"Why Are You a Canucks Fan?"

Plain and simple. I’m starting to tear up.

Spoken like a true die-hard long-time fan. Well done!

got his moustache outta the way when a stick was hurled at him like a spear in the penalty box.

Because Snepsts has a moustache that should be talked about.

11 agonizing years. Because I keep coming back, every fucking year, no matter how badly they hurt me.

Bring us the cup, boys. Bring it to Vancouver.

Because I’m an undead demon spawn that punts kittens and sells cigarettes to children in my spare time

What a list. Agree with Smoboy

1971 – OPC Vancouver Canucks hockey cards (still my fave)
1982 – My roommate drop kicking our TV off the stand after losing four straight to the Islanders. (Ironically my roommate was Zanberg’s cousin. Not even sure Sean was born yet).
2008 – Getting to see Trevor Linden’s number go into the rafters (wife surprises me with trip to Van, tickets and authentic 2004 Linden jersey).

I want to watch Mike Milbury’s head burst and drain like a blister.

I was seven years old when the Canucks came into the League. We had two TV channels and Hockey Night in Canada was a big deal, and the only hockey to be seen on TV. I watched whatever teams were playing, and remember making a scrapbook about the 1976 Canada Cup. My non-hockey crazy family would say that I was the crazy one.

I can’t say the Canucks were my favourite team in the 70s – that would have been the Habs. But by the 80s, and the improbable 82 Cup run, the Canucks had my heart. They’ve never given it back, although the Messier-Keenan years sorely tested my commitment.

I can’t quite believe that today is the day the Canucks can win the Stanley Cup. But I know that this is the best Canucks team I have ever watched. (Sorry Trevor) I want them to win for a thousand reasons. Proving the doubters, the people who think it’s clever to call the back to back Art Ross Trophy winners the “Sedin Sisters”, wrong would be high on my list. But maybe mostly because this team deserves it.

Everything was good except the first line you wrote and Buffs big ass.

It’s funny – when you win the Cup, you’ll find oldtimers memories will certainly relish the moment, but also be filled with fond memories of the past.

More than just a win for this team, it will be a win for those canuck heroes of the past. Even the ones that wore the Flying V.

Touching and heartfelt…

Good stuff man.

It’s time… Believe, never lose faith and celebrate being a part of history

As hockey became more accessible to me and not just through my addiction to NHL 99.

I’ve never experienced a title-winning day live in my short lifetime. Tonight’s the night.

My apologies for repeating a couple of vignettes, but since I now live in Ontaro, and my office is full of haters, here is the full text of an email that went out to my colleagues…

“Amidst all of the vitriolic diatribe against the Vancouver Canucks and its fans by the mainstream media during the Stanley Cup playoffs, let me take a moment to defend my "fandom" and what a cup win would mean:

For all Vancouver fans who have been without the cup for 96 years. May "Cyclone" Taylor finally RIP, along with all those who were born, lived, and died in the interim

For all the dedicated fans who have put up with many, many awful teams over the years, and kept the faith

For Trevor Linden who, while on his knees after being elbowed to the head by Mark Messier, was cross-checked face first into the ice by Messier, breaking his nose in the last minute of a 4-1 Canucks win in Game 6 of the ’94 cup. Linden came back in Game 7, falling a goal post short of a hat-trick, game tying goal

For the fans who had to watch their team completely destroyed by a clueless management group bringing in Mike Keenan and the aforementioned Messier who could only whine and blame everyone else while stripping Captain Canuck (Linden) of his captaincy, and banishing him to the Island(ers)

For Luc Bourdon (RIP), killed in a motorcycle accident in 2008, who might have been the Canucks top defenceman during this Cup run

For Alex Burrows, Luc’s best friend, who came within days of giving up his NHL hopes while buried in the ECHL. Fires an arrow into the rafters for his fallen friend every time he scores a big goal

For Roger Nielson (RIP), who began the towel waving tradition in NHL rinks during the 1982 playoffs, and the ’82 finalists who beat all odds to make the finals and played their hearts out against the peak of the Islanders’ dynasty

For Jim Robson and the fans/kids like me who lay awake at night with their transistor radios, listening to the hall of fame broadcaster bring the game to life, as always wishing "a special hello to hospital patients and shut-ins, the pensioners, the blind, all the people who don’t get out to games but enjoy the hockey broadcasts"

For the ’89 team who were robbed by Joel Otto kicking in the Game 7 OT goal as the Flames went on to win their only Cup

Yes, there are insufferable jerks within the fan base of every club team in every sport, however the majority are painfully, hopelessly enjoined to their team(s) and, more often than not, are destined to suffer in silence in today’s 30-team leagues.

