Are We Really The Worst Fans in the NHL?

by CoachK, AllHabs.net

SAINT-LAZARE, QC — In a recent article in Gentlemen’s Quarterly (GQ) Magazine by Adam Winer, Montreal Canadiens’ fans were ranked amongst the worst fans on sports. In fact, we were the only NHL fans to make his ranking. While on the outside, the visual representations depicted by a group of rowdy Habs’ faithful might support that assumption, I must say, from personal experience, it is the furthest thing from the truth.

Yeah sure, we loot, set fire to pictures of opposing players and the odd police car, and yell and scream when one of our own is rammed into a metal post. Mr. Winer’s assessment of our fanbase is the sum of the parts of a small percentage of real Habs fans. If the GQ writer followed a few Montreal Canadiens’ blog, or a few more Twitter accounts, his opinion might differ quite a bit.

In recent tweets I viewed, there was a Bruins’ fan, who’s Twitter name I refuse to devulge, expressed his views in a tweet by saying, “Pacioretty is a <expletive>! I hope he’s paralyzed or dead!” Now there’s a hockey fan! And all Canadiens’ fans did was asked for a suspension for Zdeno Chara’s actions. On certain blogs. there were even anti-Canadian and anti-American rants flying back and forth. So when an American-born player on a Canadian team almost gets decapitated, it’s an international incident, right?

Might I remind Mr. Winer that during last year’s Eastern Conference final against the Philadelphia Flyers, Gazette Columnist Pat Hickey had his car vandalized because it had a Quebec license plate. The plate itself was actually stolen off his car, while the front tires were slashed and the molding on his bumper removed. In playoff series two years ago against the Boston Bruins, a few fans decided to relieve themselves on a group of Canadiens fans in Boston, which included a young child, then punch them in the face.

Many of the images shown across the Internet of post-game celebrations and disappointments, there are certainly a few, but small group, of Canadiens’ faithful that exact their joy/frustration on inanimate objects. These people have usually had a few too many adult beverages, and rarely attack an individual for another city. While they represent a minority, the majority of damages caused during these riots are by oppotunistic individuals, who see a chance to pilfer and steal at the expense of Habs’ supporters.

When you work for a magazine like GQ, with its huge distribution, it becomes a writer’s responsibilty to get his facts in order. In this particular case, writing a piece like that, based on the opinions of others or a set of incriminating pictures, is both unprofessional and unfair. To form a proper and fair assessment of a group of fans, Mr. Winer would have to visit every team, in every city, in every professional league. You can all see it’s an impossible task, and I doubt he would want to do it. Besides, according to him, after what he’s said about Canadiens’ fans, he may have a cavity search performed by Canadian Customs, get spit on in his hotel, and get burned at the stake outside the Bell Centre.

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Our own Coach K appeared on CBC-Radio Montreal with Sue Smith on her afternoon show “Home Run.” They were joined by Matt Morein, a long-standing Canadiens fan to discuss the GQ article.

You may listen here: