Does this p*ss anyone else off?

[Lionheart]

A first-round NHL playoff series was exciting and all back then, and the city was fully behind its hockey team but, good God, it never reached the absurd proportions of civic boosterism of today when City Councillors wear Canucks jerseys - with their names stitched on the back no less - and wave white towels in the council chambers, the daily newspapers try to outdo each other with local stories on the biggest Canucks fans, the city's only newsradio station breaks into programming with every goal scored.....all for.....Round One.

Sorry to sound like a killjoy. I am happy to for the team and the city. Just upset with the disparity in interest that's all. Our Leos play their butts off, work tirelessly in the community, represent the city and province well and frankly, deserve more.

DH 8)

I am confused. You're saying how absurd this boosterism is yet the whole point of this thread is why can't the Lions achieve such boosterism status.

[sj-roc]

I am confused. You're saying how absurd this boosterism is yet the whole point of this thread is why can't the Lions achieve such boosterism status.

No -- he's comparing the way this city is celebrating the Canucks right now when -- in the grand scheme of the Stanley Cup -- they really haven't done anything yet, while people were comparatively indifferent about the Lions when they won the whole enchilada last year. In other words, the question he's really asking is -- if the Canucks win the Cup, then go nuts, but why get so worked up about getting 1/4 of the way through the process when you can't even be bothered to celebrate a football championship?

[David]

I am confused. You're saying how absurd this boosterism is yet the whole point of this thread is why can't the Lions achieve such boosterism status.

No need to be confused as you've missed my point entirely.

What I am saying is that the Canucks haven't really achieved anything (yet!); just a closely contested opening round playoff series. Yet the city is gripped by this mass pandemonium of Canucks Fever with many carrying on like it was the 7th game of the Stanley Cup Final....still about 8 weeks away.

Meanwhile, our football club was dominant all season - arguably the best team we've ever fielded, won the Grey Cup and it barely registered in the collective consciousness of this city. A civic lunchtime reception was held to congratulate the team and display the silverware. About 2,500 hard core supporters showed up along with several curious onlookers.

While I concede that yes, this Canucks Fever would be nice for the Lions, I was really questioning how disproportionate fan and media interest is and how it got to this point. It's like we're talking about two teams playing in entirely different markets here.

DH 8)

[sj-roc]

David,

You've got some support from an unexpected source -- a friend of mine from Calgary (i.e., a Flames fan) who lives here in town just sent me this message about last night:

There were A LOT of cops out last night. I had a concert ticket, and since I had double paid for it due to missing a previous date, I skipped the 3rd period in favour of the concert (classical). They told us the score mid-way. The English pianist even made a joke referring to Cherry, which was very impressive for a foreigner. And during the second half of the show, during Haydn's London Symphony, we could hear the screaming and honking outside.

My friend's note underscores your frustration -- we're a LOOOOOOONG way from hearing that pianist make jokes about Chris Walby.

[B.C.FAN]

What I am saying is that the Canucks haven't really achieved anything (yet!); just a closely contested opening round playoff series. Yet the city is gripped by this mass pandemonium of Canucks Fever with many carrying on like it was the 7th game of the Stanley Cup Final....still about 8 weeks away.

Meanwhile, our football club was dominant all season - arguably the best team we've ever fielded, won the Grey Cup and it barely registered in the collective consciousness of this city. A civic lunchtime reception was held to congratulate the team and display the silverware. About 2,500 hard core supporters showed up along with several curious onlookers.

Expectations have to be factored into the equation.

The Canucks have gotten farther than many people expected this year and haven't won a first-round playoff series in years, hence the level of excitement.

The Lions, on the other hand, dominated in the regular season for three straight years and under-achieved in the playoffs in 2004 and 2005, in the view of many fans. The Grey Cup victory in 2006 was almost overdue. I'm a Lions fan first and foremost but I felt less excitement at last year's win than I have in any of their previous four Cup titles, just because I had expected it.

[Lionut]

Having said all of this, the Grey Cup is a strong, well recognized part of this country's culture and history, so it's not like the CFL and Canadian football get completely shut out. Right now, though, anyone who is a Lions-first person is feeling a little bit like the "third wheel" on a date...

[smphantom]

Good point David. I thought the same thing last night when I heard all the horns and commotion up and down Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. Wow, they barely managed to squeak by Dallas and win a first round - not the Cup for heck's sake and everyone goes nuts??!