If my beloved Canucks lose in Game 7 I will shed some tears, if they manage to pull it out, I will likewise shed tears of joy. In my heart I will always be… A Canuck."

Hughson’s “It’s a fine night for an exorcism” was an awesome call too.

But that was unreal. Thanks Sneps, and everyone else who posted their thoughts here.

(one of the coolest logos in hockey history. Awesome commercial where the goalie stops the puck with his serpentine tongue. Also, the arena: The Reptilian Pavillion)

Seriously, I became a fan during the 1994 playoff run. Linden and Bure were incredible and there was something Eruzione-like about Mark Messier that I just could not stand.

i grew up in the Spokane area, which was Oil/Flames territory. my introduction to the Canucks was in the fall of 1981 when i lived in Seattle, watched the Wednesday night games on CTV. in the first game i watched, they thrashed Edmonton and Thomas Gradin had a hat trick. yeah, i immediately took a liking to that team in the goofy mustard uniforms. and then that team somehow made the SCF that year and i was hooked forever.

my first home game i ever attended was in 1992 – Vancouver 11, Calgary 0. WHAT?!?!?!?!? i was used to the Canucks being terrible. that was the first season they were ever REALLY GOOD. so the playoff losses in 1992-93, instead of seeming inevitable, were soul-sucking disappointments.

myself and 5 others then split a season ticket package in 1993-94, even though we all lived in Seattle. we divvied up the schedule (we had 4 seats and called dibs on various games), and it was a mediocre regular season. underachieving, like the Canucks always seemed to do. we went to split up playoff tickets and i had to give up my share for the Flames series due to work, and it did not seem to be a great loss since they went down 3-1 in the series, but then they pulled the impossible comeback with the 3 wins in OT.

and now we have MORE tix for the Dallas games, and we have to figure out how to divvy them up, and also how to get to the games (I’ve spent far too much in my life in Blaine at the border crossing) and what to tell our bosses and we all cook up these preposterous excuses for missing work, for leaving early and jumping in the car. “i’m not feeling very good … cough cough …”

i got 1 game in the Dallas series (the one they lost, blah), had to give the others up for work reasons, but i was rewarded for being odd-man out in the first 2 series with tix to ALL 3 LEAFS games. Game 4 of that Leafs series was the most exciting sports moment i have ever been a part of – 0-0 deep into the 3rd, and the crowd was SO tense and on edge throughout, you could feel the whole place moving as one to the edge of their seats whenever someone threatened to score. then Ronning scores in the last 2 minutes to break the tie and the bldg. just EXPLODES into joy and jubilation and an overwhelming sense of relief washes over everyone. it is a hidden gem of a game now, because everyone remembers Greg Adams in Game 5. after Game 4, i KNEW they would win Game 5, even when they were down 3-0. the result seemed inevitable.

I then got to go to Games 4 & 6 of the SCF. Game 4 was painful as the Canucks blew a lead and felt like the end of the road. Game 6 was jubilant simply because we all got to watch that team play one more game, got to have one last night of joy.

i still have the black speeding skate jersey i wore to all of those playoff games. oldest piece of clothing i own. i am NEVER throwing it out. ever. in fact, i was wearing it in Boston on my recent vacation, walking down the street in Cambridge with a friend of mine after Game 2 was over. some yahoos in a pickup truck at a red light yelled out “hey, who won the game?,” and my buddy in his Neely #8 just pointed at me and sighed. “his team won in OT,” he said. the guys in the truck booed me and i rubbed the logo proudly, made my best Lapierre grin in their direction as they sped away.

let’s finish this thing tonight. one more night of joy for everyone.

Oh, and cuz Vancouver is an awesome city.

b/c some really awesome stories always come out.

I grew up watching the Kings, partly because of Gretzky, but also because I grew up in San Diego, and the Kings were closest. In my teenage years, I stopped watching sports, because sports were played and watched mostly by douchebags among the kids at school (and in my family).

