My Canucks became my Canucks when I could understand hockey: when I was about 4 years old. 25 years have passed since I feel in love with Captain Kirk, Lumme, Hedican, Ronning, Linden, Babych, Odjick, Diduck, Slegr, Courtnall, Bure, and all the other guys my memory cannot remember. That was the team I adored. Over the years many players have played for my team: Potvin, Snow, Ohlund, Naslund, Bertuzzi, O'Brien. The team I adore now have won the hearts of many across BC and Canada, not just mine: Sedin (22), Sedin (33), LUUUUUONGO, Schneider, Kesler, Burrows, Higgins, Torres, Malhotra, Lapierre, Raymond, Bieksa, Ehrhoff, Rome, and Salo. I was such a diehard fan when I was younger I drew, with Pastel, the flying skate on my wall when my aunty told me not to. I got in so much trouble for doing that, but it didn't matter. I represented my Canucks!
Game 7 vs. The Rangers. I can remember the electricity in the air that day, it seemed like all of Vancouver was on edge. It was all I could think about that day, I envisioned Linden hoisting the cup and skating around Madison Square and passing it to Mclean and all the other Canucks, then I remember the heartbreak when the Rangers posted two goals. I thought it was all over then! In comes Linden to respond with a goal, and another in the third but that damn Messier had to spoil my party. All my hopes and dreams went out the window. I cried that evening. Not because my Canucks had lost in game 7 of the Stanley cup final, but because all my fellow fans were destroying my city.
Gino Odjick was the first Native hockey player to suit up for the Canucks so he immediately became my favorite player. Whenever he knocked some heads I cheered extra loud! I cheered louder when he scored goals! One of the events I was at with my naani invited Gino to attend, when it was his turn to speak to the crowd he lit a cigarette and sung a song while holding the cigarette up in the air. He was like superman to me; I was bedazzled to see a Canuck show off his culture in front of the crowd of people. I asked my grandmother if I could give Gino something as a gift and she gave me a beaded bracelet to give to him. Turns out it was a few sizes too small for him but he put it in his pocket any way.
Throughout the years I’ve been a Canucks fan I’ve always been proud of them. Facing criticism from my friends that they’ve never won a Cup, or that their goalie sucked, has never bothered me. The thing of it is, I’m not just a fan cheering for a team, the Vancouver Canucks are a part of my identity, and they are a part of who I am. They’ve become so deeply engrained in my life that I’m going to die cheering for them.
For as much a Canucks fan as I am, I haven’t been to many of their games, or even own a jersey. My first Canucks game was at the Pacific Coliseum and the Winnipeg Jets were in town. My Canucks kicked ass coming through with a 6-1 win over the Jets. The next game I ever went to was this season, 2010-2011, at Rexall Place versus the Oilers. They won, of course. I went to the following 3 games they played here in Edmonton. They won 3 out of 4 games.
The winning part was just a slice of the pie for me, being able to see my Canucks up close was the best part, seeing Luongo and the Sedin twins, Burrows and Malhotra, all of the them, play during warm up was so inspiring. I wanted to be on the ice with them! The feeling of excitement I had all day paralleled that electric feeling I had back in ’94 and the nervousness of walking into Rexall and the evoking feeling I had as I stepped into the main arena to see my Canucks warming up was lump-in-the-throat amazing! The best part of it was that I was only 9 rows up from the ice!
My toolbar on my computer has a shortcut to the NHL standings so I followed their ascent up the standings all year long. My Macbook, by the way, sports a Canucks sticker where everyone can see it. I loved the many times this past season where I could gloat to my friend Ross, a die hard Oilers fan, about how well the Canucks were doing and how bad the Oilers lost. Again. And when the Canucks finally blew past Philly I was a happy camper, I knew they could go all the way this year! I wasn’t concerned with the President’s trophy, I envisioned Henrik hoisting Lord Stanley like I did with Linden!
The Chicago Blackhawks came up the very first round in the playoffs, memories shivered in my psyche but I knew they could do it, the Hawks relied on a rookie goalie more than they did their other players. Blackhawks down.
The Nashville Predators weren’t a concern for me, Rinne did make me nervous a few times but I knew Lu and Kes could pull us through. The Predators became the prey.
The San Jose Sharks brought back more memories with Niemi in net, the one who carried The Hawks to the Cup the previous season and, obviously, ended the Canucks’s dreams. Again. I also remembered how we swept the Sharks in last season’s Cup run. No way Jose.
As I followed the Eastern Conference, a part of me wanted Tampa to win, I knew my Canucks would make a quick meal out of them and the aging Roloson, but the competitive part wanted Boston to win. A few weeks earlier I was sitting in Timmy’s and a man walked by wearing a Bruin’s jersey and that’s when my vision came clear: It’s gonna be the Canucks v. Bruins for the Cup! Lo and behold there they were at Roger’s Arena for game one of the Stanley Cup final!
My Canucks came out swinging and made quick work for the first two games, up 2-0 heading to Boston was a confidence booster but there was a stirring inside that told me that the Bruins weren’t going to lay over and give up. The teams ping ponged games 3, 4, 5, and 6 and then it was game 7.
Home game teams were 6-0 in the series so I knew we had the Cup. I looked at the Bruins who had won 2 previous game 7’s but that didn’t worry me one bit. All day long I was anxious and nervous and worried. I was worried because every time I didn’t watch the start of the game, the Canucks lost and I was scheduled to be at work for the first 2 hours of the game. At work my mind was not there, all I wanted to do was check my twitter feed to find out what’s happening in Roger’s Arena. I wonder today if the family I was working with could tell my mind wasn’t in that room that night. On my way home I got a text from Ross: 3-0 Boston. My heart sunk, but then I remember how many times we came from behind for the win and kept the faith. Not once while watching my Canucks during these playoffs did I shut the TV off when they were losing. Against the Hawks when they lost 7-2 and 5-0. Against the Bruins 8-1, 4-0, and 5-2. Three minutes to the end of game 7 it was 3-0 and I shut the TV off. I was too sad to watch Chara hoist the Cup.
I was at the Friendship Center in Vancouver and one of the Elders there made this observation: “You wanna know why the Canucks have never won a Cup? Because they didn’t ask for permission to use that logo they have”, she was referring to the First Nations design they are using as their logo. She may have some merit to that claim; the Edmonton Eskimo had an Elder bless their field and locker room by an Aboriginal Elder for the 2011-2012 season. Let’s see where that brings them!
2011 and 1994 have riots in common; once again I was sad more that some so-called Canucks fans were destroying my city. They let the loss outshine the fact the Canucks finished on top of the pack for the season; no team was better than them. They forgot about the fact that we took home the President’s Cup, or the Sedin’s have consistently been the top scorers in the league. Not to mention the stellar performance by Lu and all the Canucks on this season’s Cup run…what everyone forgot was that the Canucks did what they do best: win. There isn’t anything that can be done to shake my love for the Canucks, cup or no cup. Like I said: They are a part of who I am now
