2011 NHL Playoffs

[NEW.ERA]

I'll admit it now. I'm jealous as of the Canucks. A well run organization, and even if they don't win tonight, they'll be a threat for the forseeable future. Yes I have picked against the Canucks and the only reason is because I am Flames fan.

I understand where your coming from Cap being a Leaf fan and not cheering for the B's. Will I be kinda down if the Nucks win sure, but the sun will rise tomorrow and Vancouver will be drunk out of their minds either way.

[IceCap]

I rooted hard, to no avail, for the Senators and Flames to win in 2003 and 2004, respectively. I felt it was about time a Canadian city got to have the championship again for the reasons you outlined, and I'm an American. But nowhere in this did I fall under the misconception that the Senators or Flames would be winning the Stanley Cup on behalf of Canada. They'd be winning on behalf of Ottawa or Calgary, which are in Canada, but I sort of expected (and would to this day had I not seen this play out every year since) that the rest of the country wouldn't be very pleased about the whole thing, especially in Nearest Rival City. To root for a team you otherwise dislike (and boy, are these guys a bunch to dislike) because they are based in a city on the same side of a line as your city is an idiotic construct, which is saying something considering sports is but a series of idiotic constructs. It's like when I was told that I had to drop everything and root for Team USA in the Olympics. If I've spent the rest of my hockey fandom wishing for Ryan Kesler to be wholly consumed by flesh-eating ants, I am not going to reverse course because of where he happened to exit the womb.

I feel that the Olympics have a purpose in so far as it's an outlet for nationalism (and I don't believe we live in a post-nationalist age) that doesn't involve the invasion of another country or the extermination of some undesirables in the name of national unity. I can root for team Canada and the teams of the other Commonwealth countries safe with the knowledge that I'm not rooting for colonial conquests and violations of international law.

As for the Stanley Cup I remember the country being fairly united in support of the Flames and Oilers, the cities of Calgary and Edmonton being the exceptions on those cases. The Senators had a decent level of support, though it was obviously muted here in Leafs country. It isn't as high for the Canucks because, well, as you said it's easy to dislike these guys.

Still though, I'm not under the impression that the Canucks winning it will be a victory of Canada. It would be, however, a victory for a team in Canada, which I think is something that should happen at least once every ten years in a Canadian sport that competes for a trophy donated by a Canadian Governor General. If the Canucks win tonight I don't see myself rooting for a Canadian team in the post-season "just because."

[The_Admiral]

Somehow I have a feeling Montreal can never "win it for Canada."

[IceCap]

Somehow I have a feeling Montreal can never "win it for Canada."

Eh, there are enough Anglophones in the city to make it work.

Now if Quebec City gets a team again and they make it to the Finals, then there might be a problem.

Will I be kinda down if the Nucks win sure, but the sun will rise tomorrow and Vancouver will be drunk out of their minds either way.

Which is why I like the Olympics. It reduces nationalist sentiment, which does still exist, down to sports fandom. Team Canada lost? Oh well. It sucks, but I'll forget about it by lunch tomorrow. That kind of "loss" for your country you shrug off and move on. If your country loses in a war, well you work towards revenge and next thing you know you've kicked off a second war.

[The_Admiral]

Real Canadians speak English, or in the case of Vancouver, languages that aren't French.

[IceCap]

Real Canadians speak English, or in the case of Vancouver, languages that aren't French.

Riel Canadiens speak French though

Though I think you're over-stating the cultural divide. English Canadians generally don't mind French Canadians unless they're threatening to separate or refuse to play for the national hockey team (Patrick Roy).

[nash61]

I rooted hard, to no avail, for the Senators and Flames to win in 2003 and 2004, respectively. I felt it was about time a Canadian city got to have the championship again for the reasons you outlined, and I'm an American. But nowhere in this did I fall under the misconception that the Senators or Flames would be winning the Stanley Cup on behalf of Canada. They'd be winning on behalf of Ottawa or Calgary, which are in Canada, but I sort of expected (and would to this day had I not seen this play out every year since) that the rest of the country wouldn't be very pleased about the whole thing, especially in Nearest Rival City. To root for a team you otherwise dislike (and boy, are these guys a bunch to dislike) because they are based in a city on the same side of a line as your city is an idiotic construct, which is saying something considering sports is but a series of idiotic constructs. It's like when I was told that I had to drop everything and root for Team USA in the Olympics. If I've spent the rest of my hockey fandom wishing for Ryan Kesler to be wholly consumed by flesh-eating ants, I am not going to reverse course because of where he happened to exit the womb.

I feel that the Olympics have a purpose in so far as it's an outlet for nationalism (and I don't believe we live in a post-nationalist age) that doesn't involve the invasion of another country or the extermination of some undesirables in the name of national unity. I can root for team Canada and the teams of the other Commonwealth countries safe with the knowledge that I'm not rooting for colonial conquests and violations of international law.

