LFV Day 2: Amazing Hockey
LIVE FROM VANCOUVER!
Just got back to my hotel from the Canucks game a little while ago. It was unbelievable. Having experienced a long playoff run and a Stanley Cup championship in Tampa, I thought I knew what exciting hockey was. Wow. I didn't know anything.
It's not even the playoffs. It was a big game for the Canucks tonight, but not that big, you know? The atmosphere in that building was incredible. Absolutely unforgettable. I realized that I'd never really been to a hockey game until I went to one in Canada.
I'm sure I sound a little crazy, but for as big a hockey fan as I am, it's just a great feeling to be surrounded by people who feel the same way about the game. Yeah, we don't have that in Tampa. Not to mention, five goals in the first six minutes, that was pretty intense.
Earlier in the day, I walked around Stanley Park and visited the aquarium. Just in general, this city is pretty awesome. Vancouverites, I love your town! Mind if I stay?
Anyway, one more thing before I sign off for the night. Concepts! Got a couple for the Canucks and a bonus for the Nashville Predators, their opponent tonight. First one's my favorite.
Love the logo. Love the green jerseys. Love it all. (I love it so much maybe I'll marry it.)
Another design I've got here incorporates the same cool logo but it just doesn't work well for me, overall.
And we continue this downward tumble with a yellow Preds jersey. No, this wasn't meant to be an in-your-face for the Canucks' big win tonight, it was just all I had.
I really don't like yellow jerseys. Only seems to look good on the Swedes.
And finally, I leave you with a glimpse of the game — specifically the singing of the national anthems — from my particular vantage point in section 329.
40 comments:
Hey, did you happen to get a glimpse of all the championship banners hanging at Choke Place?
Nooooooooooo...well fuck you and your beloved Canucks. There hasn't been a team you sucked off more than Chokecouver since you started this blog.
Oh yeah and the city may look pretty on the outside but if you look closer it's actually rated the least safe Canadian city over 300,000 because of all the crack dealers, pot heads and prostitutes down on Robson.
Enjoy your time, I hope a polar bear eats you so we don't have to read any more of the biased bullshit.
Holy smokes, what was that last post about?
Just wanted to say that I'm glad you enjoyed the city, and the game too. I suspect our arena's not as intense as Montreal or Toronto, but you got to see a Canadian arena and the unique fanaticism of the Canucks fan.
Riiiight, because our potheads are SO dangerous, and everyone knows polar bears run rampant here...
Chris, you picked a great day to come to Vancouver! Not only did the Canucks score six goals, but it didn't rain!!
This isn't about how safe Vancouver is, it's about a man coming to see his favorite sport is one of the best cities in North America to watch a game. Grow up.
good to here that you've hada great time here and man id be glad if u ran this website from vancouver
and for that remark jrhippe made i just got therse words for you ..... go suck off you dad
also if you have a chance check out a giants game at Pacific Colliseum WHL games are really intense
Glad you're enjoying my home province. I'm not a fan of the city so much (grew up in the middle of nowhere, BC) - if you get a chance, take the ferry over to Victoria. It's a beautiful ride (although expensive, if you're taking a car) and IMHO Victoria's a more interesting city than Vancouver.
And, to be fair, you don't need to be in Canada for great hockey atmosphere - Chicago was probably the noisiest arena I've been to (my limited list of venues I've attended: the Saddledome, Pepsi Center (in my new home city, Denver), and the United Center (Chicago).g
that concept of the green sweater wit h the johnny canuck logo looks great and i think would be perfect for a 3rd jersey.
I am so fraking jealous, been wanting to visit Vancouver for awhile now. Have fun up there Chris, and don't mind that SOB who posted first. Oh by the way, when you get back, watch some Battlestar Galactica and Stargate shows, just don't be surprised if you see Vancouver in the background. have fun, stay safe from those rampant polar bears they apparently have walking around.
I've been to a few games in Tampa and I can see how someone would be impressed by a hockey experience like one in Vancouver. I got the impression that most fans in St. Pete Times Forum were there because there was alcohol and people beating each other up. That, or they were Sabres fans.
Chris, you're absolutely right about seeing a hockey game in Canada. Next trip, you should visit Montreal.
That's where I went to see my frist game, Montreal vs. Boston, in 1998 during the stretch drive for the playoffs for both teams. There were fights, a lot of goals, a fast paced and flowing game (only one icing), and the plexiglass broke when one of the Canadiens was warming up! What a great time!
jrhippe... wow. I love you. When people like you start showing up, that's when you know you're doing something right.
