Hockey

Patriotic? Yes. Jingoist? Never.

mig14 — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:35:00 GMT

Over the last 17 days, Canada has been overrun with patriotism. For those who know, this is odd for us, as we are generally pretty reserved until the 1st of July. With the 21st Winter Olympics being held in Vancouver and Whistler this year, we had a great opportunity to showcase our awesomeness to the rest of the world.

And what a showcase.

Not only did Canada finish the Olympics with 26 medals (more than in any other Winter Games), we won 14 gold medals. That's more Winter Olympic Gold medals than any other country. Ever. We even beat out the central planning machine of the former USSR. THAT'S something to be proud of.

We all know by now about the double hockey gold, and the men's curling gold, and how Alexandre Bilodeau's brother Frederic is both his inspiration and his best friend. We know how Joannie Rochette overcame an unimaginable tragedy in the death of her mother to win an Olympic bronze medal AND set a personal best in the short program. We know that Clara Hughes is the only multiple medallist from both Summer and Winter Games. We know that Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are not only Olympic champions in ice dancing, but are cute as buttons and kind of won all of our hearts. We know that Jon Montgomery is a true Canadian (who else chugs beer from a pitcher in the middle of the street on national TV?) and that Oprah (!) was such a fan of him that she had one of her correspndents in Whistler interview him for her show. And he's an auctioneer from Winnipeg. All of those stories are pretty incredible.

But those stories aren't the legacy that the Games will leave for me.

What really struck me was the patriotic displays across the country, usually reserved for Canada Day. For the first time in a long time, I felt that my (usually) overt patriotism wasn't out of place. That doesn't mean that I go around chanting “CA-NA-DA!” at every opportunity, but I do definitely feel that my country is pretty important.

The Vancouver Olympics gave us a legitimate forum to be proud of our country, and to show the world that we are as we say we are. The Games enabled us to create for ourselves the idea that with a dream, we actually can achieve greatness, and that even though we didn't win the most medals overall, having the most gold ever is pretty incredible.

For me, this was especially evident in the hockey. I was watching Team Canada take the ice in their first game, and I said to my dad that the worst goal for an Oilers fan would be if Heatley and Pronger were involved. It happened, but it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. This got me thinking that in terms of international hockey, the maple leaf on the front trumps the name on the back any day.

I suppose this has always been true for me, but it wasn't until this Olympics that I realized what this could cause a problem with anyone else. This discussion started on Twitter, with a woman who lives in Michigan (and with whom I share a love of the Red Wings), and it ended with her blocking me from following her. I really don't care about that part, but here's the context: I made a comment that nation trumps friendship, especially in hockey to which she took exception. She was adamant that Americans would cheer for Canada if Canada was playing another team (which I don't think I believe, but I don't know for sure); I told her that the Canadians at Canada Hockey Place weren't necessarily cheering against the US, but were cheering FOR Switzerland (and to me that is a HUGE difference). There was more, but none of it is really relevant.

Here's what is: I've never really been a USA hater. I don't necessarily agree with foreign policy decisions, or the general (and often widespread) ignorace of our country by Americans, but I would conclude that for most of our shared history, we've been pretty good neighbours for each other. I don't think that I've ever actively cheered against the Americans in a hockey game, even when we play them. I don't say bad things about the opponents (unless it's Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary...) that my team faces. Instead, I cheer FOR my team, and I generally say nothing about the team they are playing. Was I happy that the US beat Finland? Not really, but not because it was the US. It was simply because I actually kind of like the Finnish team. I liked the Swedes for the most part, too. On the flipside, I don't like the Russians (for a lot of reasons, the least of which is Alex Ovechkin).

And I don't like the US team. But it's not because of the name on the front. This time it's because of the names on the back. I can honestly say that there are four guys from the US Olympic team that I don't mind: Ryan Miller, Tim Thomas and Dustin Brown and Brian Rafalski. The rest of them? I could take them or leave them.

My dislike of the US team has NOTHING to do with what I feel towards the US, and everything to do with who was on that team. I also have pretty strong feelings against the US coaching staff and management team (Brian Burke and Ron Wilson especially), and I'm sure that played a part. I don't think that means I'm a bad person. It means that to me, I don't like the US enough to let the name on the front be more important than the name on the back.

When the NHL starts up again, I'll go back to a muted dislike of Crosby, a general hatred of Pronger, and a loathing of Luongo. But for these last two weeks, I could put those aside because the name on the front mattered more than the name on the back. And as far as Team Canada is concerned, it always will.

