Alanah McGinley (who writes my favorite Canucks blog, Canucks and Beyond) posted a fantastic admonition today about cheering on Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships. To quote:
The notion that “we’re the best, we’re always the best, we’re always going to be the best” is a dominant one in Canada. It can be found on virtually every newscast and read on every other message board and blog. It’s nationalistic in the worst way because it gives rise to snotty jerks loudly sharing snotty opinions everywhere they turn. And while being a bit hockey arrogant is something we Canadians have rightly earned, there’s a difference between a bit of trash-talk and simply being a douche.
We can be proud of our team’s prowess while still showing respect to others, no?
The entire post is worth reading, particularly if you’re (like me) tempted to be a stuck-up Canadian. But she also puts her finger on something more, something that’s true about sports fans everywhere: we support teams because we want to feel like we’re part of something. In one sense, we share in their victories and their losses, their ups and their downs. This is another side of what I was trying to say in my last post. Too often, fans (of all stripes and sports) would rather not admit that their team simply wasn’t the best. It’s so much easier to ridicule our guys for “having an off-night” or blame the referees for being half-blind. But in the end, such ridicule only robs the teams we support. Because if we only lost by mistake, how can we claim to deserve any of our wins?
Ultimately, it comes back to the question, “Do you really love your team?” If you do, it’s not hard to love them in defeat, as bitter as it may taste.
Tags: hockey fans, sportsmanship, Team Canada, world junior hockey