And you say I talk about the Canucks more than any other team? You mean the Lightning right? I'm from Tampa, you know? Where we did win a championship banner. I watched them hang it and everything.
Also I can't help that the majority of the concept art sent to me happens to be Vancouver-related, but that couldn't matter less.
The most important thing is "the crack dealers, pot heads and prostitutes on Robson." If not for them, where would I get my fix, my high, or my late night companionship? So don't knock them, okay?
Anyway, I am enjoying my time here a great deal, thank you, and I eagerly await becoming the meal of a polar bear. In the meantime, feel free to immediately stop visiting MY blog so as to avoid my "biased bullshit."
And have a fantastic day, my old friend!
i lived in vancouver and never had any problems.
ive gone to games and have had fun and there wasnt 6 goals scored (unless it was for the avs a few weeks ago)
chris you're good luck. go back to vancouver and get seasons tickets.
Peter Puck, sorry I deleted your comment. We're not going to digress into personal attacks here. As you said, this is about hockey. So I'll repost here the relevant part of your comment.
Chris, I'm very glad to hear that you are enjoying your trip to Vancouver! I have traveled extensively all over the world and I can say without a doubt that Vancouver rates right up there with the most beautiful cities on the planet. And the passion for hockey is in the very soil that you are walking on. Take it all in!!!
Thanks!
Anyway...i kinda like the second Canuck concept, but without the "Vancouver".
First off, Good job Chris in handling jrhippe. Witty and sarcastic without a trace of aggression, just the way I like it.
I would ask everyone to just ignore him, he wants to get a rise out of people, and the best way to "get back at him" (for lack of a better term) is to not give him the satisfaction.
Though born and raised far from Vancouver, as a Canadian it's great to hear enthusiasm about one of our cities from a visitor :).
You certainly attended the right game! No disrespect mean t to the Canucks, but seeing them score 6 goals in one game may be the equivalent of seeing the Sasquatch or Loch Ness Monster.
And now finally to the jersey art....I can't help it, I don't like the logo! It still reminds me of Vachon brand too much....and though their treats may be delectable, on a jersey...it just doesn't look right to me.
Those are nice jerseys though...just put the John Slabyk logo on there, and it would be perfect.
Well, ok...I'm not a hue fan of the green on the lower half of the away jersey..so just make that white and put the John Slabyk logo on there, and it would be perfect.
oh, one more thing. i notice that SanJose, LA, and Phoenix are wearing whites at home. What gives? It is totally confusing me when I just got used to home team in dark.
Could this be a strategic move from the NHL and RBK to prime us for third jerseys? Conspiracy!
Enjoy Vancouver, Chris. I was there a few years back, LOVED IT!
Fair enough. I'm just not sure what jr's beef is all about?
I was excited to read about your visit to Vancouver. But jr's post got my back up a little! I was hoping that you would delete it right away.....especially since he swore and attacked you personally in it. And it's the first post you see. I didn't find this acceptable and therefore reacted with some sick humor at the expense of our good friend jr. At least I left the swearing out of my post.
Anyway, enjoy the rest of your stay and don't worry....the bears you see everywhere are just sculptures and won't eat you! Keep up the good work.
Hello Chris! Welcome to Vancouver! That's great that you are having a great time. Like Raj said and like I've said before, make sure you check out a Giants game at the Pacific Coliseum.
As for the green Johnny Canuck V green sweaters, I AM WITH YOU ALL THE WAY!! :)) Love the crest, love the green! However, I would use more blue on the whites. As much as I loved the 80s all-green Hartford Whalers uniforms, I would have rather have the Canucks keep their blue pants and blue helmets. A green Canucks sweater and green socks would look great with the blue helmets and pants-more Canuck-like and less Whaler-like.