Theoren Fleury

mig14 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:24:00 GMT

It's no secret that I'm not a Calgary Flames fan, but a little piece of me was pretty excited that Theoren Fleury was trying to break back in to the NHL. Despite Fleury breaking my heart time and time again while a member of the Calgary Flames (and later the Colorado Avalanche), I always admired his tenacity and his drive to succeed. I think it speaks about the power of the game when a guy who has been away from it for 6 years has the drive to compete at such a high level again. When Fleury was cut from the Flames, I thought it was fitting that he retired right away, rather than embarrass himself by trying to find a spot on every other team in the league.

When news broke today about the book Fleury has written, I wasn't really surprised that he alleges abuse at the hand of Graham James (and I mean that in the most genuine way). In the culture that we've created around hockey, it's not unusual for “questionable” conduct between players and coaches, or between players to go on without so much as a second look.

I think that we should all take a moment and acknowledge how difficult it must be for someone in Fleury's position to come right out and tell everyone what happened to him, and who was responsible. I think that we spend far too much time promoting the masculine ideal that boys and young men have nowhere to turn when they need an adult who will actually care for them rather than exploit them.

Both Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy deserve nothing but respect for coming forward about these tragic events. Hopefully more people will come clean and the healing process can begin on a large scale.

Kevin Lowe 6, Brian Burke 1

mig14 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:30:00 GMT

I have to give some credit to Kevin Lowe for sticking up for himself. Since last July when Lowe and the Oilers made a qualifying offer to Dustin Penner (stealing him from the Anaheim Ducks), Brian Burke has been in Lowe's face about how he's 'ruining the NHL'. While Burke may have a valid point about the size of the contracts, since Lowe's offer to Thomas Vanek (of Buffalo) kind of messed things up for smoe people. However, it seems important to note that Burke is the man responsible for signing Todd Bertuzzi to a two year, $8 million deal last season. Lowe's comment about Stanley Cup rings was, however, priceless: He won a Stanley Cup? Great. I've won six Stanley Cups, you want to count rings?
(I can just imagine which finger Lowe would be using to display that 6th ring....)

Ah, hockey. Even in the offseason, it's still front page news, even in a week where the greatest men's final at Wimbledon (at least since 1980) was played, and rumours of a comeback abound south of the border. here? All we want is hockey. And beer.

tags: hockey Edmonton Oilers Anaheim Ducks NHL

Notes for 06/23/2008

mig14 — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:49:00 GMT

So I'm going to get back on the bandwagon. I startde another blog, on WordPress so that I can get used to the format and stuff before Mack switches me over to WP for this. (Was that subtle? I'm not sure...)

Without further ado....

I got an email on Friday telling me that today I sign my permanent contract with EPSB. This basically means that I'll be employed by the district as long as I want to be, and I'm guaranteed a full time job every year. Woohoo!
I found out my timetable on Thursday. They're letting me teach Social 30. I get to talk WWII with kids. I'm so stinking excited it's not even funny.
The NHL Draft has come and gone. I was pretty excited to see Tyler Ennis go in the first round because back in the days of my IPT (Fall 2003) I taught him when he was in grade 9.
One of my favourite places to be is Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park. I will link to a Flickr picture I took of the sunset there, but I can't get to Flickr from school...
Only 4 more days till the end of the school year. Then 4 days off, then summer school.

I think that's all for now. I will have more time, and I'll update more often. And maybe by then I'll have a new website.

Stanley Cup Playoffs, Round 3 Preview

mig14 — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:51:00 GMT

Well, as we all know bynow, the San Jose Sharks were unable to comeback and defeat the Dull-as Stars. I was a little sad about that, as I felt that the Sharks definitely had that one in the bag. Oh well.....here's what we can expect over the next week and a bit.

Eastern Conference

The Philadelphia Flyers surprised the heck out of everyone by upsetting both the Capitals and the Canadiens. R.J. Umberger is now a bit of a cult hero in Philly, as he has essentially been a giant killer so far. They, of course, meet the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final. So the all-Pennsylvania match-up should be interesting, especially considering that Philly went 5-3 this season over the mighty Penguins. (Yeah, that's a bad pun....oh well)

Western Conference

So on Thursday night last week, when the Red Wings won their series against Colorado, I spent a few minutes cleaning my brains off the TV screen. Zetterberg's goal made my brain explode. Literally. And, I hate Dallas with a burning passion. In fact, if a sinkhole were to open up underneath American Airlines Arena while the Stars were practicing, I'd be alright with that. I'm hoping that the Wings can destroy the Stars in less than 6. And then they can take the Penguins/Flyers in 5. And take the cup away from the Ducks. Stupid Ducks.

tags: Hockey Playoffs Red Wings Penguins Flyers Stars NHL

Notes for 05/02/2008

mig14 — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Wow. I think in March I promised not to be delinquent. Oops.