Anyone with some hockey sense (which many of the noisemakers last night weren't), will know that the Canucks technically still only scored 2 goals last night as 2 were empty netters, so their inability to generate any offence still exists.

Therefore, Anaheim will easily send the Canucks to the golf course after 5 games and all will be quiet, until BC Lions fans make our own celebratory noise in November!

[Lion Guy]

I find it to be a bit more of a geographical / Nationalistic phenomenon. You have the following:

1. Hockey is "Canada's Game"
2. We live in Canada.....but we are seen nationally as 'inferior' to the East (Toronto)
3. Therefore it is important for Vancouver to best the east.
4. However, there is always the Canada vs USA piece...mind you this exlcludes Chicago, Detroit, New York (Rangers) and Boston. We cannot have, say Tamba Bay or Phoenix as a SC Champion as that just doesn't sit right with us.
5. We have never won the SC....close, but no cigar.
6. So many others especially teams in the states, and although such a long time ago Toronto included have won the SC.
7. Therefore, when the Canucks FINALLY win the SC then it will be OK for the Lions to win and people will freely support them.

But the key is that we HAVE to win the SC for it to be OK to cheer for the Lions, otherwise is kind of twisted way cheering for the Lions first is not doing our bit for our national game in Vancouver.

Rambling I know, but I have thought this for a long time...which is why I want them to finally win and get it over with, then it will be OK to back and cheer for the Lions again.

[sj-roc]

A friend of mine (who's both a Lion and Canuck fan) offered me this satirical view on the zeitgeist of Canuck fandom:

The poor hicks really have it quite bad.

Suddenly, come April, they have direction and meaning in their lives. Every night, or every other night, they can tune in to the hockey playoffs and watch their team progress. Conversation seems easier and more interesting with more people, and everyone wants to discuss "the Canucks". Every morning they awake looking forward to that next game.

On days when the team wins, they are ecstatic, smiling, happy, generous. On days when the team loses, the wife gets a beating, and there's broken glass in the pubs and blood on their hairy knuckles.

But there's always something to look forward to, at most 2 days away.

Then one day, it comes crashing down. The team gets knocked out. Not only are they disappointed, but there's a huge hole in their lives. No more game to look forward to. No more stimulating conversation. Back to the same old boring, meaningless, pathetic life.

Then one year, like a miracle, the team wins it all! What a ride! 2 months of bliss, emotional rollercoaster, everything else pales in comparison. But what's that... they are shocked as the whiff of their hick lives comes back to haunt them again. Sure the team won, but yet again there are no more games and nothing to look forward to until next year...

Lucky for them, the CFL season starts up and their enthusiasm spills over into a new sport. Or not.

[Belize City Lion]

In 1979 the Whitecaps enjoyed a parade with an estimated 100,000 people lining the route following their soccerbowl championship. The was a team with much less history than either the Canucks or Lions. But it was the first major championship for Vancouver, in any sport, since 1964.

Who should be upset right now is the Giants. Forget parades and celebrations, they can't even get a sniff on sports radio despite the fact they are chewing up their playoff opponents.

[Hambone]

Good point David. I thought the same thing last night when I heard all the horns and commotion up and down Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. Wow, they barely managed to squeak by Dallas and win a first round - not the Cup for heck's sake and everyone goes nuts??!

I would've loved to have heard a little of that sort of excitement. Normally I would've been watching the game in one of my favourite Prince George watering holes which no doubt would've been packed and exuberant at the outcome. But alas I'm in Portland where I have located one downtown restaurant and bar that I've come to count on to have whatever playoff games available. The guy who came in and sat at the next table made it two of us in there who were interested in the game. He grew up in Salem and used to get up to Vancouver for a game or two every year when he was a kid because his dad's company had connections for Canuck ducats. So he became a Canuck fan. Two people don't make for much "atmosphere".

[Bosco]

A very interesting topic with some great observations from everyone in Lionbacker land.

Others have touched on this aspect of "Canuck Mania", but I think that the excitement of a maiden Stanley Cup victory also stokes the collective interest of local fans. There's always a certain excitement when reaching for something new - in this case, a championship. We have experienced championship runs as well as Grey Cup victories from the Lions, but aside from the 82' and 94' Cup appearances, the Canucks playoff success record has been a mostly non factor over the last 37 years. To a certain degree, fans have been spoiled by the Lions success over the last three years, to the point where we almost expect them to be in the Western Final. As far as the Canucks - when the season started, little was expected from the team, so to be in their current position is (to a certain degree) titilating - thus, the increased excitement factor.

