I can’t say that I’m surprised, in fact, I actually expect to get sports fans asking me if I think another team’s fans or, in the case of the Olympics, if another country’s athletes and fans are going overboard with their celebrations, when they are victorious. I received one such inquiry on Sunday. This particular fan was upset, pointing out that the American athletes and fans were in some cases, a bit too celebratory, and not surprising, this Canadian fan, was upset that American athletes would enjoy their victory, when a Canadian athlete who lost, was in close proximity. I’m almost certain that this discussion would not have taken place, if Team Canada had not lost to the USA in men’s hockey. It’s funny how when fans are in a state of despair, they need to find something to help them vent their frustration and anger. It’s always easy in that kind of quandary, to blame something or anything, on somebody or something external. A disappointed Canadian hockey fan, finds any slightly over the top celebration from the underdog Americans to be offensive.
The concern by the fan is a non issue, as far as I am concerned. No one from the United States seems to be upset if Canadians, especially hockey fans, get loud or whoop it up when they succeed, and they are quite loud at the hockey games in Vancouver. Considering how badly Americans are outnumbered at the Winter Games in terms of visitors and fans supporting their athletes, I think they should absolutely go nuts in their celebrations, especially after their shocking result, in knocking off the heavily favored Canadian men’s team in hockey. Ryan Miller’s heroics, has led to one of the biggest upsets in hockey history, in front of the largest TV audience in hockey history. With only a small number of American fans in the arena, with a few flags, these people should have paraded themselves through Vancouver and Whistler.
If anything at all has been too celebratory, its been some of the Canadian sports media, who are proving to be bigger homers than I was, when I went on the air in the early nineties on the Fan,as the ultimate Leafs fan. Back then, I was breaking all the rules of traditional journalism, and I was doing this deliberately. Now, it seems that it’s getting more difficult, to find broadcasters who aren’t cheerleading for their country. Two of the best, who don’t engage in this, are Bob Costas of NBC, and TSN’s Brian Williams, although they aren’t the only ones. TSN’s Dave Randorf, has always been a neutral observer, and totally professional, in all of his TV anchoring. It’s absolutely amazing how the traditions of journalism for some reporters and writers, goes right out the window, when the Olympics come around. I don’t understand why they feel the need to do this. I was a homer on the air, because at the time, no one else was doing it, so it was a great marketing tool for my program. It’s anything but individualistic now, because it’s so commonplace. In fact, it’s getting to be boring, with so many in the media drooling about their country and athletes.