I chatted with my buddy Justin the other day about those good old days when the Winnipeg Jets were once an NHL team. Then we got into the Hartford Whalers... and then the Quebec Nordiques....
We came to the conclusion that these teams all needed tributes and some love. Well, here we go (in no particular order):
This first one is for the Hartford Whalers, who became the Carolina Hurricanes when their lifetime ended in 1994. Raleigh, North Carolina has become a hockey-appreciative city. With two Stanley Cup final appearances, winning it all once, it wasn't a bad place to move the team. Nonetheless, a part of me still misses those wicked jerseys and Pucky the Whale up in Connecticut. This video tribute is made extra special, as it's backed by Brass Bonanza, the spectacular New England theme. I'm dedicating this one to you, Zarley Zalapski:
Tribute #2 belongs to the Quebec Nordiques, the Northern Men or Men of the North for you non-Francophones/French Speakers. This franchise moved in 1995 to become the Colorado Avalanche. It made sense to move a team back there since Colorado lost the Rockies in the 80s. As soon as the team moved, they were already a Western threat, having won a Cup in 1996... that wasn't going to happen if they were still in Quebec, seeing as there is no way in bleu, blanc, et rouge hell the Montreal Canadiens were going to trade Patrick Roy to a team in the same province. Nonetheless, the Nordiques were a competitive team and check out the awesome Coldplay song:
The Winnipeg Jets, now the Phoenix Coyotes as of 1996, are probably the most missed defunct NHL team. The Coyotes, even though they have been a decent team over the years, have failed to draw in crowds over 12,000 people consistently, and they hardly sell-out games during the playoffs. I feel for the team (I mean, I really like those non-Picasso-looking jerseys), but it's gotta be rough for those fans in Winnipeg seeing this, knowing very well they would watch their team. But nobody stepped up to buy the team, and moving was the only option they had. This tribute, although I think the music sucks, is still awesome in content:
... And then the Minnesota North Stars packed up and moved to Dallas to become the Stars in 1993. The team was decent, and had a pretty good following (it's Minnesota, guys!). The North Stars, led by Mike Modano, were definitely a more exciting team than the "poor substitute" as Justin called the Minnesota Wild. Aside from the fact that the Wild are a little boring, at least hockey is back in Minnesota. This tribute video though was probably the best tribute, surprisingly:
Finally, we have the Colorado Rockies, a team long defunct since 1982 after relieving the Kansas City Scouts of their duties in the NHL in 1976. This was a team before my time, but they became the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have replaced them well though, so we're not crying too many tears. Here's a nice short one:
My favorite defunct team: tied between the Hartford Whalers and the Winnipeg Jets.
Hope you all enjoyed the tributes, and as an update on PK Subban, the man will return to the Habs' lineup tonight. #freePK must have worked!
And check out my appearance on The Rat Trick, a Florida Panther's blog by Frank Rekas. The Caps lost to the Cats 3-0 last night, so disregard my 3-1 Caps win prediction. No worries though: panic I will not do. Disappointed, I will be.
Showing posts with label PK Subban. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PK Subban. Show all posts
Friday, December 10, 2010
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Don't Expect Me to Slip This Under the Rug
I'm about to put myself in the minority-room...
I'm not interested in trying to get anybody any bad press, or to necessarily expect people to agree with me, or to provide you all with a homily. I just need you to listen and to think from another person's perspective on this
As much as I have entrusted my hockey learning, my hockey life, and my old hockey video game color commentary with former goalie Darren Pang, I am quite disappointed in him as of tonight.
For those who are unfamiliar with the incident, this evening on TSN, Darren Pang was talking about the emergence of the young and talented defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, PK Subban. As a player who is not only known for his on-ice performance but his often controversial" behavior, PK has, of course, caused concern for the conservative hockey community.
Here are the comments by Panger:
Of course, what everybody is going to think I'm referring to is the Freudian slip Pang makes, but you wouldn't listen to me if I just told you he's racist because he said that Alex Pietrangelo does things the "white way."
Instead, I have more issue with the things he said leading up to it. Implying that there is a "right way" for one, when there are other paths other players have taken to make it to the NHL is a problem for me. For all the players who made it to the NHL a not-so-mainstream way, through different programs, did they not do it "right?" Does that make them a lesser player?
Even as a player who came up through the juniors, how did he not do it the "right/white" way? Why should he have to follow the example of another player?
Well, notice how Pang, and of course everybody else comments on Subban's behavior, need of "settling him down." The same conversation has happened with Russian Alex Ovechkin's personality and party-boyish ways. While it is understandable in the case of Subban in a community where everyone else doesn't act the way he does that he should be mindful of this for the betterment of his team, it is still troublesome that he has to do so.
