[OT] THIS is American Sportsmanship ??

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

First Detroit fans boo the Canadian anthem when the Raptors played there this weekend (and kept shouting "USA! USA! USA!" instead of "Go Detroit!") and now the NY fans boo it when the Leafs played there last night. What is up with this? Is this what passes for sportsmanship south of the border these days?

3 friends of mine were at the Detroit game, as were huge amounts of other Raptor fans, and without them the attendence for that game would have been 2/3 what it was. Two of my friends got hit in the head by a drunken Detroit teen and the ushers refused to remove her because "she had paid for her ticket like everyone else" until my friends threatened to call the police for serving minors. Then they were harrassed by Detroit fans running through the empty row in front of them shouting things like "Go home, EH!" and "We don't want you here!". When driving back, these friends called into a Detroit sports show and explained what poor experience they'd had at the game and the host hung up on them and said over the air "if you Canucks don't like it, stay north of the border where you belong." Is this sportsmanship?

Thankfully, all hope is not lost because a few of the other Detroit fans were apparrently approaching every Raptor fan they could see and apologizing for their fellow fans that make Americans seem like such poor sportsmen.

 

[Dieter]

Well, I have no excuse for the NY fans...but the Islanders haven't seen a playoff in a while.

As for the Redwings fans...you had to have known what to expect. The fans at Joe Louis are notorious for their hooliganism. The place is old, dirty, and contemptable...so are most of the fans.

But that's hockey and that's definitely Detroit. The fans are almost as rowdy at the Fleet Center in Boston.

 

[RogueJK]

You have every right to be offended, but, as you said, not all Americans are like that. In fact, most aren't. Every country has a number of idiots which gives their country a bad name. I'm sure even Canada has a few bad apples.

Although a little rivalry is to be expected, booing the other country's national anthem and hassling their fans is way over the line.

I'm sure the alcohol didn't help, either.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Detroit fans are rough. NY fans are rough. Islanders fans are schmucks. (Hey, take that with a big grain of salt, I'm a Rangers fan)

I wore my Rangers jersey to a regular season game, Rangers v. Capitals, and endured the abuse. That's what happens when you're the visitor and emotions run high. People walkked by and told me, "Hey, your team sucks!" Grin and bear it.

And in the playoffs? Come on, what'd you expect? I'm not saying it isn't rude to boo the Canadian anthem and shout "USA!"...I'm just wondering why you expected it not to be rude?

Come on, warrior poet...embrace the rough beast, slouching toward Detroit to be born!

 

[King_Stannis]

there's a big difference between joe-average sports fan and a fan who happens to get tickets to a big event and proceeds to get mollared-up. trust me, the most rabid fans (ie the face painters) would treat any visiting fan like that. i've found that at most of the events i've been to, as long as you root quietly and don't get raucous rooting for the visiting team, most fans will cut you some slack. there are always, idiots, however, which means there are always exceptions. don't take it personally, though, most of those same people probably would have treated you guys much differently under other circumstances. it's that whole-group think mentality.

and, for as bad as u.s. fans can get, let's face it, at least there not as bad as european soccer fans. well, the raider fans come close, but, still.....

 

[A2Z]

Go easy on the Detroit fans. I mean they have to live in Detroit.

 

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

Come on, warrior poet...embrace the rough beast, slouching toward Detroit to be born!

Us warrior poets don't get impolite, we just decapitate everything in sight while reciting a timely dirge.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Us warrior poets don't get impolite, we just decapitate everything in site while reciting a timely dirge.

Sounds good for the next visit to Detroit...

 

[Desdichado]

May have spoke too soon. Did you see the Wings/Canuck's game last night? Hardly the paragon of sportsmanship there amongst the Canuck-fans. There was distinctive booing at the beginning of the American national anthem (although it finished to loud cheers) there were fights amongst Canuck's fans themselves because they were so drunk and pissed off, and the wings were pelted with bottles, cups, blue wigs, and apparently a small fish by Canuck's fans after scoring the fourth goal.

GO WINGS!!!

 

[jaerdaph]

Don't judge us Americans by a sporting event.

I can assure you when Canadian artists perform here in NYC at the Met, on Broadway, and at Shakespeare in the Park, we don't boo them.

I also want to say thank you to our Canadian neighbors for all the suport they have given our city and country since September 11th. A few months back, an organized group of Canadian tourists came to NYC to show their support. I was never more proud of our great neighbors to the North.