I've been viciously ill this week. I even took 3 days off work (and we all know how often THAT happens). I'm better now, after the eye-ear-sinus-throat-chest infection that had me laid out for a while. Hopefully there will be no more days off work in the near future. I'm so behind......I need to take another couple days off to catch up.
Holy playoff tragedies, Batman. Let me list them for you....
Stupid San Jose can't win a game
Crosby can't score
Joe Sakic is (potentially) on the verge of retirement and his team got blown out by the Wings last night
Holy playoff successes, Batman!
Red Wings 4, Colorado 0. And did anyone see Zetterberg's goal last night? It was so awesome, my brain almost exploded.
#12, Patrick Marleau. Maybe now that he's only 1 point behind “mighty“ Joe Thornton in the playoffs, he'll have the target removed from his back (win or lose). Or, he could come play for my team any day. (And he's from Aneroid, Saskatchewan. 10 points for anyone who can tell me where that is.)
Only 2 weeks till May Long Weekend! WOOOOOO!

That is all.

tags: Hockey Playoffs Sharks Red Wings Crosby

Things I'm Not Loving

mig14 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:09:00 GMT

Having kind of an off week. Maybe because the lifeblood of my football team just left. Or maybe because I actually have to work 5 days this week. Either or.

Anyways...

Brett Favre retired. I cried. Not happy.
Open House tonight. Longest day ever. Not happy.
Oilers are kind of tanking it. Not happy.

That's really about it. But the first one sort of trumps the other two....

Notes for 12/12/2007

mig14 — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:30:00 GMT

I realized yesterday that I wasted post #400 on a Bon Jovi set list, and then I didn't acknowledge it in post #401, so here it is! I have 400 posts. At one point in time, I was WAY behind Brock and Inge....now I am almost on top!

Bon Jovi TONIGHT! I can't type properly I'm so excited! If he really does play Bed of Roses, I'll DIE!!! On a Bed of Roses, perhaps?
Oilers = teh awesome lately! Sam Gagner, FTW!
Christmas is almost here. I'm not feeling the usual stress. Perhaps because there's so much to do between now and then.
BON JOVI!
Packers are 11-2. I can't quite believe it. In the last 2 seasons combined, they won 12 games. I like the way it was.

That is all. I'll put pictures up of the concert ASAP. Like,.....tonight. From my phone.

Notes for 01/10/2007

mig14 — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 15:17:00 GMT

Ok. I'm trying. I really am. I feel like I'm going to pass out from exhaustion. Sobear with me.

Packers WHAT?!?! 4-0 for the first time since 1998. AND Brett Favre = teh awesome. More touchdown passes than Dan Marino. Most consecutive starts by an offensive player. Last of the gunslingers. They will make it 5-0 against the Bears next week
Oilers. I'm getting excited. I actually have an Oiler in my hockey pool (Souray, in case you were wondering...)
So tired. It's only Monday, and I'm ready for a weekend.
Going to the farm for Thanksgiving. WOO!

I think that is all. High Five!

Notes for 09/03/2007

mig14 — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:19:00 GMT

I tried to do this last week, but I gave up. Wasn't feeling the inspiration. I also had to edit this because I'm apparently incapable of proofreading. Terrible, indeed.

Work starts tomorrow. I'm excited, slightly nervous, but mostly looking forward to meeting the kids, and going from there.
NFL season is almost upon us. Pretty much the only thing better is the start of the NHL season. Go Packers Go!
Jane moved on Saturday. I don't think I've ever built that much IKEA furniture in one day. However, the experience totally gave me the moving itch. I'm thinking...after I turn 25 so my car insurance is still cheap.
There's a 17 minute preview of Prison Break Season 3 premiere. I watched it last night. I enjoyed. Only 2 weeks to go!!
Bones in 22 days. Hooray!
This. Is. SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Watched 300 last night. Clearly the best eye candy movie ever. Which Speedo-clad man would you like today? Hmm...how about Gerard Butler himself (Did you know he was in Tomb Raider???)

That is all.