Many years later, I find myself watching hockey again, and enjoying it, but there’s a problem. I’ve come to hate L.A. and all things associated with it. I can’t watch the Kings. I can’t watch the Ducks, because they’re just Disney’s team. Sharks? Peh, my dislike for San Jose is almost as bad as my dislike for L.A.. Coyotes? Well, Gretzy, or no, I just can’t root for ice hockey in a desert.

But the Canucks… Well, the Canucks reminded me of the Padres baseball team I’d grown up with, and had already returned to. They’d been to the Cup final twice, and missed both times, similar to the Padres. The Canucks didn’t get much respect from other teams, or the media. The teams were about the same age. It was fate.

It’s just too bad I’ve gotta pay through the nose to watch the games on TV, and even more to see any games live. Stupid geography.

go fans

I started watching hockey in 2004, when Calgary became the first Canadian eam since Vancouver tean years earlier to make it to the Finals. That ended in disappointment, but I fell in love with the game.

Then came the lock-out. I decided to be a Sens fan, because I live about an hour from Ottawa. (Also an hour from Montreal…but in in Ontario, and what kind of Ontarian would i be if I rooted for a Quebec team?). But I decided that I would follow all of the Canadian teams (except the Leafs…) in their play-off runs. That year Ottawa faded in the 2nd round, but the Oilers made it to the Finals, but came up short.

The next season was where I got my first taste of Vancouver. While enjoying Ottawa’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, I followed Vancouver’s series with the Dallas Stars, and the epic goaltending battle between Luongo and Marty Turco. I stayed up until 3 in the morning watching the triple overtime game. I also watched both the Canucks and Senators be manhandled into submission by the Ducks (the team I liked as a kid, though I didn’t watch hockey, because of Disney brainwashing. And Paul Kariya.)

The next season I continued watching Vancouver, although they missed the play-offs. I watched their final game, Trevor Linden’s last ever. I decided that the Canucks would be my ‘West team’ my second favourite team after hometown Ottawa.

Then came the play-off disappointments against the Chicago play-offs. I watched every game, was invested, suffered the same disapointments as ‘real’ Canucks fans and the players themselves.

And something else happened those two seasons. Vancouver played Ottawa once in each year. and I found myself cheering for the Canucks. I don’t know how or why it happened, but it did. I found that I enjoyed Canucks games the most. Part of that is the Western conference style of play is more suited to my tastes, but I also enjoyed watching Vancouver’s smooth, skilled, puck possession game.

At the beginning of this season. I called it. I said that the Canucks would be Stanley Cup Champions. I was teased by friends, Leafs fans and a Blackhawk fan. Accused of being a bandwagon jumper. But I’ll be the last one laughing.

I truly believe that I became a fan in the most natural, organic way: prolonged exposure, leading to an uncurable addiction and deovtion.

GO ‘NUCKS GO!’

Just had to add that I grew up with parents who were initially Boston fans because of Bobby Orr. And so, I was ‘taught’ to be a Boston fan.

That changed for me when Phil Maloney led the Canucks to their first ever Smythe Division title. Sure, they got trounced by Les Canadiens in 5 games, but they actually won game 2 in Montreal as I remember, and came back to Vancouver as heroes.

Being a fan of the sport, sure, I’d cheer for other teams in the playoffs when the Canucks would either miss the show, or get bounced out. But that doesn’t mean I’m less of a Canuck fan.

As they say, you can’t choose the team…..the team chooses you. I’ll be wearing my white orca jersey proudly tonight.

I don’t follow too many teams, in fact on SB Nation I rarely venture from cagesideseats or headkicklegend. However, the Canucks have always been the exception. When I was in 4th grade (it was 1993, by the way), Trevor Linden gave me an autograph and actually took some time to speak with me. That can do a lot, made my year that year. Cheered them all way through the playoffs, and was devastated by game seven of the Cup. Since then, they’ve been the one team I follow and care about.

So that’s the “why.”
War Canucks!!!
Also, fuck the Bruins fans who clog up my metro!!!

It was the last game of the season and the sharks didn’t even try against the ducks that day. They skated around congratulating themselves on making the playoffs and were shut out at home on fan appreciation day.

The second i left the “Shark Tank” i went home and started following the Canucks. Been a fan ever since.

Love hearing these stories!