Now, Chris, as much as we agree with the Johnny Canuck V and the colour green, I just can't understand why you don't like yellow. :( Yellow is a colour that stimulates positive energy and it has a unique look and feel to it. That Nashville concept looks much, much nicer than that horrible greenish-yellow colour the Predators used previously. Yellow with navy looks incredibly sharp. Yellow gives light coloured sweaters(which should be worn at home by the way) a second dimension. If the Canucks had ditched the gaudy Flying V design on their home yellow and road black uniforms and replaced it with the Johnny Canuck V or the classic Stick 'n Rink, their 80s uniforms would have looked much better. More winning would have helped too. Yellow sweaters, like the shade used for the Nashville concept, would look great with either black, blue, navy, or bluish purple. Anyone of these dark colours would tone down the brightness of the yellow. But if yellow were mixed with just orange, red, or a vibrant green with no dark colour, then the yellow would look too bright. I love the traditional white too, but having only white as the light colour gets too boring. If the Kings went back to their original colours(change gold to yellow) and Nashville went with the yellow concept posted, there would be more variety in light-coloured uniforms.
Anyway, Chris, enjoy your stay here in Vancouver. Make sure you also tour the neighbourhoods of Kerrisdale and Kitsilano. Take care.
One time, I was in Vancouver and just about got eaten by a polar bear, but I got back to my igloo just in time, eh?
Hey Chris glad you hear that you are enjoying Vancouver we went their on our honeymoon last April. If you go to the steam clock area there is a great shop that sells hockey jerseys for a great price I know that it is on the same side of the street as the clock. I am a huge Stars fan and found a old white home jersey from the Stanley cup years for $65 Canadian! I never got a chance to check out the prositutes on Robson, my wife would kind of frown on that. Vancouver is very nice, like the David said if you get a chance go to Victoria, that is where we stayed try to catch a Salmon Kings game. I found everyone in Victoria and Vancouver were very friendly. We were at this sports bar watching Game 7 of the Stars/Vancouver series, I was in my Stars jersey and everyone was really great, some even wanted to buy us dinner. We plan to go back in about 5 years can't wait. Have a great time!
i'm speaking on the reason the sharks wear whites at home, but i'm sure that LA and Phx do it for the same reasons. they only wear whites at home occasionally to showcase the away jerseys the home crowd. that way when SJ visits LA, then LA can do the same thing. It's a give and take thing and I'm all for it when the teams try to mix it up a little bit.
I can't believe you not only kept my comment but also replied! Oh sarcasm as PointMeAtTheSky pointed out -- wow, you're such a pompous dork.
My main beef is how can anyone call Vancouver a great hockey city. Out of the cities with an NHL team I would go: 1 Toronto, 2 Edmonton, 3 Montreal, 4 Calgary, 5 Ottawa and then Vancouver. Hate to break it to you, Christopher, but you picked the wrong NHL city to go to.
And there are minor hockey cities in Canada that are also better than Chokecouver: Kitchener ON, London ON, Red Deer AB, Brandon MB, Halifax NS, etc. The list go on.
Again your biased, acne-face couldn't see around that.
What did Peter Puck say? Feel free to email me: jrhippe@msn.com
Thanks. I appreciate it.
yikes... jrhippie just out of curiosity where are you from? wherever it is Vancouver is better. constantly rated as a top city in the world and great people. vancouver has a longer sell-out streak of any of those other cities you mentioned. and what are you talking about robson street hookers? i assume you mean hastings in the downtown east side. robson is the touristy high end shops street. have you ever even been to vancouver? i really hope you arent canadian as you are embarassing the rest of us.
anyways, glad youre enjoying your time here chris! i was at the game as well last night! try come back for a play off game! towels everywhere and the rich people in the lower bowl sell their seats to real fans. it'll give you goose bumps. i love the green jersey! if youre looking for anything fun to do tonight go for a walk down granville street. bars and clubs everywhere and you might even see a hammered 18 year old get srrested if youre lucky. enjoy the rest of your stay!
As an interesting side note...
I didn't watch the game last night, but in listening to an archive of the post-game radio show this morning, it was repeatedly said that the building was dead after the first period and the fans were totally out of the game.
So apparently you actually caught GM Place on a quiet night (save for the first ten minutes, I'm sure).
For you Jrhippe,
http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html
Probably too many words for you, but there is a nice graph you may like.
Also you can check this page out for polar bear habitat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear
Again I encourage you to ignore the words as they will only confuse you. You will notice that Vancouver does not fall into this area. (IF you can find Vancouver that is.)
By the way could you please post a link to the information calling Vancouver the "least safe city in the Canada." (A number of others from Canada in the top 25 too) I live in Edmonton and although I am ashamed of I'm pretty sure we have Canada's worst crime rate.
Anyways, I won't argue with Edmonton being near the top of best hockey cities, however I am pretty sure that any Canadian City or Hockey Market US city (Wild, Red Wings, Rangers etc) falls into this category as well. I have games in all these cities except New York, and have found the fans to be equally passionate.
