Monday, June 22, 2009

What makes a Canucks fan a Canucks fan?

Puck the Media has posted a quite hilarious NHL Fan Glossary (H/T Puck Daddy for the link). Here is what they have to say about Canucks fans:

"Canucks, Vancouver. Is kind of embarrassed that the team is basically a different way of saying Canadiens. Thinks Steve Moore had it coming. Owns every one of the teams 27 different jerseys."

Okay, "had it coming" might be a tad strong, though I was quite upset by Moore's previous hit on Naslund. And, personally, I'm not at all embarrassed that Canuck means Canadian! It means we don't have to resort to putting the Canada flag on our jerseys like a certain Alberta team I can think of (anyone else think the Flames come off as a bunch of college kids travelling around Europe who try to be "cool" by rocking the maple leaf on their backpacks?).

And yeah, the team has had a veritable colour prism of jerseys over the years. All of which make appearances in the stands at games. Bonus points if you own the salmon-red third jersey from the mid-90s. Extra bonus points if you actually wear it outside the house.

Unfortunately the entry on the Canucks appears to be the second smallest after the Maple Leafs ("Cherishes the team’s most recent Stanley Cup win in “The Love Guru”"). Surely there is more that makes up the identity of Canucks fans? Here are my suggestions for further entries (some serious, some humorous):
  • Still has mixed feelings about the Orca.
  • Still talks about the '94 Stanley Cup run like we actually won the Cup.
  • Will always hate Mike Keenan for coaching the Rangers in '94, for the way he treated Trevor Linden, and for recently coaching the Calgary Flames. And for just being Mike Keenan.
  • Conveniently forgets that Linden is actually from Alberta and grew up a Flames fan.
  • When speaking with Leafs fans will counter the "Well the Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup" argument by noting that Toronto has not won one since before the Canucks existed as an NHL franchise.
  • Has thought "we have a chance this year!" every season since 2001, only to be bitterly disappointed come April/May.
  • Loves Stan Smyl even if he/she never saw him play.
  • Regularly contemplates what could have been in the 2003-04 season if Todd Bertuzzi hadn't, well, you know...
  • Knows that the 7th Man banner at GM Place was really, really lame and avoids talking about it all costs.
  • Is happy that Matt Cooke won a Cup, even if it wasn't with the Canucks.
  • When complaining about Roberto Luongo having an off game, forgets that his predecessors included Felix Potvin, Dan Cloutier, Bob Essensa, Peter Skudra, Garth Snow, Arturs Irbe and Alex Auld. Upon remembering this fact, kisses the ground and thanks his/her lucky stars.
Do you have suggestions for the list? Any defining Canucks' fan characteristics you care to share? use the comments section to add suggestions to the list.

3 comments:

wj_norman said...

You find Tom Larscheid's giggle adorable and you miss his enthusiastic descriptions of Pavel Bure's powerful thigh muscles. You also occasionally wonder how life is treating Gino Odjick these days.

Mark Norman said...

Hahaha, can't believe I forgot a good ol' Tom Larscheid reference!

pete said...

- believes the Hockey Gods had settled on 2005 as the Canucks' year to take the Cup.

- has developed a fervent faith in Murphy's Law, with the addendum that the more promising things look, the worse they'll be.

- is the only one in the room blanching and crying "But...!" when the Greatness of Mark Messier is under discussion.

- after last year, NEVER wants to hear that "da da DA da da DA" song again.

- suffers alarming medical symptoms whenever the phrase "They're too young to know any better!" is uttered.