5 Reasons Why I Love the Canucks

1.  All those whacky uniforms.  Sure, the Canucks got laughed at in their mustard yellow with the big 'V' neck, sure they've field tested every colour in the rainbow (except pink, erase that, don't mention it to them) by now.  But, heck, it is much more interesting than the most boring sports uniform in the entire cosmos:  the blue and white Toronto Maple Leafs train wreck.  (And what is more representative of hockey than a rink and stick?) 

2. Stan Smyl, Cliff Ronning, Geoff Courtnall, Trevor Linden, Brendan Morrison and a lot of other guys.  The Canucks have had plenty of these type of players:  not superstars; well above average; heart and soul players; decent guys; team leaders and role models.  These kinds of players are always my favourite to watch and follow.

3. Sibling rivalry.  Daniel and Henrik Sedin are not only renowned for their skill, their hard work and their generosity, but also for their quiet demeanor.  They never engage in chest thumping or act better than everyone else.  Except, that is, when they talk about each other.  When you've played the same game with the same guy for 30 years, nothing is more important than bragging rights over the other guy.   Is Henrik as good as Crosby or Ovechkin?  That question seemed to be going around in the lead up to the Hart Trophy award that settled the matter (last year, at least, he was better).  But the only question that mattered to Henrik was the one he referred to in his speech in Las Vegas.  Speaking about Daniel, he said:  "There's no way he can say he's better than me now."

4. Cheering for the underdog.  Many people like to root for the little guy.  I have always been partial to it myself.  And let's face it, for much of the last 40 years the Canucks have been doormats.  Sure, the early 1990s and much of this decade have shown the team to be above average in the league for much of the time, but that doesn't erase the memories of a team that took something like 15 years to get their first win over the Montreal Canadiens.  Don't forget that Wayne Gretzky scored more points against Vancouver than any other team.  Playing in the same division was part of that, but the other part was that the 1980s were a pretty bleak period for Vancouver hockey.

5.  White Towels.  During the unlikely Stanley Cup finals run in 1982 the Canucks played a game in Chicago where the late Roger Neilson put a towel on a hockey stick and waved it at the referee, signalling that he didn't have to make any more quetionable calls against the Canucks that night, they were giving up.  The next game in Vancouver all the fans waved white towels.  Now it happens at every arena in the league.  I do believe that Roberto Luongo also started the trend of giving away his goal stick to a kid in the crowd after games.  Not sure if he started that in Florida or Vancouver, but it is a nice gesture in any event.