The Vancouver Canucks have won at least one writer’s fanhood

Like many students at Keene State College, the end of the semester snuck up on me. I feel it was just two weeks ago we came back from the holiday break. Spring just started a week ago, and now we have to pack everything back up and head home for the summer. Plus, if you’re a senior like me, you now may face the unfortunate prospect of having to move back home and look anywhere for job openings.

What does any of this have to do with the NHL or the Stanley Cup playoffs? Nothing, really, but like just about everything else in life, I’ve been stalling. The time has come to declare my team.

Last week I pitted the Washington Capitals against the Vancouver Canucks as the final two teams standing in my semester-long quest to find my NHL team. Both teams boasted star power in Alexander Ovechkin and Ryan Kesler respectively. Both teams won their divisions this year and looked like good bets on going far into the playoffs.

Well, the Caps got knocked out, rather embarrassingly by the eighth seeded Montreal Canadiens last week, meaning once again the President’s Trophy winners will go Cup-less this year. It also means that by default my team has got to be the Vancouver Canucks. I was first attracted to the Canucks right at the start of this year’s Winter Olympics when the United States men’s hockey team defeated Canada 5-3 in the first round, thanks in large part to a last minute goal from Canucks’ star Ryan Kesler. It seemed fitting the hometown hero was playing for the team everyone in Canada hated, and then managed to break all their collective hearts with one swipe at the puck. It was hard to ignore following Vancouver when my favorite player was skating the ice for them.

The Canucks did have some obvious faults, I must admit. First off, they’re Canadian. It does seem a little strange to cheer for a Canadian team when there’s plenty of perfectly acceptable teams in the United States who I’m sure would be more than happy to have me as one of their supporters. (This is probably untrue. Considering my track record of never cheering for a team that wins anything, I’m sure no team actively wants me as their fan.)
Geography typically has little sway over what team strikes my fancy, but I must admit despite being a city in Canada, Vancouver’s location intrigued me. Vancouver rests just 137 miles north of my favorite city in the world, Seattle, Washington. Already quite the Mariners, Seahawks and Sounders fan, it might be pretty convenient to add another team from the Pacific Northwest to my stable.

Lastly, and more importantly, there’s the history of the Canucks.

The Canucks were an expansion team in 1970, and in their history have advanced to the Stanley Cup finals just twice, losing in 1982 to the New York Islanders, and most recently losing to the New York Rangers in 1994.

Let me say I don’t necessarily want to cheer for teams that don’t boast long lists of achievements and decades worth of history and glory. In fact, my English football team, Liverpool FC, is the most decorated sports team in the history of the United Kingdom. Still, when it comes to domestic leagues, there’s something special about rooting for the underdog.

I know a lot of Red Sox fans who think Yankees fans are just smug and want to just cheer for the team that always wins. Think about a little more logically, however, and realize Yankees fans are the most miserable fans anywhere.

If the Yankees had lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in game seven of last year’s World Series, it would have been seen as a hugely disappointing season. The Seattle Mariners won 85 games last year and I was curious to as why they didn’t throw a parade in downtown Seattle.

What I’m saying is, the less a team has, the more they have to gain, and the more exciting it’s going to be when I’m along for the ride to watch it happen.
So, let’s go Canucks! Bring home a Stanley Cup.

Doesn’t have to be this year, I’m more than willing to stick it out for the long haul. When you do win it all, I’ll be glad to call myself a fan.

Brian Anderson can be contacted at banderson@keeneequinox.com