As for the Stanley Cup I remember the country being fairly united in support of the Flames and Oilers, the cities of Calgary and Edmonton being the exceptions on those cases. The Senators had a decent level of support, though it was obviously muted here in Leafs country. It isn't as high for the Canucks because, well, as you said it's easy to dislike these guys.

Still though, I'm not under the impression that the Canucks winning it will be a victory of Canada. It would be, however, a victory for a team in Canada, which I think is something that should happen at least once every ten years in a Canadian sport that competes for a trophy donated by a Canadian Governor General. If the Canucks win tonight I don't see myself rooting for a Canadian team in the post-season "just because."

I cheered for Calgary in 04 and Edmonton in 06, but as a Leafs fan I couldn't bring myself to cheer for Ottawa in 07 or Vancouver now. I don't care if the Bruins are in the Northeast division, or if they "fleeced the Leafs in the Phil Kessel deal", I will be cheering for the Bruins tonight.

[Sport]

I rooted hard, to no avail, for the Senators and Flames to win in 2003 and 2004, respectively. I felt it was about time a Canadian city got to have the championship again for the reasons you outlined, and I'm an American. But nowhere in this did I fall under the misconception that the Senators or Flames would be winning the Stanley Cup on behalf of Canada. They'd be winning on behalf of Ottawa or Calgary, which are in Canada, but I sort of expected (and would to this day had I not seen this play out every year since) that the rest of the country wouldn't be very pleased about the whole thing, especially in Nearest Rival City. To root for a team you otherwise dislike (and boy, are these guys a bunch to dislike) because they are based in a city on the same side of a line as your city is an idiotic construct, which is saying something considering sports is but a series of idiotic constructs. It's like when I was told that I had to drop everything and root for Team USA in the Olympics. If I've spent the rest of my hockey fandom wishing for Ryan Kesler to be wholly consumed by flesh-eating ants, I am not going to reverse course because of where he happened to exit the womb.

I feel that the Olympics have a purpose in so far as it's an outlet for nationalism (and I don't believe we live in a post-nationalist age) that doesn't involve the invasion of another country or the extermination of some undesirables in the name of national unity. I can root for team Canada and the teams of the other Commonwealth countries safe with the knowledge that I'm not rooting for colonial conquests and violations of international law.

As for the Stanley Cup I remember the country being fairly united in support of the Flames and Oilers, the cities of Calgary and Edmonton being the exceptions on those cases. The Senators had a decent level of support, though it was obviously muted here in Leafs country. It isn't as high for the Canucks because, well, as you said it's easy to dislike these guys.

Still though, I'm not under the impression that the Canucks winning it will be a victory of Canada. It would be, however, a victory for a team in Canada, which I think is something that should happen at least once every ten years in a Canadian sport that competes for a trophy donated by a Canadian Governor General. If the Canucks win tonight I don't see myself rooting for a Canadian team in the post-season "just because."

In theory a Canadian team should win once every 5 years. Shoot higher, Icecap.

[IceCap]

I rooted hard, to no avail, for the Senators and Flames to win in 2003 and 2004, respectively. I felt it was about time a Canadian city got to have the championship again for the reasons you outlined, and I'm an American. But nowhere in this did I fall under the misconception that the Senators or Flames would be winning the Stanley Cup on behalf of Canada. They'd be winning on behalf of Ottawa or Calgary, which are in Canada, but I sort of expected (and would to this day had I not seen this play out every year since) that the rest of the country wouldn't be very pleased about the whole thing, especially in Nearest Rival City. To root for a team you otherwise dislike (and boy, are these guys a bunch to dislike) because they are based in a city on the same side of a line as your city is an idiotic construct, which is saying something considering sports is but a series of idiotic constructs. It's like when I was told that I had to drop everything and root for Team USA in the Olympics. If I've spent the rest of my hockey fandom wishing for Ryan Kesler to be wholly consumed by flesh-eating ants, I am not going to reverse course because of where he happened to exit the womb.

I feel that the Olympics have a purpose in so far as it's an outlet for nationalism (and I don't believe we live in a post-nationalist age) that doesn't involve the invasion of another country or the extermination of some undesirables in the name of national unity. I can root for team Canada and the teams of the other Commonwealth countries safe with the knowledge that I'm not rooting for colonial conquests and violations of international law.

As for the Stanley Cup I remember the country being fairly united in support of the Flames and Oilers, the cities of Calgary and Edmonton being the exceptions on those cases. The Senators had a decent level of support, though it was obviously muted here in Leafs country. It isn't as high for the Canucks because, well, as you said it's easy to dislike these guys.