If that was too much for you I have posted one more link that I presume might be more your "style."
http://www.coloring.com/
Enjoy!
PS. The definition of BLOG is "a publication of PERSONAL THOUGHTS, EXPERIENCES, and web links. It is updated frequently and is usually a mixture of what is happening in a PERSON'S life and what is happening on the web or in the media."
What's the address of your blog?
Crime Stats:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Canada
Any idiot can cheer for a team while it's winning. To stay with a team that hasn't had success in 40 long years?
That takes us canuck fans. We love our canucks no matter what.
(Exceptions being Naslund, Cowan and Isbister)
Personally, I would go with a darker green on the first concept and move the Johnny V to secondary status. It still strikes me as being a little too cartoony for my tastes. I like the idea behind it, though.
Glad you're having a great time in Vancouver, Chris! I think you're a good luck charm for us. We'll have to fly you up for the playoffs.
Awful awful awful awful Canucks jerseys. I vow to burn down GM Place if they decide to wear anything with that logo on the ice.
Jrhippe made some ridiculous statements in that first post, but the shiver-inducing thought that people in this city actually WANT that logo to be used makes me lean, ever so slightly, towards his support. The Flying V was less of a cut-and-paste copout than this.
And every repost is a repost repost - just in case (and because this post brings up the same subject matter as before).
---
"Then what the heck do you call the Philadelphia Flyers' Flying P crest? The Boston Bruins' Spoked B? The Calgary Flames' Flaming C? The Montreal Canadiens' CH? Lazy designs?"
-I hate the flaming C with a passion for the same reason as the V logo (although they went even further in their laughably nonexistent design work with their flag patches). Ditto the flying P. If you're going to hire graphic artist to come up with a logo, make them actually do some WORK.
-The Bruins and Habs can be excused for their simplistic designs because of the age of their clubs and their desire to maintain their vintage legacy, one that Vancouver, compared to the Original 6, shouldn't be pretending to have. Calling a few years in the WHL a legacy is laughable compared to that teams like the Leafs and Habs possess.
"diehard fans in any particular city not only cheer on the home team because of the local identity, they also cheer on the team name."
They'll cheer on whatever name the organization has decided upon. They could be called the Vancouver Marshmallowpuffs and people are still going to support them because they're THE LOCAL TEAM. The team's name is a completely independent variable, it's where they play that's significant for the majority of fans.
"The name "Canucks" was chosen in honour of Canada's fictional hero, Johnny Canuck. Most people in the US don't know "what a Canuck" is nor the history behind Vancouver's proud hockey namesake."
Right, let's pick something that is unknown to virtually everybody (or at best is identified as a negative stereotype) instead of showcasing something about Vancouver that the world over recognizes and celebrates. Putting JC's head on the logo isn't going to say anything about what a Canuck is, it's just going to leave the vast majority of people saying "huh?".
"We are Canucks, not Orcas."
Nothing about this proposed logo says ANYthing about Canucks either. You've been rambling on yet nothing you've said reflects how this miracle logo is suddenly going to create a dictionary reference for 'canuck'. It's a V with a head on it. Saying it's JC's head dosen't contribute anything because 99% of people frankly just aren't going to care who his identity is. Basically all you've said is 'The logo identifies us with the Canucks because Johnny Canuck's last name is 'Canuck'". Circular reasoning dosen't make for a good jersey logo, neither does letter-stamping purely for the sake of letter-stamping. It's a weak secondary logo at best, and that's only because I could use a sheet of paper as a urinal and it'd turn out better than the rink-and-stick.
Matthew, we will agree to disagree, okay? No hard feelings, okay? :) You prefer logos that have more detail to them, I prefer simplicity. Fair enough. :) We all have our respective opinions and tastes. However, it is always good to keep an open mind. Chris and I both love the Johnny Canuck V because it truly defines the Canucks' name.
Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Canuck
I love the green the way it is on this concept. Not too bright, but vibrant enough to stand out on the ice. Green would look absolutely great on the Canucks. If the Canucks had gone with the Johnny Canuck V or something similiar to it back in 1970 and never changed it at all, most Canuck and non-Canuck fans would love it. The Vancouver Giants of the junior Western Hockey League have a similiar logo. The Pittsburgh Penguins' Skating Penguin logo has a cartoony look to it, but like the JC-V logo, it doesn't look overly animated. The penguin defines the name and the gold triangle defines the city. Simple, yet effective. Pittsburgh fans were thrilled when Mario Lemieux brought that logo back. The Chicago Blackhawks have the head of Chief Black Hawk. If you were to put the JC-V alongside of the logos of teams like Calgary, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, it wouldn't look out of place at all. The BC Lions' logo is also very similiar to the JC-V logo. Very much the same concept.
