Gaaaah, I'm so embarrassed (OT) - YouLookFab Forum

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Gaaaah, I'm so embarrassed (OT)

Aziraphale

Veteran

I don't know if any of you watched the Boston/Vancouver Stanley Cup hockey game tonight, or if you're watching the aftermath in Vancouver at the moment, but I am ashamed and embarrassed for my city. There are riots breaking out all over the place, cars are on fire, windows are getting smashed, our main department store downtown is being looted, and a good number of people are generally behaving like complete imbeciles. (Vancouver lost). I almost can't watch. The Vancouver police have had to call in for help from the RCMP -- what is WRONG with these people?? It's a GAME. Admittedly, it's only a few who are causing the problems, but then all these other twits are just hanging around watching the train wreck.

And now they've had to shut down the transit system because it's not safe for the bus drivers, so hoards of people who have finally decided it's time to get out are suddenly finding that they can't.

This happened last time we lost the Stanley Cup. I thought Vancouverites were better than this! Didn't we learn from last time?

General

26 replies

Latest reply was from Steph

catgirl

Veteran

I just heard about that! I'm from Boston and I'd expect that of Boston fans, but Vancouver?! I was pretty stunned - I had just been saying to my husband how nice the people there are. Oh, well - hockey fans are hockey fans everywhere...

Aziraphale

Veteran

We ARE nice! Well, the people I know are, at least. And people who visit say they think Vancouver is a nice, friendly, relaxed place. I guess that's true, except after big hockey games...

catgirl

Veteran

I love Vancouver - and yes, you are nice! Sad that the idiots dominate in moments like this If you ever sat in the bleachers at a Red Sox game, you'd see some serious bad behavior.

rosee

Veteran

I'm not from Vancouver, but as a western Canadian, I am embarrassed by that behavior. History is repeating itself. It's too bad that the authorities cannot cancel Stanley Cup playoffs in cities like Vancouver b/c the fans can't handle the excitement. It's ridiculous really.

p.s. most Vancouverites are nice.

RandomThoughts (Andrea)

Veteran

Just goes to show you that there are fools everywhere!

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Sharing in the shame! I'm from Toronto, and any time I hear of childish behaviour like this in a Canadian city, my blood pressure rises. Most Canadians wont exchange basic common sense for hockey brand loyalty, I promise!!

Louise

Veteran

I'm from the UK and many of our football fans behave like this too, I can totally understand your embarrasment x

Aunty

Veteran

Another one from the UK here.
Louise, as soon as I saw this post I thought about some football fans!
Random you are so right!

Freckles

Veteran

It's such a shame Elisabeth and as a Canucks fan it breaks my heart.

The Canucks aren't a dirty team, the city is polite and friendly and as a rule I find the atendees of playoff rounds are not the regular hockey fan who have seasons tickets.

When my hometown team played in the final in the last five years we had nothing like this but even so my family and I were apalled at how the regular hospitable fans had changed into something not quite as nice.

Hockey is my life and quite frustrating to see this in the news...

taylor

Veteran

Mob mentality can happen anywhere:(

Patty

Veteran

The news this morning said authorities had learned from the last playoff riot but this was over the top!
It seems like large gatherings have become an excuse and disguise for bad behaviours and looting--it's ridiculous!!!! Yes they lost, yes there could have been better ref-ing, yes Boston deserved the game --get over it!! I think the city would have been torn apart even if the Canucks won as well.
Also mentioned this morning was a call out to people with photographs---the reporter said--idiots that like to cause damage also like to have their pictures taken.
It bugs me that some people take advantage --like the G8 in Toronto--for vandalism!

rae

(website)

Veteran

I know how you feel, as there was recently a huge scandal in LA about a Dodgers fan severely beating a Giants fan. I haven't watched a single game after that. I can only hope that sanity is restored for you soon and that you and the rest of the sane people remain safe in the mean time.

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

I'm at work and have been immersed in coverage from last night, and I could honestly cry at what I've been seeing. I was frightened watching this mob run amok, and I was half a country away, watching footage shot hours before. Do disgusted, so ashamed. Those people turned a part of my country into something I can't even recognize.
I'm a little taken aback by my own patriotism, actually.

Aziraphale

Veteran

I'm starting to hear people say that the rioters were just looking for an excuse to riot. My husband thinks there would have been riots even if the Canucks had won. I mean, what about the pinheads who threw Molotov cocktails? You don't just happen to have those in your backpack. There must have been some premeditation.

I don't underestimate mob mentality, either. I understand that it was probably only a handful of people inciting the riots, but it's so easy for other people (mostly young men with testosterone poisoning) to get caught up in the moment. It's kind of scary.

One thing that cheers me up a little is that nothing like this happened at the Olympics. We wandered the streets downtown in the evenings while the Olympics were on, and there were massive crowds with people talking loudly and laughing everywhere, but it was all very peaceful.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Yes the mob needs no excuse to riot and these things are often arranged months in advance of the sporting event, in fact the sport is only a minor distraction from the thugs true agenda. This is not Canada's problem it is something for mankind to be ashamed of.

Steph

Veteran

This happens in so many places; it isn't limited to Vancouver. From what I was reading it sounded like it was a few people who started it, and those people weren't even at the game--they were watching the game on televisions outside. The fact that it started when the last whistle blew makes me think this is something they wanted to do--not something that happened in the heat of the moment. The game had been lost for quite some time (I mean, the final score was 5-0, the empty net goal was scored three minutes before the end of the game, and it had been 4-0 for the entire third period). It isn't like it was lost in overtime and people were overcome with emotion and shock. They knew what the outcome would be, yet they still waited until the end of the game to start destroying things. That tells me that it's something a few bad people wanted to do the whole time.