Still though, I'm not under the impression that the Canucks winning it will be a victory of Canada. It would be, however, a victory for a team in Canada, which I think is something that should happen at least once every ten years in a Canadian sport that competes for a trophy donated by a Canadian Governor General. If the Canucks win tonight I don't see myself rooting for a Canadian team in the post-season "just because."

I cheered for Calgary in 04 and Edmonton in 06, but as a Leafs fan I couldn't bring myself to cheer for Ottawa in 07 or Vancouver now. I don't care if the Bruins are in the Northeast division, or if they "fleeced the Leafs in the Phil Kessel deal", I will be cheering for the Bruins tonight.

I got behind the Senators in 07, but I didn't mind the Ducks winning. Mostly because the one thing that kept me wishing the Ducks would never win the Cup, the Disney look, was gone. Had Calgary or Edmonton pulled it out I would have been fully behind the Ducks on that one.

As for Vancouver, I always considered them my Western Conference team dating back to the first incarnation of the orca look. Then one day I woke up and was informed that Leafs and Canucks fans were required to hate each other due to Brian Burke or something. As a Leafs fan I never got the sense that the Canucks were blood rivals or anything. Take the "Canadian team" thing out of the equation and you have the Bruins, divisional rivals to the Leafs, and the Canucks, some team across the continent who the Leafs rarely play. Even if the Canadian team winning card wasn't in play I would probably still be pulling for the Canucks.

In theory a Canadian team should win once every 5 years. Shoot higher, Icecap.

This would require most, if not all, of Canada's teams playing at a playoff calibre level for extended periods of time. MLSE's to busy counting money to do this.

[OMMF]

My girlfriend and I will do our best to represent the Black and Gold in a sea of orcas tonight in Seattle. I'm sure that Fox Sports Grill will run out of Sam Adams from my table alone.

(Lee will tell you that this is a step up in my beer taste after waxing poetic about Kokanee and Black Label before.)

[habsfan1]

I was rooting for a Canadian team to win the cup ever since Calgary qualified back in '04. Even though the Habs hold the title of last Canadian team to win it, I wouldn't mind seeing it passed over to the Canucks tonight. It's been a long enough wait.

Also for obvious reasons, no one here in Montreal wants to see the Bruins win the Cup period.

[gingerbreadmann]

Everyone should read this for a cool bit of perspective:

http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2011/06/detailed-look-back-at-game-seven-which.html

I could barely sleep last night. I really, really wish Mumbles Menino didn't put the can on a potential Garden viewing party but one way or another, tonight will be memorable. Whew. One. Game. Left.

[ElwoodCuse]

As for the game growing a lot since 1993, well Atlanta's moving to Winnipeg, Florida's tarpping off the upper bowl, and the Coyotes are being kept alive on government subsidies.

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/where-hockey-is-growing-state-by-state/

nope move like 10 more teams to Canada THIS IS ARE GAME

[Lee.]

My girlfriend and I will do our best to represent the Black and Gold in a sea of orcas tonight in Seattle. I'm sure that Fox Sports Grill will run out of Sam Adams from my table alone.

(Lee will tell you that this is a step up in my beer taste after waxing poetic about Kokanee and Black Label before.)

Baby steps, man. Baby steps.

Around 100k people expected to be in downtown Vancouver watching the game on big TVs tonight. Main north-south highway into town was hellishly packed before noon today.

This is going to be some kind of something.

[Viper]

I've got championship sigs made for both teams, and I'm thinking the first team to two goals will be the one to get theirs posted here later tonight.

I'm also thinking that team will be Vancouver, even if only because Luongo has only been stinking up Boston's barn thus far, and not his own.

[IceCap]

As for the game growing a lot since 1993, well Atlanta's moving to Winnipeg, Florida's tarpping off the upper bowl, and the Coyotes are being kept alive on government subsidies.

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/where-hockey-is-growing-state-by-state/

nope move like 10 more teams to Canada THIS IS ARE GAME

You and your strawman arguments. Keep up your angry little bias though. I'm sure Gary (does he let you call him Gary?) appreciates it.

With Winnipeg getting a team back Quebec City's really the only Canadian destination left that should receive a team. Hamilton could support one, but MLSE isn't letting that happen, so with Winnipeg back in the league the reclamation will be considered complete once Quebec gets another team.

[GO2HELL]

canucks win = biggest party in downtown Vancouver's history. canucks loss = downtown will become a war zone

[NEW.ERA]

Nah it couldn't be as bad as you guys beating the hell out of an innocent Starbucks sign like it was in 94'

[CS85]

At work for the game tonight, so this and the gamecast will be game lifeboat. Go Bruins.

[PurpleRush]

What a chance for Vancouver!

Bruins need to start hitting.