"I just want a Canadian team to win."

... really?

There's something about hockey fans that I've never understood.  I don't mean all hockey fans, just this one demographic of us that has a real hate-on for the Americans.  And seeing as how the Stanley Cup Playoffs are about to begin again for 2013, we'll see more of these fans popping up than usual.

How many times have you had this conversation with someone:

"Playoffs are starting tonight!  Who's your favorite team?"

"I like The Oilers... but I don't really care as long as a Canadian team wins."

Okay, I know it's been about two decades since most people really cared about the Oilers, but I picked them at random just to try and name-drop "Esa Tikkanen" at some point in this blog.

The caption that came with the picture says it all.  Beautiful.

I'm Canadian, and I cheer for an American team.  I love the Bruins.  I couldn't see myself cheering for a Canadian team just because they're north of the border.  I mean, being a fan of the black n' gold I already have a strong dislike of the Montreal Canadiens.  Everything about them: their American colored jerseys, their fans that insist on booing the American national anthem, and mostly how they beat the Bruins a lot over the decades.  I've also developed a strong detesting of the Vancouver Canucks since the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. That team is far more qualified to win gold for diving at the Summer Olympics than anything on ice.

So right there, I've already reduced my chances of cheering for a Canadian team by two.

When you think about it, how many Canadian players are on these Canadian teams?  Let's go back to the 2011 Finals again, mostly because I love replaying it in my mind, and remember that the Bruins had more Canadian players than the Canucks did.  Interesting, isn't it?  Yet the "Canadian" hockey fans in Vancouver lost their shit when their "home" team didn't win.

"When I cry, the whole
country will cry with me"

So really, what did the Americans ever do to us to earn such disdain?
Is it all because they stole Wayne Gretzky away in the late 80s?
Or maybe it's because the Winnipeg Jets moved to Why-The-Fuck-Phoenix and became the Coyotes.
But the Jets have returned and have really become our country's home team (seriously, just try and find someone who doesn't like the Jets these days). And the last time ol' "99" played a game was in an Oilers jersey for that outdoor spectacle a few years back.

I know!  It's gotta be because of that stupid Fox NHL broadcast from the early 90s with the glowing puck and fighting robots.  Seriously, what the fuck.

I understand national pride in the Olympics and World Junior Championships.  But when you watched Green Lantern you didn't say, "I hope Green Lantern saves the day because Ryan Reynolds is Canadian."  Or maybe you did.  I don't know you.

It just doesn't make sense.  If my daughter is trying to choose between listening to Led Zeppelin II or anything by Justin Bieber, I'm not going to suggest she pick the Canadian one.

...not sure who this hockey fan is, but he keeps good company!

But back to hockey... if a Canadian team MUST win the Stanley Cup this year, I hope it's the Leafs.  I mean, the Jets and Oilers didn't make the playoffs, and there's a part inside of me that would kind of like to see what happens to the streets of Toronto if the blue n' white actually win it all.  They haven't even won a Stanley Cup in color yet.  All of their good memories are in black n' white.

Well, if my Bruins aren't destined to drink from Lord Stanley's Cup this year, then I don't really care who wins... as long as it's not the Canadiens.

... of those fucking Canucks.