Quote:
Originally Posted by dissentowner
What I mostly got from your post was an obvious dislike for Theo and trying to find shallow reasons why his number should not be retired. Instead of focusing on the positive contributions he not only made on the ice as a Flame but also in so many lives of abuse victims with his seminars you chose to focus on the negatives, some of which are pure speculation. Your post would have been better received if you just came out and said I don't like the guy so I personally don't want to see his number retired even though it clearly should be.
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Shallow reasons? Hey, I don't know Fleury personally, and I just because I don't worship him and his time as a Flames doesn't mean I dislike him and have to find 'shallow reasons' to prove a point.
Yes, his community work should be lauded. He has been touching the lives of many victims of abuse, and I think he has become a difference maker in the lives of many people. I hope he continues. However, this does not excuse his behavior
when it comes to the Flames.
It is truly heartbreaking what he went through. Nobody should ever go through what he did as a kid. Let me emphasize that again before another poster with inadequate reading comprehension skills tries to read between the lines in this post and accuse me of not caring about that. We talk about people being 'monsters' at times, but it is overused. James was an absolute monster. A human being should never do that to a child, and I hope he burns in hell for what he did to Theo, to Sheldon, and to what is probably a multitude of other victims. It destroyed every single kid that he did that too. It showed in Theo's life unquestionably, and without knowing him personally and not being a psychologist, is probably at the root cause of all his issues.
His on-ice performance and skill was absolutely incredible. There is nobody questioning that. For some, this is where the argument begins and ends. For others - like myself - it isn't enough.
I believe when a team retires a jersey, it is the highest honor a team can give a player to recognize his contributions to the team and community. Now I ask you this - was Theoren Fleury a positive contributer to the team and community? Hmm.. at times, yes. At times, definitely not.
I don't know how old you are, or how many newspaper articles you read while he was here, but there were serious issues with Fleury that made me stop being a fan of his (and I was a huge fan, as literally 99% of all Calgarians were I would guess). My first issue was "he is not getting along with his team mates and causing conflict" (IIRC, Roberts and Nieuwendyk, though I honestly don't remember exactly who). Then the "rumors of him being such an a-hole to people". Stuff you don't (and shouldn't) put too much credence into unless you have first-hand knowledge.
Then came an article in the Herald in which he himself states so matter-of-factly that: "I don't need to practice. It makes me tired. Besides, I am too talented and shouldn't have to. My team mates should practice." WTF? Imagine being one of Fleury's team mates? Proves that the reasons above probably held at least SOME merit. It wasn't rumor. Fleury himself said this to a reporter - at a time when the media was extremely friendly and the plague of Eric Francis didn't exist.
Then once you start seeing your 'hero' as someone who is probably not such a good guy after all, you start to see his selfishness on the ice. How much of a puck-hog he became. How he would take way too many selfish penalties. Probably the last 2 seasons I was hoping he would be traded away, and I predicted that the players left would blossom with him out of the picture - and I argue that Bure and Iginla both did.
Ok, so he is playing on other teams, gets himself into a whole lot of trouble with is off-ice issues - again, most likely stemming from his tragic past - and the NHL suspends him from the league indefinitely.
Here comes the Flames with open arms, giving him a chance to retire, collect a pension and go out as a hero to a city that worshiped him. What an honor to reach out and do that, right? How are the Flames repaid? Fleury blasts the Flames for him not making it. He even goes so far as to openly criticize Conroy for being on the team. That's a proverbial good kick to the nuts, no?
The Flames have a multitude of reasons as to why Fleury shouldn't be honored. One could assume that the organization could even be apprehensive about retiring him for fear of him saying something to embarrass the organization.
Some people who are still huge fans of his see his production and talent, and how he seemed to play with his heart on his sleeve all the time, and disregard everything else as meaningless, or say it should be ignored given his tragic past. I can understand that. I feel that although his past was indeed tragic and unfair, he did not embody what I feel is a player that the Flames should honor with a jersey retirement. He also won no major awards in the NHL, other than the Stanley Cup when he came in as a rookie. I don't see a player that is deserving of having a jersey retirement. The standard should be higher - on ice production, awards, AND CONDUCT, especially with regards to the organization and the community at large. Fleury's conduct with team mates and his conduct off the ice
while representing the Calgary Flames is, IMO, not deserving of having his jersey retired. Heck, I bet if the Flames end up retiring his jersey, the owners and management team would be rattled and anxious that day wondering if Fleury was going to say something to embarrass the organization.
People who are diehard Fleury fanatics will not agree with my points, but calling them shallow is your opinion. Stating that I dislike him is wrong and trying to discredit my post and rationale. However, Gordon's take on my view of his tragic past was abhorrent and disgusting, so at least you didn't do that.
Had Fleury been a better team mate and example of what a Calgary Flame should be, I would 100% be campaigning for his retirement. He wasn't that during his time with the Flames. I am glad that he has been doing better and making a huge difference in the community now, and he deserves a tonne of recognition for it, but it shouldn't be through the Calgary Flames.