Montreal Canadiens: Canada's Team?

No more Canadian teams left.

 Gear up for a long summer, because it's beent this way for the last 15 years.

And what's this about a poll stating that the Montreal Canadiens are "Canada's Team"?

What a crock.

Don't get me wrong, that may be what the majority of Canadians think.  Apparently 40% of Canadians identify with Les Canadiens as their team of choice compared with the Toronto Maple Leafs at 24%.

Really?

 Then a Toronto Sun editor Mike Strobel takes pot-shots at Canadiens fans, citing that Habs fans are "arrogant" and complains about the nick-names that Habs fans give to their players, i.e. Guy "The Flower" Lafleur or Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

Again...really?

 Granted, an editor for a Toronto newspaper, from the city that loathes and hates everything Les Habitants, bashing the fans in Montreal is not going to be any big surprise.  Yet, I get the feeling that this extends beyond Toronto...even beyond Southern Ontario.

Fourty percent of the nation is not majority.  Experiencing other Canadian cities, such as Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Quebec City, Ottawa, and Toronto, there is many more fans out there that loathe and hate everything that Les Canadiens stand for than will say that they are a good team.

Point made yet?

Smack talk happens in hockey circles, whether you are an Atlanta Thrasher fan from Seattle or a Detroit Red Wing fan from Oklahoma.  Yet, there seems to be a more bitter, inner hatred for Montreal due to their history and the pride that the city and their fans take in their team.

When it comes to actually watching a Habs game on TV, good luck...unless you have RDS.  Now I'm not saying there's a conspiracy out there against everything Montreal Canadiens, don't get me wrong.  There is a distinct hatred towards the Canadiens that no other team seems to get.  Yet, the Toronto Maple Leafs also harbour those hate feelings in some other fans.  But when it is all said and done, there seems to be a unique, intense, and altogether raging loathing for the Canadiens that cannot be surpassed by any team.

Again, smack talk happens, yet sometimes it can turn into a perpetual hatred for a team and their fans. 

Canada's team?  That's for you to decide.

Canadiens: Canada's team article here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080429/national/habs_cda_team 

You can check Mike Strobel's article here: http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Strobel_Mike/2008/04/16/5296621.php

HNIC Article: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=360801&page=NewsPage&service=page