Okay, Canadians, this is officially pathetic
Hardly what I expected for my first post of the new year. Nonetheless, a bit of a shock to look up canada.com and find:
Canadian fans take cheap shots at U.S.A. by Pete McMartin
[U.S. head coach Walt Kyle] was under the mistaken impression -- one still shared by many Americans, the poor, trusting boobs -- that because our two great countries are neighbours and have co-existed peacefully for over 150 years and have vast economic and cultural ties, that he could consider Canada a home-ice-away-from-home and Vancouverites would naturally cheer for the American team rather than for a team from a country which, not 20 years ago, was chiefly known for its vicious soul-crushing despotism, and whose hockey teams were reviled by Canadian fans as products of a drab socialist machine that saw sport as nothing more than an arm of state propaganda.
But Kyle hadn't figured on the Canadian weakness for envy; I'll bet he didn't even suspect that that weakness existed, or would find expression in something as well intentioned as an international hockey tournament.
. . . (And imagine the Canadian reaction if an American hockey crowd had chanted "Canada Sucks!" Imagine the country-wide alarm! Imagine the indignant frothing! Imagine the CBC- televised forum hosted by Peter Mansbridge on the crisis in U.S.-Canada relations, featuring the nationalist ravings of Maude Barlow!)
Kyle and his team deserve an apology.
Consider this one.
Thanks, Pete, that's very decent of you. I'm sure the majority of Canadians would agree with you. Something like this is very shocking to Americans, who mostly have the attitude, "If an American can't win it, better a Canadian than anyone else!" I'm sure they were totally mystified, not to say hurt. But then, they're from McChimpy Bushhitlerland, so what do their feelings matter?
posted by Meg Q at 1/05/2006 12:16:00 PM
3 Comments:
Ain't it grand when people who know nothing about hockey write about it and then other people who know nothing about hockey assume that they have been informed? It seems that McMartin cannot imagine any reason why the Americans were being jeered, so he decides it will be convenient to assume that it is politically motivated. Well, if you don't know who Jack Johnson is and why he single-handedly gave Canadians a reason to boo the Americans, then you don't know hockey either and so could not possibly understand the fans reaction. The only boobs in this story are Pete McMartin and anyone who buys his "analysis".
I did see the video with Johnson. A cheap shot. But they know all about those in Bertuzzi-land, don't they? So, if it's "all about Jack Johnson" and has nothing to do with the U.S. or anti-Americanism, why chant "US sucks"? Why not "Johnson sucks"? A lot of Canadians who actually were at the game were really unhappy with this response, but I guess that they couldn't "understand" either.
Thanks for your apology, Jason. Of course, the fact that you're the kind of Canadian who would apologize for anti-Americanism makes you the kind of Canadian who would never commit real anti-Americanism. Believe it or not, non-Americans are allowed to get irritated with, ticked off by, and even fed up with, the U.S. - even engage in a bit of discreet America-bashing, quietly, at home, from time to time, if we're unreasonable on things like, oh, I don't know, softwood tariffs or such. And make jokes about us too. Americans, when they do think about Canada, often make jokes, but they're not really mean, and most Americans have an affectionate feeling towards Canada. It's these insults out of nowhere that hurt.
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