Well folks, this is it, game7. As a Canucks fan since 1989 game7 vs Calgary, I can tell you that I've been through a lot of dissapointments. As a little potential Habs fan, once I had moved to Montreal from Vancouver (My Dad and Grandpa were Habs fans), I was rooting for Calgary to get knocked out as they posed the greatest threat to a Montreal Cup win. As the game wore on, and I begged my mom for "one more period", I really started to love the way the Canucks played. They went end-to-end with Calgary, they hit them, they pressed them, and they had them on the ropes. At 8 years old, staying up for a West Coast game in Montreal is pretty ridiculous, but I begged to watch the OT, then the double OT, and the rule was "when your father gets home, you go up to bed", but when my dad got home he sat down and watched the second OT with me, and when Otto scored, I cried. I really wanted Vancouver to win that game; more than I wanted Montreal to win the Cup. Those plucky underdogs had stolen my heart. I was a Canucks fan.
Several years of tough losses to LA followed, but the team kept getting better and then Bure arrived, and we had that game breaker we had always been missing. One full, long year of hearing about the 1993 Habs over and over and over had me going crazy, and then 1994 happened. The Canucks lost game4 in the first RD, and my aunt was crowing about St. Patrick and the Cup, to which I retorted "Oh yeah? Next time you see me, the Canucks will be playing for the Cup"...and they were when she was back over on June 14th, 1994.
I still remember waking up my parents while celebrating game5, game6 OT wins vs Calgary at 1:30am. Game7 we all got to watch, and when Adams tied it up I just had a feeling that the Canucks would win it this time. McLean's Save of the Century kept us in it, and then Bure made us all believe! I remember the big OT goals, the Kirk McLean game1 performance vs the Rangers, but most of all I remember believing. When I watch the last 5minutes of game7 vs the Rangers on Youtube, I still believe we are going to score that tying goal. I'm always surpised and freshly dissapointed when we don't.
Having lived with the years of dissapointments since then, it's hard to be an optimist when you're a Canucks fan. Since the Lidstrom goal on Cloutier, it's been hard to stay loud all the time. I've lived it. I know.
But if you're going to be downtown, or if you're going to the game, I want you to think about this: How many times have you been taunted by an Oiler fan, or a Flame fan, or a Hawk fan and you answered "If we had only had that game7 vs the Rangers at home, we'd have our Cup." or "We would have beaten the Rangers in Vancouver"? Well, you know what? We've finally got it. The game against Boston is in our house. We're nervous because we wanted to win in 6, because it's less stressful, but if I had told you on October 1st that we would have a game7 for the Cup on home ice, you'd have jumped ten feet in the air! You would have believed that the Cup would be ours, and it will, if you believe.
Bieksa and others have said in the media that the crowd makes a huge difference, so remember that and cheer louder than you have ever cheered. Boston's crowd makes a huge difference for them, so we have to do the same for our boys. Fans can make a difference. Big time. Let the players know you are behind them. Don't be apprehensive. Make noise. If the building is full of tension, the players feel it. If the building is full of energy, the players feel it.
"The cause of hesitation is fear, and if you hesitate, all of your fears will come true." - Patrick Swayze, Point Break.
So don't be that fan.
Be the fan that your were in 1994; when you never gave up on them, when you still believed that they would score with 1.6 seconds left on the clock. Believe in the team. Believe in Luongo. He WILL shut the door. If he lets in one goal, big deal. We had the highest scoring team in the NHL. Instead of sucking the air out of the building, start cheering. Support the man, and he can rebound quickly. "Go Canucks Go!" should be going all night, non-stop. The boys are hurt, they're down a man, so we need to step up and be that extra skater. Make the rink LOUD, make the boys PROUD, and I promise, we will win our Cup! We are all Canucks, and we will need to be for game7. Believe and we will win.
Go Canucks Go!!!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Dear Vancouver
To the city of Vancouver,
Tonight, is the most important night in 17yrs for the Canucks. Pressure? You bet.
For one man, that pressure is unlike anything ever seen in sports. Roberto Luongo.
Imagine Bill Buckner having to play game 7 against the Mets, except every single ball is hit at him. He has to make all the plays. Everyone is watching him. Everyone is waiting for him to make a mistake. For 60 minutes. I can't ever recall one person being on the hotseat like this in my entire time watching sports. The sheer weight of it seems crushing. A lot for one player to bear more than anyone else on the team.
Vancouver, some would say, is a cursed hockey club. The Skate of God (Joel Otto 89), TWO 3rd period posts from a Cup in 1994, Lidstrom's goal from centre on Cloutier, losing the Minnesota series up 3-1, the Bertuzzi incident, the 2 straight exits versus the Blackhawks. It doesn't seem fair.
Now, we have a 3-0 collapse looming. It's almost getting to the level of Steve Bartman/Gonzalez for the Cubs. When you watched that game, you could feel the tension at Wrigley after the Bartman play; and 5 outs away from the series, they blew it.
Why? Well, maybe it's luck. Maybe it's bad calls. Maybe it's just not meant to be. Or maybe, just maybe, the negative feeling, the tension, the sense of foreboding, the feeling of "oh no! we might lose" is palpable enough to be felt by the home players, and then, they DO make that key mistake. The fans fear the worst, and they get the worst. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Game 5 in Vancouver, and all the home losses in last year's series had that "Oh no!" feeling. I can feel it burning through my TV set here in Montreal. There is a distinct sound. It's almost the sound of a home goal in reverse. If you close your eyes you can almost see a Michael Bay explosion on rewind, sucking back in upon itself. It's a Cubs sound. It's a losers sound.