This all goes under this concept of "conformity"... the idea that the right, proper way to do everything is to assimilate by conforming to the Anglo-Canadian style of play, attitude, training, etc. And this concept appears in many forms in our daily lives, and it is hard to detect by others on the outside because of the idea of privilege... unfortunately, this is All We Do Is Puck and not sociology class, so I won't explain all of it here, but it is something to be aware of.
Hockey is obviously still a sport run almost entirely by old white men, with a majority of white players in 2010. So yes, the ideas will be antiquated, with a fear of the game being taken away from them, the game changing too much, new types of players and personalities coming in, Ochocincos and T.O.s, and all of these things if non-traditional types come into the game. Still, you cannot ignore the concept of race in this, because who are they scared of t going to? Yeah, I said it - race. Say it with me now! I'm not scared of it!
Even though this issue goes much deeper than what was said here, and it seems like a "gregarious" problem to fix, do understand that it can't be totally ignored, denied or minimized either to make it okay. It is the way it is, but that doesn't make it right. It's Subban doing all the talking, but let's try not to blame the victim or his "ways," or call it something else Let's not say "it didn't count because he didn't mean it." Trust me, it won' get you off the hook.
As much as people are going to label this incident as "just a slip" and that "he didn't mean anything by it" are missing the bigger picture; that this isn't okay, and that he had to apologize because it's inherently wrong to say. However, not just the slip, but everything else before that, which leads me to believe that of course Pang wouldn't want to say "white way" on television. I still trust Panger with my hockey analysis -- after all we short goalie-types must stick together -- but I call it like I see it and this was inexcusably wrong.
Sermon - done.
Stay tuned later for a post on the polling of YOUR favorite defunct NHL team. Cause I know I have one, and I'm not telling you until I post!
I'm not interested in trying to get anybody any bad press, or to necessarily expect people to agree with me, or to provide you all with a homily. I just need you to listen and to think from another person's perspective on this
As much as I have entrusted my hockey learning, my hockey life, and my old hockey video game color commentary with former goalie Darren Pang, I am quite disappointed in him as of tonight.
For those who are unfamiliar with the incident, this evening on TSN, Darren Pang was talking about the emergence of the young and talented defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, PK Subban. As a player who is not only known for his on-ice performance but his often controversial" behavior, PK has, of course, caused concern for the conservative hockey community.
Here are the comments by Panger:
Of course, what everybody is going to think I'm referring to is the Freudian slip Pang makes, but you wouldn't listen to me if I just told you he's racist because he said that Alex Pietrangelo does things the "white way."
Instead, I have more issue with the things he said leading up to it. Implying that there is a "right way" for one, when there are other paths other players have taken to make it to the NHL is a problem for me. For all the players who made it to the NHL a not-so-mainstream way, through different programs, did they not do it "right?" Does that make them a lesser player?
Even as a player who came up through the juniors, how did he not do it the "right/white" way? Why should he have to follow the example of another player?
Well, notice how Pang, and of course everybody else comments on Subban's behavior, need of "settling him down." The same conversation has happened with Russian Alex Ovechkin's personality and party-boyish ways. While it is understandable in the case of Subban in a community where everyone else doesn't act the way he does that he should be mindful of this for the betterment of his team, it is still troublesome that he has to do so.
This all goes under this concept of "conformity"... the idea that the right, proper way to do everything is to assimilate by conforming to the Anglo-Canadian style of play, attitude, training, etc. And this concept appears in many forms in our daily lives, and it is hard to detect by others on the outside because of the idea of privilege... unfortunately, this is All We Do Is Puck and not sociology class, so I won't explain all of it here, but it is something to be aware of.
Hockey is obviously still a sport run almost entirely by old white men, with a majority of white players in 2010. So yes, the ideas will be antiquated, with a fear of the game being taken away from them, the game changing too much, new types of players and personalities coming in, Ochocincos and T.O.s, and all of these things if non-traditional types come into the game. Still, you cannot ignore the concept of race in this, because who are they scared of t going to? Yeah, I said it - race. Say it with me now! I'm not scared of it!
Even though this issue goes much deeper than what was said here, and it seems like a "gregarious" problem to fix, do understand that it can't be totally ignored, denied or minimized either to make it okay. It is the way it is, but that doesn't make it right. It's Subban doing all the talking, but let's try not to blame the victim or his "ways," or call it something else Let's not say "it didn't count because he didn't mean it." Trust me, it won' get you off the hook.
As much as people are going to label this incident as "just a slip" and that "he didn't mean anything by it" are missing the bigger picture; that this isn't okay, and that he had to apologize because it's inherently wrong to say. However, not just the slip, but everything else before that, which leads me to believe that of course Pang wouldn't want to say "white way" on television. I still trust Panger with my hockey analysis -- after all we short goalie-types must stick together -- but I call it like I see it and this was inexcusably wrong.
Sermon - done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stay tuned later for a post on the polling of YOUR favorite defunct NHL team. Cause I know I have one, and I'm not telling you until I post!
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