| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| NuckH8R |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 09:49:37
OK, looks like I got a few people upset with my elbow comments. Hockey is a tough game boys and that was not the first nor will it be the last cheap shot ever thrown. Look how many players have made careers out of it: Brian Marchment, Ulf Sameulsson, Darius Kasparitus, Denis Gauthier and many others. All you Leaf fans love Domi and he thrown his fair share of cheap shots. And all you Canuck lovers are back on the Bertuzzi bandwagon and he makes Johnson look like the goodwill embassador for the sport. But I digress.
My intent for this post is to show that we Americans can show a lot more class than the "US Sucks" chanting Vancouverites as I for one am cheering for Canada to win the gold over the lousy Russians. So enjoy the game Eh! |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| bablaboushka |
Posted - 01/07/2006 : 11:33:41
I say it's part of sports, it happens in every single sport across the world. Think Vancouver fans are bad? Go watch a European soccer game and cheer for the visiting team, I dare you.
And yet no matter how bad British Columbian fans are....life moves on. |
| Ripley |
Posted - 01/06/2006 : 11:01:39
Hey I thought I'd contribute this "partial" article from USA Today:
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USA TODAY - January 5, 2006 - The Americans, who have only four medals in the tournament's 29-year history, can win their second in three years. But their emotional valley results from a feeling that they squandered an opportunity to win this tournament. Their on-ice struggles were exasperated by the anti-American sentiment present throughout the tournament.
U.S. officials believe fans' decision to root for the USA's opponents primarily reflected a pro-Canadian philosophy about hockey. The Americans were cast as the favorite in a tournament that is extremely important to Canadians. Over the years, watching the world's best teen-age NHL prospects at the WJC on television has become a significant part of Canada's holiday tradition. With 12 medals in the last 13 years, the Canadians come into this tournament with high expectations.
Anti-American sentiment was heightened after U.S. defenseman Jack Johnson, a Carolina Hurricanes first-round pick, was penalized and given a game misconduct for an improper hit on Canadian forward Steve Downie, a Philadelphia Flyers prospect.
"I'm not going to speculate about whether politics had anything to do with it," said USA Hockey President Ron DeGregorio. "To me, this is just sports, and fans are going to be fans. I'm a Red Sox fan. We root against the Yankees."
Kyle, coach at Northern Michigan, said continually that he had great respect for Canada's hockey culture, but he conceded he was "disappointed" when Canadians chose to root for archrival Russia in the USA's 5-1 loss in Tuesday's semifinal.
"I think our players handled it well," DeGregorio said. "It just had a life of its own. Some Canadians themselves were not too proud of some of the fans. It just takes a minority of fans to make it seem worse than it was. We did not feel it was across the board."
Bob McKenzie, a Canadian and analyst for the TSN television network, initially said the anti-American sentiment "was almost a compliment because it was in recognition of the Americans having a pretty good team."
He said he has no issue with fans choosing to root for Canada's best interests or choosing to boo Johnson every time he had the puck.
But he said he was bothered by some fan behavior in the Russian game, especially at the end when they taunted the Americans with a vulgar chant and cheered enthusiastically when USA captain Kevin Porter was the victim of an over-the-top hit by a Russian player.
"Porter plays at the University of Michigan and he's a pretty classy kid," McKenzie said. "I saw this kid grow up. To me, it was piling on. The game was over. I was bothered."
McKenzie said on Canadian television that fans had gone too far.
"Last year when the tournament was in North Dakota, we had a bad snowstorm. The roads were closed and the good folks of North Dakota made sure the people who had come down from Winnipeg had a place to stay," McKenzie said. "The Americans treated the Canadians well. From a hockey standpoint, I had understood not wanting the Americans to do well. From a personal standpoint, it bothered me to see the Russians getting cheered. And they weren't gracious in victory."
With two Americans going second and third in last year's draft and USA players Phil Kessel and Erik Johnson potentially going No. 1 and No. 2 in the 2006 draft, USA Hockey seems to be in the midst of a golden era of player development.
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| leigh |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 23:29:02
I was at the game (as well as the gold game) and there were some BOOS but there were also some good cheers for the yankees too. No Anti-american chants. It was all good. |
| bablaboushka |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 16:07:02
AHEM! (US lost, enough said)
It's funny though how most people that were at the games, including one of my friends who lives there said they barely heard any US-bashing in the arena, and even on TSN they said that it was non-existent maybe at most extremely faint.
BTW, I don't really like the Canucks, still a one-line team to me (not up for debate). I might be Canadian, but Sharks (and Leafs) are my teams. Regardless...
The Johnson hit is over with and so is the American junior schedule. |
| nazzy_19 |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 15:26:10
hah! i honestly hope this isn't coming from a wild fan... |
| NuckH8R |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 13:36:55
Are you lamos in Vancouver seriously still crying for a suspension? Oh boo hoo, suck it up man.
PS - Go Canucks Go (one win in their last 9 games - haha) |
| nazzy_19 |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 12:39:23
wow, a regular mother theresa here. thanks for the lesson on toughness when it comes to a sport most of us play regularly. i think the majority of us understand how physical hockey is, and that this stuff happens. elbows fly, sticks get high, people get hurt. but i think what we're trying to get at tough guy, is that when these kinds of things are deliberate a line has to be drawn. let the little snot throw an elbow, but punish him in the process... don't just let him fly with a slap on the wrist cuz he went in the first round. |
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