As much as this series has been ugly, unprofessional, and heavily biased, in the end, it was more about a lack of desire. One team wanted to go after this Game 7 and one did not.
True, if this series were treated in a more fair (and ethical) manner, the series may have ended before Game 7. Or not.
Game 7 can't be blamed on these factors; this lies on the hearts of the Canucks. The other 6 games … well, this should be looked into more.
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NBC actually showed the Vancouver fans in the CBC Plaza before Game 7. This is what has been missing from the coverage in the United States. We have seen huge gatherings of fans on the CBC coverage, showing the passion of the fans pining for the Stanley Cup to finally come to Vancouver.
What the one-sided coverage hasn't showed is the excitement of the prospect of the Cup being brought back to Canada. Doc Emrick has captured a tiny portion of that excitement, but there has been so much more to the story.
There is a human element to a hockey-passionate city that has always come up short. But Vancouver and Canada was never presented as an equal in this series — not in the features, the commentary, the pre-game, nothing.
NBC missed a great story because it decided that Canada story wasn't worth showing.
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Michael Buble is a well-known singer from Vancouver, and is a passionate hockey and Canucks fan. But he was scheduled to play a concert at Connecticut's Mohegan Sun last night, opposite Game 7. And he was in an area more likely to support the Bruins than most other teams (of course, some in CT root for the memories of the not-forgotten Hartford Whalers). So Buble did the most appropriate thing: he postponed the concert to tonight.
Too bad the results weren't better for Buble.
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They kept saying that Boston hadn't won since 1972 and the Vancouver Canucks have never won the Cup.
One was a streak of 39 years and the other was a streak of 40 years. Yet, there are fans who can remember celebrating a Boston Stanley Cup win, yet no one can remember a Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup win. Well, if someone were really old, they might remember that Vancouver did win a Stanley Cup.
Yes, the Vancouver Millionaires did win the Stanley Cup — in 1915. The Vancouver franchise played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and beat the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (Imagine, an all-Canadian battle for the Stanley Cup. What would Gary Bettman's grandfather have thought of that?).
In fact, the Millionaires swept the Senators in 3 games to win the Cup. There are several winners of the Cup before the NHL was formed.
So technically, Vancouver has a Cup win, but that was a very long time ago. But the city of Vancouver has still waited 7 fewer years than fans of the Chicago Cubs. And odds are still good that Vancouver will win a Cup before the Cubs win the World Series.
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If the battle had been between Vancouver and Tampa Bay, this struggle would have been easier to handle. Boston is an Original 6 franchise, and when we set up the rules for who to root for, the order was Canadian-based teams, then Original 6, then places where snow was common.
Calgary losing to Tampa Bay and Edmonton losing to Carolina (and somewhat Ottawa losing to Anaheim) hurt worse because those markets aren't into hockey.
What we might have said about Boston, their fans deserved a Stanley Cup. Just was hoping it wasn't this year.
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This wasn't as noticeable on the NBC telecast of Game 6 but became more clear during the CBC broadcast (thanks to the NHL Network), but the Boston fans' reaction to Mason Raymond laying on the ice was tacky at best and offensive at worst.
Whatever one might think of Vancouver's diving reputation (not completely unfounded, but definitely exaggerated), Raymond was clearly hurt. Yet another ugly taste from this series.
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Even if you know what happened, you still can catch the CBC rebroadcast of Game 7 tonight at 8 pm and midnight Eastern on the NHL Network.
Oh well. CFL in two weeks!
Posted by: Tim | June 16, 2011 at 05:22 PM
Nicely put.
Posted by: Chad | June 16, 2011 at 07:12 PM
The CBC aired a picture at Rogers Arena of a younger Don Cherry winning a minor pro-hockey championship with the Vancouver Canucks (WHL)* in 1968-69. They repeated for 1969-70 before entering the NHL along with the Buffalo Sabres. Six minor league titles were won during the 25 years of 1946-1970.
*pre wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Canucks_(WHL)
Posted by: CQ | June 16, 2011 at 09:11 PM
I just saw Coach's Corner online since the NHL Network didn't show it on the rebroadcast (gosh I wish I lived in Canada).
Boy, Don looked so young in those photos. This is true: Vancouver does have a winning tradition. But the Stanley Cup is obviously important. And that hasn't been in Vancouver's hands since 1915.
And to have it in the building and not get to stay (other than when Milan Lucic comes back with it) has to be frustrating.
Posted by: Chad | June 16, 2011 at 11:49 PM
I watched the CBC feed last night. NBC's hockey xenophobia is ridiculous. Like with NFL football, they acted like all that matters is the sweater. If a Bruin weren't European, he was Canadian in nearly every instance! I'm sure NBC was pleased that Thomas won the Smythe so they wouldn't have to pronounce something as foreign as "Edmonton". PS I thought I heard there were numerous Americans playing for the Canucks.
Posted by: Tim | June 17, 2011 at 07:31 AM
Yes, Tim. Does NBC think Americans are afraid to watch someone other than Americans? I was hoping that since NBC had been to Vancouver recently that the coverage would be more enlightened. This was another reason to root for a Canucks Stanley Cup. Then the network would have had to talk about the Sedins or Burrows in positive terms.
Posted by: Chad | June 17, 2011 at 03:03 PM