Sports in Canadian culture

[Lugnut]

Originally Posted by elly63

I saw he played at the university level while Taylor is a pro and Olympian. I saw at Wikipedia about Garth being the IVA ROY and MVP, did he not star in Europe? He was a big deal back then IIRC.

I think so, but I'll be honest, I'm not certain. (I'm his kid's age)

[Acajack]

Woke up to the sports news this morning and it jumped out at me how combat sports are so much bigger in Quebec than elsewhere in the country. The lead item or second item (after the Habs win) on sports channels and websites was the Adonis Stevenson fight in Quebec City. Even the generic all-news channels had headlines on the boxing.

There seems to have been very little coverage of this in English.

It also recently dawned on me that there are a lot of "world championship" fights that take place either in Montreal and Quebec City. For a society of 8 million people, that's surprising. I suspect it's because boxing has declined in popularity in many places and its leadership is simply going where the market is still strong.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I suspect it's because boxing has declined in popularity in many places and its leadership is simply going where the market is still strong.

That's probably what's happened. I remember reading about 10 years ago how Boxing Canada is a complete disaster and run by incompetent people. Canada went from producing a steady stream of contenders to practically none at all. Predictably interest collapsed.

Did this not happen in Quebec too?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by isaidso

That's probably what's happened. I remember reading about 10 years ago how Boxing Canada is a complete disaster and run by incompetent people. Canada went from producing a steady stream of contenders to practically none at all. Predictably interest collapsed.

Did this not happen in Quebec too?

Olympic boxing is weak in Quebec but pro boxing is still reasonably strong. Both with homegrown fighters and also people from abroad who move to Quebec to train.

On last night's card was a women's world championship bout and a Québécoise by the name of Dicaire became the first woman from here to win a world boxing title.

[logan5]

Luckily the Canadian boxer who was in critical condition last night has been upgraded.

[Acajack]

Read this article in the Toronto Star. It's by the sports reporter who's covered the Raptors since their inception.

https://www.thestar.com/sports/doug_...nd-place-.html

OK so I get that this guy lives and breathes basketball and probably always has.

But this line I find a bit odd from someone who is from southern Ontario, and is probably 60 years old or more:

"And while I know nothing about the game..." he says about hockey.

Really? I find that really hard to believe - that one can work as a sports reporter in the GTA and southern Ontario, or even live there for six decades as a sports-interested male, and claim to know "nothing" about the game of hockey.

Perhaps it was just deference to his colleagues who actually do cover the puck game and are the true experts. Perhaps.

Or is it one of those "above it all" things?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Acajack

But this line I find a bit odd from someone who is from southern Ontario, and is probably 60 years old or more:

"And while I know nothing about the game..." he says about hockey.

Really? I find that really hard to believe - that one can work as a sports reporter in the GTA and southern Ontario, or even live there for six decades as a sports-interested male, and claim to know "nothing" about the game of hockey.

The quote from the article:

"I bet the NHL does great in the market, I think it’s best for the league that it’s at 32 teams and can get an even split of Eastern and Western Conferences. And while I know nothing about the game, really, people I spoke to yesterday who do know what they’re talking about assure me there are 20 players scattered through Europe and the AHL that the concern about the sport being “watered down” carries no weight."

I view this as him just admitting that hockey writers know more about hockey than a basketball writer does. Nothing more.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by JHikka

The quote from the article:

"I bet the NHL does great in the market, I think it’s best for the league that it’s at 32 teams and can get an even split of Eastern and Western Conferences. And while I know nothing about the game, really, people I spoke to yesterday who do know what they’re talking about assure me there are 20 players scattered through Europe and the AHL that the concern about the sport being “watered down” carries no weight."

I view this as him just admitting that hockey writers know more about hockey than a basketball writer does. Nothing more.

Hope you're right.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Hope you're right.

I really don't think there's anything more going on than that. I think you're reading too much into a couple words.

[Acajack]

With Canadians you never know!

