Thank You, Vancouver Canucks
Posted in Musings on 06/16/2011 08:21 am by Angy
After the game last night, I was so angry at the rioters downtown that I didn’t think about my feelings on the Canucks losing. This morning, however, I felt quite despondent as I realized how devastating it must have been for the players to come so close but only to lose it on home ice. I try to keep things in perspective though, and I recognized that the better team won last night and so they deserved to win the cup. I also pride myself on not being a Canucks fan who singles out players for their poor performance because I recognize that all the players on the ice have been working their entire lives for that moment, and so who am I to criticize how they did? I certainly can’t do what they do, so I’m not going to pretend that I am some amateur sports analyst giving her two cents on how they could have played better. Instead, I just want to thank the Vancouver Canucks for a great season, a great playoff run, for making me love the game again, and for bringing me closer to my little brother.
After years of watching the Canucks not making past Round 2 of the playoffs, I gradually stopped watching hockey. Considering I am the eternal optimist who thinks that the Canucks are going to win the cup every year, it also meant it was really heartbreaking to watch them get knocked out every year. Yet, as I gradually stopped watching hockey, my brother became more interested in it. Thus, he kept me informed on how the Canucks were doing even though I stopped following the team. However, during this playoff run, I began watching again and it started with watching Game 6 of Round 1 with my brother.
It was great watching the game and I got really excited for the Canucks (even though they lost that one). Mostly, I enjoyed the time I spent with my brother watching that game. Over the past few years, he has grown into an adult which is beautiful to see, but bittersweet as he has grown more distant from me. No longer was he the little brother who adored his big sister and wanted to hang out with her all the time. Instead, he was a young man with a good head on his shoulders who loves and respects his big sister but didn’t necessarily want to hang out with her because she has now becoming a bit “embarrassing” at times. (For the record, writing a musical based on Archie is not lame!) Thus, I really cherished this playoff run because he would want to watch the games with me. As we watched some of the games together, he would tell me stats that I didn’t know and I would mention players that are long gone from the Canucks – he’d usually laugh and say , “how do you still remember Skudra?”
I debated whether or not to go downtown for Game 7 because I knew that win or lose, there were going to be idiots who would ruin the whole experience for the rest of us. Yet, when I learned my brother was heading down there with his friends, I asked to join them as I couldn’t imagine watching the last game of the season without him. Of course, he was happy to have me come along even if it looked a little lame that he brought his older sister. Plus, this is probably the last game we would watch together for a while since I am inevitably moving in September. The game itself was not great but the time we spent watching it was wonderful. When I reflect on this playoff run, all that comes to mind is how grateful I am to the Vancouver Canucks. They not only made me love hockey again but they have undoubtedly brought me closer to my brother. So, I will be looking forward to the next season and hoping the Canucks will have another great year which will end with Henrik hoisting the cup in the air!
