It’s cold in Winter-peg
If you can think back to 1991, the hottest item of sports merchandise was the San Jose Sharks jersey with a mean looking shark eating a hockey stick. They sold like crazy everywhere, and just not southern California.
We’re just guessing, but chances are Sharks jerseys are not flying off the shelves in Winnipeg right now.
In players profile posted on the Sharks website by NBC Sports California, players were asked what the worst city to play hockey in is.
Justin Braun: “Winnipeg. Dark, cold, Internet is a little questionable. Internet doesn’t work ever. I don’t know if they have Wi-Fi there yet.”
Tomas Hertl: “I think it’s Winnipeg because every time it’s so cold and dark there. I don’t like it there.”
Tim Heed: “Every time it’s so cold and dark there. I don’t like it there. It’s a bit cold.”
Winnipegers are not amused, some even suggesting that the Sharks would benefit from some cold winters because it would toughen them up.
There hasn’t been such an uproar since Wayne Gretzky innocently referred to the New Jersey Devils franchise as “Mickey Mouse,” early in his career. Fans responded by wearing mouse ears the next time Edmonton came to town.
It’s not uncommon for sports personalities to be asked about what their favourite road trip is, especially in baseball where stadiums are often unique from one city to the next.
Chicago Black Hawks star Duncan Keith was asked the same question by The Penticton Herald to which he said Vancouver, because it’s a homecoming. He also enjoys playing “anywhere in Canada.”
Most football players, if honest, will tell you they hate playing at the Oakland Coliseum. It’s dark and the fans have a reputation for being aggressive. In the old days of the Boston Gardens, basketball and hockey teams hated going there because the visitors dressing room was tiny and it only had two shower heads. Legend has it that a trainer monkeyed with the water so the showers could produce only cold water.
Filmmaker Guy Maddin poked fun at his hometown in the brilliant independent film “My Winnipeg.” It’s cold, dark and grey for most of the year, but it’s still home to Maddin and he loves the city.
Let’s be honest, professional sports are entertainment. Rivalries are great for sports. It’s also fun to have a team of villains who other teams like to hate — the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Philadelphia Flyers of the 1970s, the Motor City Bad Boys (the Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s.)
World Wrestling Entertainment recognized this by creating some of the most endearing villains in sports history — managers and wrestlers.
Just when you thought it was safe go back to Bell MTS Place, the Jets beat the Sharks 4-1. The Sharks will not return for a regular season game until next year.
Back to the original statements by the Sharks.
Winnipeg is a great city. The Guess Who came from there. It’s a great sports and arts city. It has a great daily newspaper.
It is cold and, in the summer, the black flies are pretty large.
Winnipegers need to have a sense of humour.
In pro sports, controversy sells, controversy is fun.
— James Miller Valley Editor