[esquire]

^ I concede that this is just my impression, but there is no sport in Canada like hockey where butting in with an opinion, especially when you're paid to do so as a writer or broadcaster, invites ad hominem retorts of 'what have you ever accomplished in the game?'

Conceding up front that you aren't an expert strikes me as a reasonable way for an admittedly non-hockey guy to pre-emptively neutralize that line of attack.

[JHikka]

Year on Twitter: Canadian Sports in 2018
By Christopher Doyle
Wednesday, 5 December 2018

https://blog.twitter.com/official/en...s_in_2018.html

For the second year in a row, Tristan Thompson (@RealTristan13) was the most-mentioned Canadian male athlete on Twitter. He drove plenty of mentions on the court (appearing in his fourth straight NBA finals) and off, celebrating the arrival of a baby girl with wife Khloé Kardashian (@khloekardashian) in early April 2018.

These were the most mentioned Canadian male athletes on Twitter in 2018
Tristan Thompson (@RealTristan13) - basketball
Scott Moir (@ScottMoir) - ice dancing
John Tavares (@91Tavares) - hockey
Sidney Crosby - hockey
Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) - hockey

2018 was also a banner year for Canadian female athletes on Twitter, led by Canadian Olympic hero, Tessa Virtue (@tessavirtue). She was the most-mentioned Canadian female athlete on Twitter in 2018, unseating Montreal-born tennis pro, Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard). Bouchard was still the most-mentioned Canadian tennis pro in 2018, while Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) was the most-mentioned Canadian golf pro on Twitter this year.

These were the most mentioned Canadian female athletes on Twitter in 2018
Tessa Virtue (@tessavirtue) - ice dancing
Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) - tennis
Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) - golf
Kaetlyn Osmond (@kaetlyn_23) - figure skating
Meagan Duhamel (@mhjd_85) - figure skating

Virtue and Moir (also known as #VirtueMoir on Twitter) truly owned the Canadian sports conversation in 2018. Each had more Twitter mentions this year than any individual Canadian athlete in the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball or the National Football League.

This now-iconic Tweet from John Tavares, sent hours after he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) as a free agent, also set records in 2018. It was the most-liked sports Tweet by Canadian Twitter users this year. Furthermore, of all Tweets sent globally in 2018, only two Tweets by former U.S. president Barack Obama (@BarackObama) earned more hearts from Canadian Twitter users this year than Tavares’ Tweet.

Tavares wasn’t the only big name athletes who changed addresses in 2018. Here are the five most-mentioned athletes either joining or leaving Canadian pro sports teams in the past year:
Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors (@kawhileonard)
DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs (@DeMar_DeRozan)
John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs (@91Tavares)
Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks (@ErikKarlsson65)
John Donaldson, Atlanta Braves (@BringerOfRain20)

On the team side, the Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) were the most-mentioned Canadian sports team on Twitter this year, buoyed by a record-breaking regular season and some high-profile offseason transactions. This ends a three year run by the Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) as Canada’s most-mentioned team.

The Humboldt Broncos (@HumboldtBroncos) unexpectedly joined the ranks of Canada’s most-mentioned sports teams on Twitter after the tragic April 2018 bus crash that killed 14 members of the Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team.
These were the most mentioned Canadian sports teams on Twitter in 2018
Toronto Raptors (@Raptors)
Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs)
Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays)
Montreal Canadiens (@Canadiens_MTL)
Humboldt Broncos (@HumboldtBroncos)
Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets)
Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks)
Toronto FC (@TorontoFC)
Edmonton Oilers (@edmontonoilers)
Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames)

2018 was also a year we saw the continued emergence of Canada’s next generation of star athletes. Amongst the names in the mix were Rj Barrett (@RjBarrett6), who made his college basketball debut for the legendary Duke Blue Devils, and teenage soccer phenom Alphonso Davies (@AlphonsoDavies) who wrapped up a successful run with MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps and will be joining the FC Bayern Munich in 2019.

