Quote:
Originally Posted by Stanley
lol Fair enough. I'm a Flames + Habs fan myself, growing up in a french canadian family (born in Calgary), always been a fun Flames/Habs rivalry with family (even tho I still like the Habs having grown up around it), so I guess you could say I'd hate the Leafs almost as much as the Oilers lol.
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Well, we all love and hate for different reasons. Aside from the 'hate', another reason that I actively cheer against every other Canadian team:
No Canadian team since Montreal in 93 has won the cup. That's getting close to 30 years. Remember when the Flames made the finals in '04? They became Canada's team, and their fan base dramatically increased.
It wasn't as big for the Oilers (I don't think - maybe my extreme hatred for them didn't allow me to think of it that way). Ottawa got a lot of love and grew their fan base the year they made the finals. Vancouver shrunk their fan base as they made a mockery of the game (lol) with lots of people finding them cringe-worthy.
Point is, I do believe there is a very tangible and long-lasting 'reward' for the next Canadian team to win a cup - a stronger fan base that is very important. To a small market team like Calgary that would be huge for the organization for years to come. For Toronto? Montreal? Not as much to be gained (relatively speaking of course). For Vancouver? They have a fairly big base. Too many Oilers fans since the 80's, and they have a larger share than the Flames. Winnipeg is still living off their 'return to Winnipeg' stuff that has seen many Canadians adopting them as their '2nd team'.
The two Canadian teams that can most use a cup win to grow their fan bases and secure some bragging rights are Calgary and Ottawa... so hey, Ottawa are rivals that I suddenly hate!!
So yes, I can understand why some people feel obliged to cheer for a 'Canadian Team' in a national league (not international!!), but I will never feel that way. There are incentives to capitalize on this sentiment, and it makes me wish the ONLY team to win it is Calgary because of those sentiments, and my RATIONAL deep hatred for the other teams
Every fan is different. I am this way.