From the start of the Stanley Cup final series - there was a difference. Although Michael Ryder is a Canadian - he is not the great Sidney - so Canada's team became the Canucks and not the Pittsburgh Penguins. If the Pens were in the final and Crosby was playing the massive broadcast attention would have plunked itself down in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.
Michael Ryder is a tremendous talent in his profession - but he's from Newfoundland and Labrador - that's the province that most national broadcasters like to skip when they do a coast to coast commentary starting with the phrase, "from Nova Scotia to British Columbia". As such the CBC - CTV and most Canadian news agencies focused on Vancouver and not the real hockey fans in a real hockey town like Bonavista, NL.
We all awoke this morning to see our national image virtually destroyed by the city that hosts "Canada's Team". Unfortunately that image was not countered with images of beautiful Bonavista NL, scenic, peaceful, and genuinely excited about their boy Michael Ryder doing Canada proud as he participated in this athletic test of excellence .
What a missed opportunity - Canada could have showcased an absolutely jaw-dropping coastline and natural vistas untouched by over-population and urbanization and a community that epitomizes "hockeyville" not "crimeville". They could have told a story about a young man from a small town - that beat all the odds by making the NHL cut.
The CBC and CTV could have camped out in Bonavista and the only pepper spray their reporters would have suffered would have been a few sprinkles of the spice drifting from a shaker being used by a livyer while barbecuing. They would have been adopted by 3000 or so people who would ensure they were well fed on lobsters, mussels, and crab while listening to stories dating back to 1497 when John Cabot made landfall at this historic site. With a population that is about 10% of Cole Harbour which itself is considered small when compared to a Vancouver - Bonavista is extremely proud of Michael Ryder.
Perhaps some damage control is still possible for Canada - if our media focuses on Ryder bringing the cup home to Bonavista - Newfoundland and Labrador. We can showcase the beautiful places and people of Canada - minus the looting, arson, rioting. Perhaps a whale will sing in the foreground of an iceberg dwarfing all around it.
In Bonavista Newfoundland and Labrador - you might see a salt and pepper hat, salt spray from the mighty Atlantic, or a riot - which defined here means a great old time of dancing, local music, and feasting on fresh seafood.
Congratulations to Michael Ryder and Bonavista - who last night did Canada proud.
Instead of mobs of gangsers running around drunk carrying stolen manikins - Bonavista celebrated with kids running around carrying Stanley Cups of tinfoil in their Boston Jerseys bearing Ryder's #73.
If the media of this country wants to show the real hockey spirit of Canada - load themselves on a plane and come on down to Bonavista. I am sure the images they capture will cure the hangover of embarrassment they are suffering from Vancouver.
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| Photo From the Telegram |
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| Majestic Icebergs Bonavista |
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| The beautiful whales Bonavista |
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| Bonavista is built upon sedimentary deposits of the Precambrian Age (600 million years ago). On the road between Lance Cove and Bonavista you'll find one of nature's carvings - the Dungeon. It is a circular opening in the cliff with two seaward-side channels where the sea roars through. It is approximately 300 feet across and 15 metres deep. Tidal action has created a natural beach. You can swim or go through the channels in a small punt. Many people explore the bottom and sides of the Dungeon, climbing its high cliffs looking for plentiful iron pyrite (fools' gold) embedded in the rocks. |
You want something to celebrate Canada? Hats off to Bonavista - now Micheal bring the Stanley Cup home. Congratulations to Betty Fitzgerald, Mayor of Bonavista, who did not have to resort to tweeting apologies. They were happy in Bonavista regardless of the outcome.
2 comments:
Excellently put, Sue.
What an embarrassment Vancouver is, or well, those rioters who clearly have no respect for anything. When you think of the places in the world where mayhem exists because of oppression and state sponsored genocide, this amplifies just how ridiculous those Vancouver losers were.
Hockey is our national sport and serious business for many, but when you consider what happened last night over a game where overpaid grown men fire a black disk around a sheet of ice, it shows just how insane it all can be when you look at the images of downtown Vancouver from last night's free-for-all on the streets.
And as for Newfoundland and Bonavista being slighted, not a surprise, although Hockey Night in Canada did show the arena in Bonavista where fans cheered Ryder on when they interviewed him after they won. I remember hearing the "Halifax to Vancouver" once years ago after a Cup was one - probably the 1993 Habs Cup - and grimacing when that was so ignorantly stated as fact.
We should be proud of Ryder and the Bruins and focus on that. Thank God we live on in such a relatively peaceful place, nothing like there, even as crime grows here in the capital city due to all this "prosperity" our Saviour brought us - and now He has brought us our own professional hockey team once again!
Enjoy your moment, Bonavista!
Few typos!
*once years ago after a Cup was won - not "one"!
and *Thank God we live in such a place - not "Thank God we live on in such a place", though that is true also.
I get so anal over typos! lol
GO BRUINS!!! GO RYDER!!!
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