The first was the at the rink. The Canucks, after a great run, lost. The Bruins won, fair and square, and are the best team in the league this year. The Canucks were crushed. The Bruins were on cloud nine.
I am, and remain, a Canucks fan. Yet, even I got a little choked up to see the joy and tears in the eyes of the Bruins men. Congrats, guys. Anything other than a nod and friendly handshake is unsportsmanly, and in my eyes, un-Canadian. Booing and throwing trash on to the ice while the WINNING team is celebrating, lacks class, and is an embarrassment to our beloved sport.
The second thing that made me sad, is of course the rioting that ensued. Rioting, though violent and dangerous, is a valid form of protest in situations such as, oh, genocide. But following a HOCKEY loss, no, rioting is not ok. I don't really think, however, that the real issue here was the 4-0 game 7 hockey loss.
Last night, in the Vancouver downtown core, there were 100 000 hockey fans, including many families with young children. A few hundred people, decided to exploit the situation, and went on a rampage of theft and destruction. Since many of these people came equipped with pipe bombs and fire crackers, I believe the riot would have ensued had the Canucks won or lost. These select few, planned to get all cranked up and have their way with Vancouver. They posed for and took photos, fought, broke and stole, all because a) they wanted to, and b) they know that the police could not combat the sheer number of people in the streets. Today, some of the less of the less intelligent even bragged about their activities online. Wow.
The two aforementioned groups of people (whom I am very editedly not calling f*$* face, or a%&$#le, anything that begins with 'c', or any other derogatory term [because I will not stoop to their level]), saddened me AND my nation.
Today however, I am encouraged, by once again, two occurrences. First, social media and consequences. Feebly as they may have tried to conceal their identity, rebel rousers are in so many pictures and videos that they will certainly get what is coming to them. Which may in reality, not be much, other than eternal shame, or fear of being caught. Both of which work for me.
The second reason I am encouraged also includes social media. Partially through a facebook page, nearly 15 000 volunteers began pouring into Vancouver's downtown core as early as at 5am. Why? Because they gave a s*&t. They wanted to clean up their city. And the reputation of their great nation.
Thank you to those who cleaned up Vancouver. And thank you to those who remember that the vast majority of Canadians are not f*$* faces, or a%&$#les, or anything beginning with a 'c'.
Viva hockey, eh?
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