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Sports and reality

The disconnect fans
perceive

By Eric Wilkins, Staff
Writer

na week five NFL game

between Baltimore
and Kansas City, Chiefs
quarterback Matt Cassel
was hit and injured by
the Ravens defense. The
crowd's response? They
cheered.

Did I miss something
here? A living, breathing
human being was
seriously injured
(sustained a concussion),
and a number of those in
attendance were happy
about it? Concussions
may seriously reduce
one’s quality of life, yet
the crowd at Arrowhead
had no misgivings
whatsoever about
rejoicing at the misfortune

Db COR sy

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©

 
   

lop 10 Canucks of all
time

MSGS A

By Josh Martin,
Sports Editor

ith the lockout in

affect and the fact
that there’s no hockey
being played in the NHL,
I decided to make a list
and honour the top 10
Canucks of all time. This
week features the top
Canucks ranked 10 to six.

of their quarterback.

In the words of Chiefs
tackle Eric Winston, it
was “sickening.” Cassel
is both a husband and

a father. He had a hand
in saving someone’ life
last year when he alerted
a woman to a fire in

her house that she was
unaware of; witnesses
called him a “hero.” And
yet, this man’s injury

ee

brought not tears, but joy
to Chiefs fans.

I've always found
sports to be a great
indicator of the kind of
person you are. It brings
out your raw character,
the basest you can be.

If you're a faker and
a coward on the field,

#10 — Todd Bertuzzi

The bruiting power
forward left quite the
legacy in Vancouver

and was a part of the
“West Coast Express”
line, which consisted

of superstars Markus
Naslund and Brendan
Morrison. He is arguably
the best power forward
to ever wear a Canucks
sweater and has the
numbers to back it up
with 188 goals and 449
points in 518 games.
Unfortunately Bertuzzi
is infamously known

for the “Steve Moore
Incident” towards the
end of his tenure as a
Canuck, which ultimately
led to his plane ticket out
of Vancouver.

#9 — Matthias Ohlund
The Swedish defencemen
served 11 seasons as

a Canuck, putting up

325 points in 770 games
while becoming the all-
time leader in points
among defencemen in
the organization. Ohlund

you’re probably like
that in real life. If you’re
a dirty player, there’s
generally aspects of your
life that are less than
savoury as well. On the
flipside, an honest, hard-
worker on the pitch tends
to be the same off of it.
However, there is a
point where you have to
think people just get lost
in it all. A disconnect with

reality. Here we fall into
the realm of the armchair
quarterback and fantasy
footballers. As fun as it

is to go to a game, it’s an
ugly scene. Painted beer
bellies hanging out for
all of the world to see.
Hunks of cheese and
hollowed watermelons

was not only a threat on
the blue line to opposing
goaltenders, but was
also one of the toughest
defencemen in the NHL,
making it extremely
hard for the opposition
to score. In 2009, Ohlund
became an unrestricted
free agent in the
offseason and signed a
seven year contract with
the Tampa Bay Lightning.

#8 — Kirk McLean
Captain Kirk is best
known as one of the last
great stand up goaltenders
in the league who
backstopped the Canucks

- to the 1994 Stanley

Cup Final against the
New York Rangers. His
sensational performance
throughout the playoffs
that year was almost
enough to win the Stanley
Cup, but Mark Messier
and the Rangers came

out on top in game seven.
McLean has 516 games as
a Canuck under his belt,
the most of any goaltender
in franchise history.

masquerading as hats.
Seats lined with a
never-ending stream of
expensive grub. And fans
cheering on the non-stop
violence of the game.
Players can be reduced
to a stat line in the world
of sports. The specks

on the field can ‘be seen
as nothing more than
tools to help achieve a
victory. Famous people

Its normal to have an ever so slight thirst for
violence, and that's why we have sports.

are already viewed
differently. Being a’sports
star on the field just
means that you’re even
less/ more of a person
than anyone else.
Following in this
vein, I like to think that
the fans can be given at
least a partial pardon

- #7-Stan Smyl

The “Steamer” spent

his entire career with
the Vancouver Canucks,
retiring as the franchise
leader in every major
statistical category

with 262 goals, 411
assists, and 673 points
in 896 games (which
was later surpassed by
Trevor Linden, Markus
Naslund, and the Sedin
twins). Smyl captained
the Canucks for eight
seasons, bringing them
to their very first Stanley
Cup final against the
New York Islanders in
1982, where the Canucks
ultimately lost in four
games to none. Smyl
became the first of three
Canucks to have his
jersey retired, as his
number 12 was raised to
the rafters in honour of
his successful career in
Vancouver.

#6 — Roberto Luongo

Arguably the greatest
goaltender in franchise

history has been

 

Sports

for cheering Cassel’s
injury. They weren’t
cheering a man getting
hurt. They weren’t
celebrating the concussion
of a father. They were
simply thankful that
their overpaid and
underperforming
quarterback, not person,
was out of the game.

It’s normal to have an
ever so slight thirst for
violence, and that’s why
we have sports. Sports
offer an opportunity to
have all those emotions
and thoughts that we
usually keep to ourselves,
manifest themselves. And
that’s ok, to an extent.

I’m not saying don’t
scream your head off
when your team makes a
huge tackle, but just keep
in mind that those are
people out there. People
with friends and family
just like anyone else.

through it all as a
Vancouver Canuck.
Ever since Luongo came
to Vancouver from
the Florida Panthers
he’s been under the
microscope. From being
named captain, to
winning the Olympic
Gold in 2010, to coming
one game away from
winning the Stanley
Cup against the Boston
Bruins, and to having
his starting position
taken away by Cory
Schneider—it’s been an
interesting journey here
in Vancouver. Luongo
has had his share of ups
and downs and whether
he remains a Canuck
in the near future is
uncertain; what is certain
is that he will go down as
one of the best Canucks
of all time.

Stay tuned next issue
for the top five Canucks
of all time.

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