Hanging In There

Mirtle delivers up a post about the Canucks, a post that details our sad history:

No NHL team established as long as Vancouver has as poor a track record. This is the Canucks’ 38th NHL season, and the only three teams with worse all-time records are a trio of basket cases in Tampa Bay, Columbus and Atlanta.

In 38 seasons, Vancouver’s made the playoffs only 21 times, winning five division titles (less than 14 other franchises) and posting a .466 points percentage — which is behind Winnipeg/Phoenix, Hartford/Carolina and even Florida. The team’s two trips to the Stanley Cup finals are the all-time highlights, outnumbered significantly by a slew of lowlights (many that MacIntyre mentions) and a revolving door of funky jerseys.

Indeed. That isn’t merely bad, it is impossibly bad. After about 30 years of it, I wondered why Canuck fans were so unlucky. In a fair league, after all, teams should, over time, be drawn towards .500 and West Coast teams were sliding away. After doing a dozen or so studies, I concluded that the NHL is not a fair league. It isn’t all geography, but Vancouver’s location has a lot to do with their disastrous record. Its been like they are trying to win a Monster Truck race from the slow lane. Its not impossible, but…

(Good news on this front. Mike Gillis has managed to convince the NHL that the Canucks get screwed over on the schedule. The imperfect solution – giving the Canucks priority when setting the schedule – is something I’ve advocated for years, most recently when this year’s schedule came out. It will help the team next year.)

But that’s all a digression. James seems surprised that Canuck fans have stuck around:

My fandom didn’t last. It’s tough to stick with a sadsack franchise when it’s been a nearly 40-year drought, but many in B.C. somehow do. My old man’s been rooting for the team to turn things since he was a teenager, and still keeps the faith. I don’t know how. But I respect his dedication.

Its tough to stick with a sad sack franchise? Really? What’s the alternative? Cheer for another team? Do fans really hop from team to team nowadays because it is possible to follow a team closely from a distance?

Like every other fan, I’ve despised the Canucks at times.  I’m always realistic about their chances. I won’t blindly agree with every choice the team makes. I’ve bitterly opposed certain personnel choices and certain managers. But I can’t imagine cheering for anyone else. I’ve followed the franchise. I know the history.  How could I possibly switch to another team? My interest can flag during eight game losing streaks and I can switch off a game that is lost. But no matter how bad the team is, they could win tonight and they could entertain me tonight.

Winning may be the only acceptable outcome for players, but that is not a healthy attitude for the fans because there are too many losers and not enough winners. I became a hockey fan in the late 1950′s, cheering for the Red Wings until Vancouver was allowed into the league. If you check the records, that means I’ve been a fan for nearly 50 years and my team has never won. Not once. Most years, my team had zero chance at the beginning of the season.

While I do wish my team(s) were more successful, I don’t have any real regrets. I’ve enjoyed being a hockey fan over the years despite the disastrous results for my team. The highs during the infrequent stretches of Canuck success have been great. The lows are easily written off because, after all, it is merely a game. 

I’m not sure that I “keep the faith” – I’ve long held that the only rational expectation for Vancouver fans is for calamity – but I do expect to be a Canuck fan on the day that I die.