There's this actor-guy, Joe Canadian, see.
On hugely popular television ads pitching Molson Canadian beer, he stands on a stage, defiantly, in front of a blown-up image of the national flag flapping gently in a breeze, and launches into a rant about the differences that set us apart from Americans. Differences that, by golly, make him proud to live in the land of the Maple Leaf.
Joe Canadian, you should know, receives standing ovations wherever he takes this promotional schtick, opening with the immortal words: "My name is Joe. And I am … Canadian!"
The man very nearly bursts a blood vessel as he builds to a feverish finish. Well, Joe is bound to be downright apoplectic when he hears that all the conjecture has become official: that the Montreal Canadiens, as much a symbol of this nation as the beaver or public health care or back bacon, have now been swallowed up by the insatiable American appetite for acquisition.
Joe won't be alone.
There are sure to be far-flung cries of nationalistic outrage at the sale of the Habs and the Molson Centre to American resorts owner George Gillett Jr. – one-time 22-percent stakesholder in and general manager of the Miami Dolphins, and then owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, among other ventures – for $183 million U.S. This isn't part of an oil and gas outfit or a department store chain, after all.
These are the MONTREAL CANADIENS! A major part of our history, our heritage. You people have Betsy Ross stitching the stars near the stripes, we have the equipment guy armed with his own needle and thread repairing a hole in the Rocket's legendary No. 9 sweater.
Yes, it goes that deep.
The importance of the game to our culture cannot be overemphasized. Our deceased hockey legends lie in state, afforded the same status as renowned statesmen.
Compounding the anxiety over the Montreal issue, of course, is the fact that the Canadian identity is such a fragile thing, being overshadowed as we are by our superpower neighbors to the south. As American comedian Jonathan Winters once quipped, memorably, during a performance at the Montreal Comedy Festival: "Yes, we're going to take you over. But we promise to do it quietly."
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Betsy Ross stitching the stars near the
stripes, we have the equipment guy armed with
his own needle and thread repairing a hole in the
Rocket's legendary No. 9 sweater. Yes, it goes that deep." |
Well, this is not quiet. This, for all those who looked underneath the Christmas tree one frigid morning in Saskatoon or Shawinigan during their childhood and giggled in glee at discovering a Canadiens' jersey wrapped up in the festive paper, will doubtless be taken quite personally. As franchises in this country fight to remain competitive for their very survival, and the number of teams located in sunny climes in the United States (in cities that have absolutely no traditional or emotional ties to the game) continues to mushroom, horrified Canadians will liken this sale to the Japanese anteing up enough yen to buy the Statue of Liberty or a Kuwati takeover of Abe Lincoln's log cabin.
Alarm bells will be clanging from Victoria, B.C., to Charlottetown, P.E.I. And, in the broad scope of things, this should be taken as yet another warning knell to what remains of the Canadian-based NHL family:
If an enterprise as monied and powerful as Molson Breweries can't afford to maintain a competitive product in this country, what chance do the owners in Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa have at long-term survival? From a local standpoint, both city and team however, the sale of the Habs to American interests makes nothing but business sense (assuming, of course, that Gillett Jr.'s pockets are as deep as we're led to believe). What does the citizenry of Montreal care who owns the Canadiens as long as the team stays put and can be shaped into a competitive entity again? There were no prospective buyers in Quebec or anywhere else in Canada, for that matter.
Under the current economic conditions, the Canadiens are not the Canadiens we knew; the Canadiens we grew up with; the Canadiens of lore. Not the Canadiens, certainly, of Doug Harvey and Jacques Plante and Rocket Richard and Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur. They are at present nothing more than a pale imitation, a bunch of posers decked out in fancy bleu, blanc et rouge duds. The influx of American money into a business that earns its profits in Canadian funds, but is forced to pay the majority of its expenses in U.S. dollars can only aid the on-ice product.
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Moving the Habs -- from a Canadian as
well as a league standpoint -- is unthinkable,
comparable to ripping the Yankees out of the Bronx or moving the Celtics to Hartford
full time." |
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, perceived in this country mainly as an NBA-trained guy entrusted with the complete obliteration of top-flight pro hockey in Canada, yesterday reiterated his promise that under no circumstances would the Canadiens be uprooted.
And on this point, at the very least, we must take him at his word.
The National Hockey League needs a strong franchise in Montreal, whoever might be bankrolling it.
Moving the Habs – from a Canadian as well as a league standpoint – is unthinkable, comparable to ripping the Yankees out of the Bronx or moving the Celtics to Hartford full-time. Surely they wouldn't generate remotely the same allure as, say, the Milwaukee Canadiens or the Portland Canadiens. Sport is nothing if not about tradition, about glory, and the Canadiens still reek of that, managing to survive even the end of hockey's most famous arena, the Montreal Forum.
So another era ended with the announcement by Molson. Pending what should be a slam-dunk rubber-stamp approval by the league's board of governors, the Montreal Canadiens will be the property of Mr. George Gillet Jr. And, yes, he's American.
Our hearts don't have to understand it, necessarily. But our heads are left no choice but to accept it. Yes, even Joe Canadian's.
George Johnson covers the NHL for the Calgary Herald. His NHL column appears every week during the season on ESPN.com.
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ALSO SEE
Engblom: Strange with no Molson in Montreal
Canadiens sold to American, will stay in Montreal
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