Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Hands up if you know what the national game of Canada is.
If you said hockey (or ice hockey), then you are wrong. But it IS the national obsession, even if not the national game. (That honour goes to Lacrosse. Huh?)
Back in the 1960's, there were only six teams in the National Hockey League, and four of them were in the States. So for every Canadian team, there were two American ones. Thesedays, there are more teams, and the ratio of Canadian:American franchises is now exactly 1:4. There are currently six NHL teams in Canada, and I follow the Toronto Maple Leafs (the "Leafs").
The Leafs have a great rivalry with the Montreal team, nicknamed the "Habs". I've yet to see one of those derby games live at an arena, but I've watched a few on TV. Plenty of history behind the match-up, and this year the Leafs are chasing the cup, last won by them in 1967. People in Toronto usually resign themselves to another year without a cup, but this year many feel the Leafs have a team capable of going all the way and bringing the cup back to Toronto.
Bit of a cheat - the cup lives in Toronto anyway, at the Hockey Hall of Fame. :-)
There's definitely something Canadian about watching a game, sipping a beer, and cheering on the good guys. Saturday night is even officially Hockey Night in Canada during the hockey season. Luckily I come with a well developed love of the game, so I fit right in here.
Go Leafs!
If you said hockey (or ice hockey), then you are wrong. But it IS the national obsession, even if not the national game. (That honour goes to Lacrosse. Huh?)
Back in the 1960's, there were only six teams in the National Hockey League, and four of them were in the States. So for every Canadian team, there were two American ones. Thesedays, there are more teams, and the ratio of Canadian:American franchises is now exactly 1:4. There are currently six NHL teams in Canada, and I follow the Toronto Maple Leafs (the "Leafs").
The Leafs have a great rivalry with the Montreal team, nicknamed the "Habs". I've yet to see one of those derby games live at an arena, but I've watched a few on TV. Plenty of history behind the match-up, and this year the Leafs are chasing the cup, last won by them in 1967. People in Toronto usually resign themselves to another year without a cup, but this year many feel the Leafs have a team capable of going all the way and bringing the cup back to Toronto.
Bit of a cheat - the cup lives in Toronto anyway, at the Hockey Hall of Fame. :-)
There's definitely something Canadian about watching a game, sipping a beer, and cheering on the good guys. Saturday night is even officially Hockey Night in Canada during the hockey season. Luckily I come with a well developed love of the game, so I fit right in here.
Go Leafs!
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]