Let's forget about Vachon Pastries and look on the positives of the Canucks' future crest. The best way to judge a logo is to compare it to other teams' logos. At first, I wasn't all that crazy about having just Johnny's head with the V. But after doing some comparisons with other longtime NHL logos, I fell more and more in love with it. I even bought a T-shirt off of eBay with the JC-V logo. We are Canucks, not Orcas.
Speaking of the BC Lions, Chris, if you ever have a chance, you should also come to Vancouver in the summer time. Do you like football? Check out a Lions game at BC Place Stadium. Great atmoshere and the tickets are more affordable. Canadian football is almost the same as American football. If you like soccer, check out the Vancouver Whitecaps at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. When the weather is nice, there is nothing like being at an outdoor sporting event with a beer and a hotdog in hand! Do you like soccer? The Whitecaps and your hometown Tampa Bay Rowdies(bring them back!) had some memorable games in the old NASL.
Also, Chris, if you like good restaurants, go to White Spot. There is one on the corner of Georgia and Seymour Streets. They also have big-screen TVs to watch sporting events. It's my favourite restaurant and if you like pasta, go to the Old Spaghetti Factory. There is one in Gastown.
Anyway, Chris, enjoy the rest of your time in Vancouver. Your NHL Tournament of Logos website is first-class. Keep up the great work! :))
Glad to hear that you're having a good time!
Vancouverites- My GF and I were thinking of places to move to (we move every sept. to a new city doesn't matter where) and it came down between Vancouver and Li'hue, Kauai. We were both about to choose Vancity until we both read the newspaper for 3 weeks and decided, at least to us, that there was too much crime. At least too much for us to feel safe. So we picked Kauai. We currently live in Denver and both have never felt un-safe anywhere we go. Plus everyone has the mid-west niceness without the mid-west attitude towards life. If you ever can, please visit.
Sorry guys and gals, but the druggie image is too much for us.
Chris- Glad you are enjoying your vacation. But when do you think we'll see some more ghettofarmboy? I have been wondering what happened to his project. I really like him.
I visited Vancouver a couple of years ago and I have to say I didn't have any problems with crack dealers, pot heads, prostitutes OR polar bears. I really found it to be quite enjoyable. Great weather too! (A rarity, I know. It was just one of several visits I have made to Vancouver in the past.)
As to your response, Chris. Great job in dealing with this individual. Just one thing... You DO realize that banner should be hanging in Calgary, right? I just watched a "Classic Series" feature on the 2004 Cup on NHL Network, and the replays of that Gelinas "no-goal" in Game 6 STILL clearly show the puck crossing the line.
I somehow made it into the Maple Leafs section at a Stars game once. They were all very nice. I know some people from Winnipeg, they were nice too. The only dicks I ever talked to from Canada were from Ottawa. But I'm sure it was just a few bad apples. I think they were just mad because they finally realized that their logo really does look like Stiffler with Marvin the Martians hat. Yeah, that has to be it.....
Your talking about east hastings, not robson. Also we do have banners for various division titles and couple conferance winners. We also won the cup once too (a real fan would no when). I agree the amount of Canucks coverage on this site is disproportianate but, dont you think thats because more canucks fans are submitting fan art than fans of other teams?
But dude its about love not hate.
Then again this all makes sense if you a leafs fan, or someone in edmonton who has to remind himself of the gretzky days just so he can look at himself (or herself) in the mirror.
Carnell T.
Glad you liked Vancouver, you came at a great time, saw a great game and got some rare March sunny weather.
It is a great city, no doubt.
Canucks fans can be as lame as the next team when the nucks are losing but when a game is good they're among the best.
Come back anytime.
your really lucky, ive been wanting to go there for a long time
im from tampa, and ive been to a couple of games, i went to one the stanley cup year, and the atmosphere was good, but i cant imagine the atmosphere in a canadian arena
and to the guy who posted the colouring book website ahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahaha that made my day
loungo winning the mask tournament probilygot jrhippe all mad lmao
keep up the good work
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