For a couple of hours—at least—about 20 thousand sports fans in Raleigh, North Carolina weren’t thinking about NASCAR. In fact, if you were to witness the scene inside the RBC Center last night you might even think you were in a Canadian NHL barn, not in a southern US state.
But what Carolina hockey fans showed us yesterday was that they got it. They not only got it, now they have it. That’s right, the team formerly known as the Hartford Whalers are now the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. Congratulations!
Carolina Hurricanes 3 – Edmonton Oilers 1
The game was intense and action-packed. The crowd was at a constant din. It was an amazing scene. One that may give hockey fans hope of hockey’s survival in the US…but don’t count on it.
The sad fact of the matter is, the sum of hockey fans in and around the Carolina area, were probably all at the game that night. What’s even worse, is that next season, the Canes will probably go back to only half-filling the RBC Center. Unfortunately, hockey in the US will never reach beyond a regional attraction. While many people may have watched in Carolina—although that still remains to be seen—most Americans elsewhere couldn’t care less. This is further contrasted by the fact that in this country, last night’s game will probably be among the highest rated programs for the evening.
So why the disparity between the two countries? One just has to look at how the players reacted last night. The losers, as if they just watched a lifelong crusade end in failure, dejected and helpless. The winners, with an elation that only comes from achieving something that they’ve dreamt about since they could stand on skates. They pass the ‘Holy Grail’ from player to player to coach to GM to trainer to water-boy, each taking a turn to savour the moment and to kiss the cup.
The CBC held their coverage for over an hour after the game ended to catch the moments, to interview the players as they gave their tearful thanks to every trainer and coach they ever had; to every teammate; to their wives and kids; to their friends; and to their parents and hometowns.
NBC, cut their coverage as soon as they hit the top of the hour to get to the local news. I don’t even think viewers got to see the cup, since it was brought out quite awhile after the game ended.
But the fans in attendance got it. They sang their hearts out during the anthems (both of them); they knew every offside, every penalty; they knew when to cheer and why the Oilers goalie left the net near the end; for that moment, they were hockeytown, NASCAR and football was but a distant memory…It’s too bad it won’t last…
(Warning: The proceeding bit is chalk full of unfounded stereotypes about US southerners. It’s intention is to be humourous and make a point, not offend. If you find any of it offensive, get the fuck over it!)
Incidentally, I couldn’t find a picture of it, but the image that I felt epitomized the magnitude of this achievement had to be that of Doug Weight, with his severely separated shoulder, holding the cup barely above his head. Nothing was going to keep him from experiencing that moment, not even excruciating pain.
If you want to know how important the Stanley Cup is to a hockey player, you just have to take a look at that picture.
What are you thinking?