The RedSox, well, they used to have the same problem. You could FEEL it coming when Wakefield gave up the homer to Bret Boone. You could FEEL Pedro's wheels coming off. Everyone was powerless to stop it.
But the RedSox are not that team anymore. In game 4, against Rivera, when it seemed like all hope was lost. Roberts stole 2nd, and Ortiz knocked him in. But because it was Ortiz, because it seemed all hope was lost, because it was so dire, people cheered. They dared to hope that maybe they could get one win. Maybe the sports gods would throw them a bone. They believed. they made some noise. You could FEEL it. The exact opposite feeling; and they won.
Game 5, 2011. The timeout. The sound? Horrified silence. In Montreal, you'd hear a "Go Habs Go". They'd try to rally the team. In Vancouver, we might as well be Nosferatu, feasting on the player's hope and energy with our sickened sound of silence and dissapointment.
For once, just once, if Luongo lets in a bad goal, or even just the first goal, stand up and scream "Go Canucks Go!" Get off your ass and cheer. Let him know that the city is behind him, that the city is behind all of them. Try to give them a boost. Believe that they will score next. Then sit back, and watch the bounces go OUR way, the ice tilt in OUR favour and watch Luongo stand tall in the Vancouver net. Show Luuuu some love if the start isn't ideal. Try to help him. He is one man, dealing with one of the most pressure packed moments in sports history.
In English Football circles they aren't called 'fans', they call themselves 'supporters'. Fans SUPPORT their team. Or at least good fans do. In Vancouver, we have not helped since the Lidstrom Goal from centre ice. Tonight, that changes. Tonight, it's different. Tonight, Vancouver exorcises the demons of the past. Tonight, Vancouver WINS! So, for the love of God and Trevor Linden, stand up and cheer on the Canucks and use your POSITIVE energy to propel them to victory. Don't be an anxious fan, waiting for something bad to happen. Be a SUPPORTER of the Vancouver Canucks.
Go Canucks Go!
Go Luuuuu Go!
Go FANS Go!
Bill Enos
Tonight, is the most important night in 17yrs for the Canucks. Pressure? You bet.
For one man, that pressure is unlike anything ever seen in sports. Roberto Luongo.
Imagine Bill Buckner having to play game 7 against the Mets, except every single ball is hit at him. He has to make all the plays. Everyone is watching him. Everyone is waiting for him to make a mistake. For 60 minutes. I can't ever recall one person being on the hotseat like this in my entire time watching sports. The sheer weight of it seems crushing. A lot for one player to bear more than anyone else on the team.
Vancouver, some would say, is a cursed hockey club. The Skate of God (Joel Otto 89), TWO 3rd period posts from a Cup in 1994, Lidstrom's goal from centre on Cloutier, losing the Minnesota series up 3-1, the Bertuzzi incident, the 2 straight exits versus the Blackhawks. It doesn't seem fair.
Now, we have a 3-0 collapse looming. It's almost getting to the level of Steve Bartman/Gonzalez for the Cubs. When you watched that game, you could feel the tension at Wrigley after the Bartman play; and 5 outs away from the series, they blew it.
Why? Well, maybe it's luck. Maybe it's bad calls. Maybe it's just not meant to be. Or maybe, just maybe, the negative feeling, the tension, the sense of foreboding, the feeling of "oh no! we might lose" is palpable enough to be felt by the home players, and then, they DO make that key mistake. The fans fear the worst, and they get the worst. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Game 5 in Vancouver, and all the home losses in last year's series had that "Oh no!" feeling. I can feel it burning through my TV set here in Montreal. There is a distinct sound. It's almost the sound of a home goal in reverse. If you close your eyes you can almost see a Michael Bay explosion on rewind, sucking back in upon itself. It's a Cubs sound. It's a losers sound.
The RedSox, well, they used to have the same problem. You could FEEL it coming when Wakefield gave up the homer to Bret Boone. You could FEEL Pedro's wheels coming off. Everyone was powerless to stop it.
But the RedSox are not that team anymore. In game 4, against Rivera, when it seemed like all hope was lost. Roberts stole 2nd, and Ortiz knocked him in. But because it was Ortiz, because it seemed all hope was lost, because it was so dire, people cheered. They dared to hope that maybe they could get one win. Maybe the sports gods would throw them a bone. They believed. they made some noise. You could FEEL it. The exact opposite feeling; and they won.
Game 5, 2011. The timeout. The sound? Horrified silence. In Montreal, you'd hear a "Go Habs Go". They'd try to rally the team. In Vancouver, we might as well be Nosferatu, feasting on the player's hope and energy with our sickened sound of silence and dissapointment.
For once, just once, if Luongo lets in a bad goal, or even just the first goal, stand up and scream "Go Canucks Go!" Get off your ass and cheer. Let him know that the city is behind him, that the city is behind all of them. Try to give them a boost. Believe that they will score next. Then sit back, and watch the bounces go OUR way, the ice tilt in OUR favour and watch Luongo stand tall in the Vancouver net. Show Luuuu some love if the start isn't ideal. Try to help him. He is one man, dealing with one of the most pressure packed moments in sports history.
In English Football circles they aren't called 'fans', they call themselves 'supporters'. Fans SUPPORT their team. Or at least good fans do. In Vancouver, we have not helped since the Lidstrom Goal from centre ice. Tonight, that changes. Tonight, it's different. Tonight, Vancouver exorcises the demons of the past. Tonight, Vancouver WINS! So, for the love of God and Trevor Linden, stand up and cheer on the Canucks and use your POSITIVE energy to propel them to victory. Don't be an anxious fan, waiting for something bad to happen. Be a SUPPORTER of the Vancouver Canucks.
Go Canucks Go!
Go Luuuuu Go!
Go FANS Go!
Bill Enos
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