave the country hope that it was time for Canada to take back the hockey reins and join in on the cup craze. But for now, and as they say in sports, there's always next year.