Barrett and Davies have seen their Twitter followings grow by 458% and 452% respectively over the past 12 months. Look for both names to be on the rise on Twitter in 2019 and beyond.
NOTE: All data insights contained in this blog are based on Twitter data collected between January 1, 2018 and November 30, 2018.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Year on Twitter: Canadian Sports in 2018
By Christopher Doyle
Wednesday, 5 December 2018

https://blog.twitter.com/official/en...s_in_2018.html

For the second year in a row, Tristan Thompson (@RealTristan13) was the most-mentioned Canadian male athlete on Twitter. He drove plenty of mentions on the court (appearing in his fourth straight NBA finals) and off, celebrating the arrival of a baby girl with wife Khloé Kardashian (@khloekardashian) in early April 2018.

These were the most mentioned Canadian male athletes on Twitter in 2018
Tristan Thompson (@RealTristan13) - basketball
Scott Moir (@ScottMoir) - ice dancing
John Tavares (@91Tavares) - hockey
Sidney Crosby - hockey
Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) - hockey

2018 was also a banner year for Canadian female athletes on Twitter, led by Canadian Olympic hero, Tessa Virtue (@tessavirtue). She was the most-mentioned Canadian female athlete on Twitter in 2018, unseating Montreal-born tennis pro, Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard). Bouchard was still the most-mentioned Canadian tennis pro in 2018, while Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) was the most-mentioned Canadian golf pro on Twitter this year.

These were the most mentioned Canadian female athletes on Twitter in 2018
Tessa Virtue (@tessavirtue) - ice dancing
Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) - tennis
Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) - golf
Kaetlyn Osmond (@kaetlyn_23) - figure skating
Meagan Duhamel (@mhjd_85) - figure skating
.

Oddly enough the number one guy on the list is the only one out of all of them (male and female) that I've never heard of. I guess that shows how out of touch I am!

Or maybe it's just a Quebec thing. I doubt my kids or their friends would know him, unless they're really really nuts about basketball.

I'll have to run the name(s) by my Ontario nephews over the holidays, and see what they say.

[esquire]

^ If it's any consolation, I too have never heard of Tristan Thompson. Although I concede that I'm not much of an NBA fan (probably not a shocker).

I feel vaguely out of touch now...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ If it's any consolation, I too have never heard of Tristan Thompson. Although I concede that I'm not much of an NBA fan (probably not a shocker).

I feel vaguely out of touch now...

I am also not very up on celebrity infotainment shit either (think = Kardashian). I get the feeling this might be your case as well.

Though obviously some of it rubs off on us by osmosis whether we like it or not.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I am also not very up on celebrity infotainment shit either (think = Kardashian). I get the feeling this might be your case as well.

I'd be interested in how many of Thompson's mentions are because he plays basketball and how many are because of his Kardashian affiliation. I'm assuming more the latter than the former.

[Acajack]

Twitter always has its share of surprises.

In terms of most-mentioned Canadian politicians, number 2 in 2017 (and second only to JT) was Toronto city councillor Norm Kelly. Ever heard of him?

https://blog.twitter.com/official/en...nada_2017.html

[esquire]

^ I've heard of Norm Kelly but I am only vaguely aware of who he is. I'm not the most hardcore twitter user by a longshot but I have seen him get retweeted a few times. My admittedly shallow impression of him is as a middle aged municipal politician who is really good at being a publicity hound.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^You are obviously closer to Toronto's sphere of influence, because I get a big fat "nope, no idea who Norm Kelly." Unless my brain starts to mix up Norm Kwong and Brian Kelly then there's a definite match.

[FrankieFlowerpot]

He first came into the news as the guy who replaced Rob Ford as interim mayor when Ford got stripped of his powers

He then became more "famous" when he got involved in a "beef" between a Philadelphia based rapper Meek Mill and Drake.

He's an idiot who people thought was cool - he had interns run his account for him. In reality he was a 72 year old councillor who voted against homeless shelters, doesn't believe in climate change and was selling tacky merchandise.

He lost his seat in October and he won't be missed

https://torontoist.com/2017/10/a-requiem-for-norm/

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/x...ry-little-back