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Volume 3
Issue # 5
April 27, 2003
"Go Cup Crazy!"
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Go Canucks Go! I don't think I have very much of a choice than to dedicate
this piece to my two cents about the whole Vancouver Canucks playoff run.
I think we can all agree that the vast majority of Vancouver's population
ride bandwagons. When the Canucks in seasons past were struggling to get
into the playoffs, where were the fans? This year, where the Canucks were
on their way to being division champs and among the top in the league
overall, you'd be hard pressed to find an empty seat in the house, especially
when the Wings or Avalanche were in town . . . for example.
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I would say
that the people in Vancouver fall under one of three categories. There
is a population that are hardcore loyal Canucks fans. Typically, these
are the people that have been season ticket holders for a number of years,
dating back to the pre-Bure era if you can believe it. Some may have been
around as loyal fans since the days of Stan Smyl. Then there are people
that don't want anything to do with hockey. Perhaps people with other
interests (fair enough) in sport, theatre or what-have-you. And then there
are the bandwagonners (is that a word?). "Oh did you hear about the
Canucks? That's the team with Linden right?" Interestingly, because
of Linden's return, that question doesn't sound as stupid anymore. In
any case, it is quite clear that the cup crazy fever that has swept this
city is quite indicative of how many people will support our local team
only if they are doing well. Sigh. Sad as it may be, I feel I may be a
part of this phenomenom.
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Speaking of hockey, I just had
a discussion with a friend of mine over the classic debate over endless
overtimes versus shootouts. I, for one, am against shootouts. Hockey is
a team sport, and thus, the outcome of games should be determined by the
team's effort. I define team, not only as the players on the ice and the
players on the bench, but I think we would all agree that coaches, assistant
coaches and the like also play a very integral role in the team. And so,
my view is that because hockey is a team sport, the outcome should be
decided by the team's effort. In the case of a shootout, you are isolating
a particular set of skills and a particular subset of players to determine
the game's outcome. Although everyone was involved for 60 minutes or what-have-you
of gametime, you are now deciding that who wins is based on two things:
who has the better goalie and who has the better breakaway guys. That's
just wrong. You have eliminated coaching strategies (other than who are
going to be your five shooters). You've eliminated the concept of having
defence (other than simply your goalie's one-on-one ability). You've eliminated
the importance/role of enforcers (like a Domi or Brashear). The game will
be decided by who has a Hasek, who has a Jagr. Who has a single (or couple
of) good player(s), and not who has the best team. Sigh.
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Well, I'm writing this a mere hour and a
half prior to the puck being dropped in General Motors Place for Game
Two. Arguably, although a series against the Avalanche probably would
have been more interesting (i.e., high scoring, high hitting), a series
with the Wild is probably a better chance for the Canucks to advance.
I am aware that people in Minnesota probably hate me for saying that .
. . but then again, how many people in Minnesota are reading this? I only
knew of two players on the Wild prior to this series: Ronning, an ex-Canuck
and Park, the second Asian player ever to play in the NHL. I think I may
have been thinking about this series a little too optimistically, thinking
that the Canucks should be able to simply stomp all over the wild, but
based on my experience a couple nights ago (and thinking back to their
regular season games), this series might be more captivating than I was
expecting and not quite so one-sided. We shall see.
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Go Canucks Go! Perhaps I should
head to Canadian Tire to pick up one of those Canucks flags to wave around
on my car. Support, right? Yeah, just a bandwagon. Too bad those flags
keep getting sold out. |
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