I lived in NY when the Rangers won the Cup in '94 (beating Vancouver), and NYC was on high alert. And...nothing happened. Everyone was shocked, and pleased. So maybe it would have been different had the Canucks won. From what I was reading, it sounded like most people just wanted to get away from the troublemakers.

I will say that it is horribly depressing to be in a stadium where the game really matters and your team loses. I have been at the game for three game 7 losses, and none were the finals. Every time you walk out and are just so incredibly depressed--even more than you normally would be, because there are 20,000 people around you who are also incredibly depressed. It's an awful feeling, and I can only imagine how much more deflated the crowd outside was, with so many more people there. Having said that, I never once had the urge to turn over a car and light it on fire. Some people are just very angry in their lives, and something like this provides the excuse to become destructive.

judy

Veteran

I thought of this thread when I saw this in my twitter feed: http://instagr.am/blog/95/vancouver-riots

"Last night, Instagrammers captured photos of the riots, and today they're sharing photos of the recovery effort, which includes a wall where citizens are expressing their disappointment over the outbreak. The photos on Instagram tell a fascinating story not only of last night's mayhem, but of how the city is bouncing back after the damage. "

Aida

Veteran

What Patty and Steph said: the (small handful of stupid) people who caused the damage would have done so regardless of who won, they just wanted an excuse to do so. It is, unfortunately, something that large cities have to deal with and I don't think it says anything bad about Vancouver, but about people in general really.

(Now, the way the Canucks and the fans in the arena gave up after Boston scored the first goal, THAT is embarrassing -_- I'm SO bummed as a Canucks fan that they didn't give it their all!!)

Aziraphale

Veteran

Aida: I hear you! I was very disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the fans in the stadium. The cheering was weak. I was, however, impressed by how nicely they cheered as the Bruins were being presented with the Stanley Cup. And I was really happy for the Boston goalie -- he did such a smashing job, he really deserved to win. And I liked hearing his backstory. Everyone loves an underdog!

Aida

Veteran

True! At least the fans are moderately good sports That TimTom, he's so sassy for a goaltender!

Steph

Veteran

So elisabeth and others, I'm not sure whether you are really big hockey fans or not, but I am, and something has been bothering me about the US media's coverage of the series. The big story about Vancouver has been Luongo, basically blaming him for each of the Canuck losses. Although I totally get that he had some very bad games in there, I have just been shocked at the complete lack of finger pointing at the Sedins. Henrik had *one* point in the entire seven game series (on a late-game goal in game six that made the score 5-2--not an important goal in the least), and Daniel didn't do much better with four points (one of which was an assist on that garbage goal). I live in DC and I know that if Ovi had failed to produce like that in any series, let alone the SCF, the media would be all over him. (Heck, they are always all over him and paint him as a playoff failure, despite the fact that his points per playoff game is among the highest of active players--the critique has nothing to do with the reality.)

So I'm wondering if the Canadian, or at least local Vancouver, media has been criticizing the performance of the Sedins. Are they getting more blame/less blame/equal blame to Luongo? Do they just get a free pass, as they have in the US? Yes, Thomas was great this series. But the regular season best offense in the league really wasn't throwing much at him.

Anyway, totally OT, but I have been wondering about this.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Alas, I cannot answer your question, Steph, because I confess I am a fairweather hockey fan. I only watch it close to the end, when it gets to the nail-biting excitement stage.

OK, seriously though....I pretty much only watched the finals, and yes, the CBC media coverage focused mostly on Luongo. I didn't hear all that much about the Sedin twins during the games themselves. I have to admit that I don't really watch the post-game rehashing, but maybe the commentators talked about it then? Anyway, the commentators went on and on about Luongo as the games were being played (cause you've gotta admit, he's fun to talk about, since when he's good he's awesome, but then occasionally he's spectacularly bad. I mean, eight-to-nothing? Holy smokes) but I didn't notice much complaining about the Sedins.

Aida

Veteran

Steph I'm with you, the press has been way too quick to put all the blame on Luongo when it was certainly a whole mix of things (Sedins not doing much/anything on offense, and lots of hurt defensemen in particular). I actually thought he did pretty well in game 7, considering how little help his teammates gave him.

Isabel

Veteran

Marley is right. It is like dogs. One or tw dogs are fine, but a whole bunch of them cam get a pack mentality, at some stage there is a tipping point.... It is part of human psychology/condition, not just those from Vancouver. It happens everywhere, at concerts, at big store sales ( remember the man who was killed at a Wal-Mart by a stampede of people trying to get to a sale?)

I remember being in Boston during the Celtics hey day with Larry Bird,Danny Ainge, et al and after a big game against LA, I watched out my apartment window as people overturn parked cars and started fires. Why ?

We should have a YLF conference where we go out and riot about some thing ! : ) Picture, well-dressed women in scarves and brilliant color blocking vs. Riot Police. We should do following Fashion Week.

Freckles

Veteran

Steph I was none too happy with the CBC during this series either but yes the Sedins, etc got a lot of bad press.

As a season ticket holder I've sat through many seasons of poor hockey and since my hometown team is going through a major rebuild expect to for some years to come. I would have given my right arm to be there...

Steph

Veteran

Freckles, you're a Canucks season ticket holder and you didn't go to game 7? How did you let that happen? How terrible! I split a season ticket package for Capitals games, so I go to two games per playoff series (assuming there are four home games) in our seats, and then I buy tickets from other ticket holders for the other games. Last year I was so optimistic about their chances that I purchased a full playoff package from someone--that way I was guaranteed tickets through the Finals. Of course, it didn't quite work out that way (there was a refund for the games that didn't happen). It would be so amazing to get to see the finals in person, let alone game 7.