Hockey History & Geography

I’m conflicted. Again!

Boston … Vancouver …

I know that not everyone is a hockey fan. I myself watch almost no hockey in the regular season. I enjoy a good game but find it hard to carve out the time really. But when things ramp up during the play-offs, and especially in the finals, I tend to tune in a little more.

Personally, I have never been a Boston fan. However, I have never been a Vancouver fan either. It’s been a long time since a ‘Canadian team’ has won the cup, but there are a lot of Canadians playing for Boston and some very significant players on the Vancouver team that aren’t Canadians. So what does it mean anyway when we refer to a team as being ‘Canadian’, right?!

The sentiment being expressed by most Vancouverites seems to be that they don’t want to be Canada’s team anyway. So to cheer for the Canucks simply because Vancouver is in Canada might be kind of like calling someone your girlfriend even though she wouldn’t give you the time of day! A little more than presumptuous wouldn’t you think.

Boston is part of the original six and that has some tug for all of us nostalgic types, unless you’re a Montreal fan and then you just hate Boston as a matter of principle! But there is also the fact that the Maritimes has had a strong relationship with the New England States that predates confederation. Geographically, there has been a stronger relationship between here and Boston than here and Vancouver. Does everything have to come down to politics? I suspect that many of us have as many relatives (or more?) in Boston as we do in Vancouver. And what about this? In 1917 when the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in the Halifax Harbour creating the world's largest man-made accidental explosion (still to this day) killing 2000 and injuring another 9000 and leaving almost the entire city of Halifax in ruins, a train load of supplies and personnel left from Boston for Halifax that same day beginning a relief effort still recognized as Nova Scotia annually sends a giant Christmas tree to Boston as a thank you.

And now, after the bad hit on Nathan Horton by Aaron Rome in Monday nights game, Boston definitely gets the sympathy vote I’d say.

So, what are we to make of all this? Who should I cheer for? I find it kind of hard to watch a game and not know who to root for. When someone scores I don’t know what to do! What it kind of does though is force me to just enjoy the quality of the game. And so, I’m deciding not to be conflicted anymore. I’m just going to enjoy the hockey and, as they say, may the best team win.