Born and bred in Montreal, I'm a diehard Montreal Canadiens fan. I used to cry when the team lost (I'm over that now, though I do go to bed angry if they lose). Now I live in Toronto where the Leafs reign supreme. Ech! How a fanbase can blindly support a team that has not won a championship since 1967 is beyond my comprehension.
Fortunately, I don't have to understand it, because the Habs have won 10 cups since 1967, with 7 (and counting) coming in my lifetime. Just to put that into perspective, the idea of Pierre Trudeau as Prime Minister was laughable; Lyndon Johnson was the U.S. President; Star Trek was still on tv; and I was but a thought.
I have to admit though, I do feel bad for Leaf Nation. They're good people. They mean well. They're just misguided. I don't know what my childhood would have been like without those Stanley Cups from the late seventies. Most... who am I kidding... ALL of my Toronto friends have never seen a Leafs championship. Poor souls. As a child I was in awe of my beloved Canadiens: Robinson, Dryden, Lafleur, Cournoyer, Shutt, Lemaire, Savard... they never let me down. THEY ALWAYS CAME THROUGH -- even when the universe was stacked against them, they always seemed to find a way and WIN!
Of course, the Canadiens were bound to have a lull, a lowpoint in their history (and there are many reasons for this which I'll discuss in an upcoming article) where they would have to rebuild, and now it seems safe to say the team has bottomed out and is finally moving in the right direction. Many of you may not agree, but Bob Gainey is the primary reason for this. Personally I think he did a great job and was sickened by the way he was dragged though the press, especially by the French media. However I'm sure you'd all agree that although Pierre Gauthier is the current G.M., it is still very much Gainey's team.
A writer by profession, it was time for me to share with the hockey world my thoughts, observations and perspectives about the Habs and hockey in general.
Another Habs blog!? You're right, who needs it!? But I promise, this one will be different. I won't be posting game summaries or even post after each game. What I will do is provide poignant, smartly-written and potentially heavily-biased articles, comments and rants about the topics the press and media either miss or ignore completely; along with personal stories and memories that make me so proud to be a Montreal Canadiens fan for life.
La premiere étoile, the first star...
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