Sports in Canadian culture - Page 328

Acajack · #**6541** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 3:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka

Canada as a whole? No. Canada excluding Quebec? Yes. This discussion came up when the last Tragically Hip concert was shown on CBC - everyone across the country tuned in, except Quebec. It's the classic except Quebec rule.

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There is a bit more if you take Quebec out of the equation for sure, but there still aren't that many instances even for Canada-sans-Quebec. I know, I lived there and yearned for that kind of stuff.

Well, I should say the opportunities are actually reasonably plentiful, but they are largely unseized because not that many people "opt in".

There is no reason for example that Canadians (or even just Anglo-Canadians) couldn't organize lavish Queen's Plate parties from coast to coast just like Australians do for the Melbourne Cup even if they're thousands of km from Melbourne and may never have even been there.

Acajack · #**6542** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 3:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

I still don't get why the 2010 Olympics men's hockey gold medal game doesn't count. There was a huge national celebration when Canada won. I mean, sure, there weren't celebrations out on the streets like there were in France most recently, but come on...it was February. We certainly were jacked up for the occasion and if the rest of the world wasn't as into it... well, why is that our problem? We won the sport that matters most to us and that's the bottom line here.

I think you're really reaching to make your argument here, Acajack, to the point of creating false distinctions.

Aerial view of the celebrations in the biggest square in the biggest city in the country, after the 2010 gold medal hockey game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yOXINbSUUo

The temperature was +3C in Toronto that day.

HomeInMyShoes · #**6543** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 3:29 PM**

I'd like to apologize for Canada's people and our reserved nature when it comes to celebrating.

esquire · #**6544** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 3:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Aerial view of the celebrations in the biggest square in the biggest city in the country, after the 2010 gold medal hockey game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yOXINbSUUo

The temperature was +3C in Toronto that day.

3 degrees is not a day where you have large numbers of people spending the day on a patio watching the game at a bar and the lingering on the streets afterward. Besides, would the gold medal have been more legit if there had been another 10,000 people in the streets and a few overturned cars in the mix?

wave46 · #**6545** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 3:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Then it really is just national identity. We don't identify as Canada first. We identify as Saskatchewan or Newfoundland or Quebec first and then Canada.

I'd disagree to an extent.

Certainly many areas have a definite claim to being unique (Quebec, Newfoundland, maybe Alberta) but I think most of English Canada would identify as 'Canadian' first before any regional areas.

I expect the difficulty arises in the fact that we have less attachment to sports that are hugely 'international' like the World Cup, aren't big (or isolated) enough to have our own thing like the Americans, Brits, Aussies or Kiwis (Aussie rules football/rugby) and by virtue of sharing a language and culture kind of are subsumed by the US in most other respects.

But with respect to a massive national celebration, I'd say the 2010 Winter Olympics were a definite high point nationally.

Finally, it should be noted that the world is fragmenting in all respects. Movies that used to appeal to everybody and be 4-quadrant hit are fading. A phenom like the Beatles probably wouldn't happen today. I struggle to think of a television program that crosses many of the demographics at work (Game of Thrones, maybe?). By virtue of basically unlimited choice, we no longer are 'mandated' to consume what everyone else does - the world has become a much more individualistic place. Canada's just ahead of the curve.

wave46 · #**6546** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 3:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Aerial view of the celebrations in the biggest square in the biggest city in the country, after the 2010 gold medal hockey game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yOXINbSUUo

The temperature was +3C in Toronto that day.

Wait until you see what happens when the Leafs win the Cup!

1. It'll be June.
2. You might be waiting awhile.

Acajack · #**6547** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 5:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I'd like to apologize for Canada's people and our reserved nature when it comes to celebrating.

How Canadian of you!

Acajack · #**6548** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 5:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wave46

I'd disagree to an extent.

Certainly many areas have a definite claim to being unique (Quebec, Newfoundland, maybe Alberta) but I think most of English Canada would identify as 'Canadian' first before any regional areas.
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I would agree with this. It's certainly the case in Ontario which is close to 40% of the entire country's population and 50% of the population outside Quebec.

elly63 · #**6549** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 6:28 PM**

I must be old, because '72 included Quebec and there are many examples of player reminisces to prove it. Serge Savard said it was the one time the whole country came together, after losing game one Quebecer Rod Gilbert's own brother told him he was a disgrace to his country.

'72 was a JFK/9-11 shock followed by a moon landing joy. I don't think that was conducive to dancing in the streets. No Canadian sporting event has ever been felt so deeply and likely never will and part of that was because of how different the world was then, and it was a first.

We could have lost that 2010 gold medal and life would have went on, you can only speculate, but if we lost 72 that would have been a morale hit of epic proportions. There are those that say Trudeau might not have been re-elected and had that happened think of how different the country might be.

Acajack · #**6550** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 9:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

I must be old, because '72 included Quebec and there are many examples of player reminisces to prove it. Serge Savard said it was the one time the whole country came together, after losing game one Quebecer Rod Gilbert's own brother told him he was a disgrace to his country.
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My dad and my father-in-law are not Quebecers but what they and others have told me would corroborate this view of things.

MonkeyRonin · #**6551** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 10:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Aerial view of the celebrations in the biggest square in the biggest city in the country, after the 2010 gold medal hockey game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yOXINbSUUo

The temperature was +3C in Toronto that day.