Living in Montreal in 1993, although there was a certain level of excitement during the Stanley Cup Finals, it paled in comparison to what I saw throughout the Lower Mainland in 1994. Banners hung from buildings throught the city, kids put up Canuck signs on their front lawns and the province seemed to come to a collective standstill on Canuck game nights. For Montreal - although it had been seven years between Cups, it was still considered as being somewhat old hat to Habs fans - especially if you grew up in Montreal during the 70's. In other words, you almost expected them to win.

In baseball, the Atlanta Braves have experienced the same level of winning expectation. The Braves captured annual post season births from 1991 through 2005, yet seldom sold out their playoff games, because fans expected them to be there. The excitement and "newness" had long worn off.

For the Canucks, winning is still new.

[Robbie]

Many of you have mentioned the time lapse factor, about how the Lions have made it to the championship game several times in the last three decades, whereas the Canucks have made only two appearances. Hambone made a good point that I agree with completely:

Then you have the Canuck factor. 2 trips to the Stanley Cup final in 36 years. Outside of those 2 ventures deep simply winning a playoff round has been a challenge. This is only the 7th time in those 36 years that they've won their opening playoff series. Those 2 trips to the Cup final remain the only 2 times they've advanced beyond the second round. The Lions have been to the big game 7 times in the past 24 years and have 4 Grey Cup rings to show for it. The Lions have been to the Grey Cup as many times as the Canucks have made it to the second round of the playoffs. Merely advancing a round means there is still hope.

One of the reasons that there was so much excitement in Calgary when the Flames made their playoff run in 2004 was because it was the first time in 15 years since winning it in 1989 that the Flames advanced past the first round of the playoffs.

The same kind of excitement can actually be said of the BC Lions too when they return to the Grey Cup after a long drought. The best example is obviously when they won the west division final in 1983 to return to the Grey cup game after a 19 year drought. From what I recall, there were massive celebrations outside BC Place. The same could be said after winning the west division final in 1985 because it was another attempt at redemption after a 21 year drought.

Would it be correct to say that the cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa react with more excitement when their respective Flames, Oilers, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, and Senators teams succeed in the playoffs than when their respective Stampeders, Eskimos, Argonauts, Alouettes, and formerly Renegades succeed in the playoffs?

Addressing my own point, I do recall a notable exception to all that has been said and that is the city of Edmonton after their Eskimos won the Grey Cup in 1987. From what I recall in the media, there were raucous celebrations in Edmonton. A notorious image was one showing a crowd tipping over a public bus. All that in Edmonton despite the fact that their Oilers had already won three recent Stanley Cups and it had only been five years since their Eskimos won their last Grey Cup from their 5-year dynasty.

Finally there is the Canadian factor adding to the dynamic. A Canadian team wins the Grey Cup every year. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993. So I think there's that added emotion that the Canucks advancing gives hope to a parade for Lord Stanley's goblet on Canadian soil instead of merely sticking it back in the HHOF.

As I said several times in other threads before, I don't think this is a huge factor if at all as I don't think people really consider the Stanley Cup tournament as Canada vs. USA but rather, city vs. city. Even if the Canucks make it to the final round and they draw the Senators as their opponents, I don't think there would be any less enthusiasm.

[D]

I am not going to begrudge the Canucks for doing the marketing that the Lions neglected to do for so many years. It is however good to see that the Lions under Ackles watch understand the importance of being visable over a long off season.

[Hambone]

Finally there is the Canadian factor adding to the dynamic. A Canadian team wins the Grey Cup every year. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993. So I think there's that added emotion that the Canucks advancing gives hope to a parade for Lord Stanley's goblet on Canadian soil instead of merely sticking it back in the HHOF.

As I said several times in other threads before, I don't think this is a huge factor if at all as I don't think people really consider the Stanley Cup tournament as Canada vs. USA but rather, city vs. city. Even if the Canucks make it to the final round and they draw the Senators as their opponents, I don't think there would be any less enthusiasm.

I agree. I don't think it's a huge factor, but acknowledge that it exists for some. That's coming from a person who is a Red Wing fan first and Canuck fan second. Once the Wings and 'Nucks are out I'm tend to be neutral unless I don't care for one team or the other. Case in point: in the last two Cup finals I was pulling for the 'Canes and Lightning over the Oilers and Flames.