Thursday, June 16, 2011

What makes a true fan?

Last night saw the National Hockey League wrap up their season with the Vancouver Canucks losing in Game 7 to the Boston Bruins, in Vancouver. There was not a lot of love for the Canucks throughout the series by most Canadians which makes me wonder why we have stopped supporting our own teams?

One of the constant and consistent bones of contention about why no one supports the Canucks was the lack of engagement by their fans. So that got me thinking, what is a true fan? Is it the person that jumps on and off a band-wagon depending on the fortunes of a team? Is it that person with every piece of SWAG the team has? Is it someone rioting in the street after their team loses?

No a real fan is someone who supports their team, loudly or not, visually or hidden, but someone who is always there. The people who rioted in the streets of Vancouver last night were not true fans.

True fans were the ones standing in the crowd applauding the Boston Bruins as they hoisted the Stanley Cup over their heads. Real fans were the people who woke up early this morning to go to downtown in Vancouver and clean up the mess left by last night's riots. Real fans were the ones who kept their tongues and tempers in check last night on Twitter, ignoring the rude, crass and classless taunting by so-called Bruins 'fans'. Boston my have won their Cup but I think Canucks fans have come away much richer and further ahead from this experience.

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