A few things to consider:

1. Olympic hockey isn't as important to the hockey world as the World Cup is to soccer. I guarantee that the local team winning the Stanley Cup would produce a stronger reaction in any Canadian NHL city.

2. Most Canadians just don't live "in public" the way the French do. People here are much more likely to celebrate in their own home or at a bar or somewhere other than on the street. Especially in the winter (even if it's a mild winter).

3. Hockey isn't as big here as soccer is in France or Croatia - there's a bigger sports pie to choose from. I know you don't think that's a good thing, but I'm not sure why it wouldn't be.

GlassCity · #**6552** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 10:30 PM**

I get where Acajack is coming from and I think for the most part he's right.

But also to be fair, driving down the street honking after Canucks playoff wins is something I remember as well (surprisingly after all this time!). And Winnipeg obviously took to the Jets strongly as well.

But yes nationally, not as much at all and I think that sucks.

elly63 · #**6553** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 11:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

Cold War on Ice '72 Summit Series (American perspective, first documentary shown on NBCSN)

The first sentences from this American made documentary...(narrated by Peter Coyote)

"September 28 1972, it's game eight of hockey's Summit Series. The best of Canada against the best of the Soviet Union. After seven games each side has three wins and a tie.

In Canada, the entire country is virtually shut down, the nation's cultural identity on the line."

Until I find the other two main documentaries I am looking for (on and off Youtube), this doc is recommended viewing.

isaidso · #**6554** Posted **Jul 17, 2018, 11:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

I still don't get why the 2010 Olympics men's hockey gold medal game doesn't count. There was a huge national celebration when Canada won. I mean, sure, there weren't celebrations out on the streets like there were in France most recently, but come on...it was February.

In Toronto there was. Within 30 minutes of the win it was packed on Yonge from Wellesley down to Dundas. Dundas/Yonge got swarmed with about 200 people everytime the light turned red. Eventually the street was just closed down to cars.

Acajack · #**6555** Posted **Jul 18, 2018, 1:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by isaidso

In Toronto there was. Within 30 minutes of the win it was packed on Yonge from Wellesley down to Dundas. Dundas/Yonge got swarmed with about 200 people everytime the light turned red. Eventually the street was just closed down to cars.

I believe there was some noise and action on the streets in a number of cities that night. Certainly there was a bit in Ottawa that I am aware of, and of course there would have been in Vancouver for sure as they were hosting the game.

Acajack · #**6556** Posted **Jul 18, 2018, 1:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

3. Hockey isn't as big here as soccer is in France or Croatia - there's a bigger sports pie to choose from. I know you don't think that's a good thing, but I'm not sure why it wouldn't be.

It's unclear to me what you mean by that.

I actually think Canadians often focus too much on hockey.

I am perfectly OK with other sports being popular here, and I am a fan of many sports other than hockey. I watched way more World Cup games than I did the Stanley Cup playoffs this year.

isaidso · #**6557** Posted **Jul 18, 2018, 8:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

I actually think Canadians often focus too much on hockey.

Agree although things have improved massively. Hockey was far more dominant a few generations ago than it is now. This one sport likely accounted for more than 80% of the national sports pie with the Expos/Jays/CFL taking most of the rest. At the Olympics Canada only cared about winning in hockey. We didn't take any other sports seriously and it showed in international competitions.

Today, hockey is still dominant but other sports have emerged from the shadows. Canada's sporting culture today is far better/more varied than it used to be and I'd argue far more interesting than you see in most other countries. When I lived in the UK back in 2001, I found the sports culture excruciatingly boring. It was soccer all the time with occasional breaks for cricket and rugby.

SignalHillHiker · #**6558** Posted **Jul 24, 2018, 12:15 PM**

One more week

Weather permitting the 200th Royal St. John's Regatta will be August 1 (it's a holiday, and always the first fine Wednesday in August). Forecasts this far out are worthless but its expected to be around 25C and sunny and winds 24 km/hr from the south.

It's a long row:

VANRIDERFAN · #**6559** Posted **Jul 24, 2018, 2:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

It's unclear to me what you mean by that.

I actually think Canadians often focus too much on hockey.

I am perfectly OK with other sports being popular here, and I am a fan of many sports other than hockey. I watched way more World Cup games than I did the Stanley Cup playoffs this year.

Totally agree with you.
Watched quite a bit of the World Cup and enjoyed every game. I was more interested in the NHL this year due to the success of the Winnipeg Jets. But that waned once they were knocked out, but I tuned in to watch the game that sealed the win for the Caps and Ovechkin.

CFL is still my number one.

VANRIDERFAN · #**6560** Posted **Jul 24, 2018, 2:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

One more week

Weather permitting the 200th Royal St. John's Regatta will be August 1 (it's a holiday, and always the first fine Wednesday in August). Forecasts this far out are worthless but its expected to be around 25C and sunny and winds 24 km/hr from the south.

It's a long row:

Years ago (1992) I was part of a group of officers from HMCS FRASER who took part in a whaler race against HMCS CABOT on Qudi Vidi Lake. (the photo is just to show what a whaler looks like, we had no engine and we weren't dressed in whites. Or maybe we were, it was a long time ago and maybe some drinking was involved!)