Wednesday night was Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals in Vancouver. I sat down at 4:00pm to watch all the pre-game stuff before the actual game started at 5:00pm. The game started and the Canucks (Vancouver) were playing great; I was sure that my man Alexandre Burrows would get a goal in . . . no such luck. The Bruins (Boston) managed to get the all important first goal of the game. Things didn't get much better for the Canucks from there, the Bruins got in 3 more goals while the Canucks were still at 0. They decided to pull out their goalie Luango and have an open net . . . this resulted in the Bruins scoring their 4th goal of the game. By third period the score was 4-0 in favor of the Boston Bruins and it looked as though the Vancouver Canucks had no chance. I was such a strong believer in the Canucks and I was sure that they would at least score one goal. I believed that until the clock was 00:00 in the third period.
The winner of the Stanley Cup was the Boston Bruins, I was disappointed but I had to admit that the Bruins were the better team. They were presented with the Stanley Cup, and their amazing goalie Tim Thomas was named MVP. Now since this final game was in Vancouver, I was surprised to see that the arena stayed full. Almost everyone there stayed in their seats to give a round of applause to the rival team and even give a standing ovation to Tim Thomas as he was presented as MVP. At that moment I was extremely proud to be Canadian, to see how well Vancouver was handling the Canucks losing . . . that all changed very quickly.
"Breaking News: Car lit on fire on --- street" Headlines like these suddenly interrupted all the post-game information on the TV. The cameras were directed away from the Boston Bruins celebrating in the arena to what was happening outside in the streets of Vancouver. Mayhem. Innocent people's cars were being lit on fire, port-a-potties were being tipped over and thrown, police vehicles were being destroyed and finally set on fire, and even stores were being broken into and looted. Hundreds of fights broke out, and rioters attacked people trying to stop the mayhem.
The bridges were closed down and businesses locked their doors. There was no getting in or out of downtown Vancouver. Police forces from out of the city were brought in to help try to control the mobs.
I watched all this unfold before me until 11:30pm but it carried on long after I turned off the television. I was embarrassed. Embarrassed of what the major city of my province was doing, how stupid those people causing the riots could be. Vancouver looked to me like a scene out of an apocalypse movie; the sky was red and smoke filled, fire was everywhere, and there were the scary riot control police with their shields marching down the streets. I was terrified just watching it on television. My friend's dad and uncle were among the riots happening (not involved in the riots, but they were unable to get out of downtown Vancouver). My friend was terrified, she kept trying to get a hold of her dad or uncle and there was no answer from either of them. We didn't know if they were okay until this morning; luckily they were fine.
The aftermath of the riots were: 15 cars burned (including two police cars), 9 officers were injured (some suffered from human bites), tons of people on the streets injured, around 100 arrests made (more to come), one man in critical condition (he fell off a viaduct while being stupid), but no fatalities have been yet reported and hopefully there won't be any.
This wasn't the first time there has been a major riot in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. On June 14, 1994 Vancouver rioted after the Canucks lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the New York Rangers. The 1994 riots resulted in $1.1 million in damage. You'd think that after that Vancouver would be ready for Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. Apparently not.
This is what the scene was like in downtown Vancouver Wednesday night.
Now here's the thing. A lot of the world is saying that this is what Vancouver does when they lose a hockey game. This is sadly not true. The rioters were prepared for a riot. They had the gasoline ready to burn vehicles and they were equipped to cause mayhem. They were ready even before knowing the outcome of the game which proves that this would have happened whether the Canucks had won or lost. But these rioters, they were not true Vancouver Canucks fans. If they were, they would have been proud that their team had gone as far as they did. These rioters were just people looking to start a fight. They were just stupid people who did stupid things and they are going to pay for it. There is a page on Facebook where photos are uploaded from Wednesday night of people causing damage. If anyone recognizes people in the photo they tag them so the police can make arrests.
What happened in Vancouver is really embarrassing for the city and Canada. But in no way should the riots reflect on the city of Vancouver or the Canucks fans. No one is proud of the people who caused the riots. These idiots who rioted do not represent Canucks fans, the city of Vancouver, OR Canada. Please remember that and try to refrain from reflecting all this on Vancouver.
Thursday came and Vancouver was left with the aftermath of Wednesday night. Thursday made me a proud Canadian again. Tons and tons of civilians in Vancouver came out to do their part in cleaning up the city's damage after the riots. These people were the true Canucks fans. These are the people who you should remember. These are the people who represent the Canucks, these are the people who represent Vancouver, and these are the people who represent Canada. Remember them.
I would personally like to apologize to the world on behalf all those horrible rioters.
Please forgive the Canucks
Please forgive Canucks fans
Please forgive Vancouver
Please forgive British Columbia
Please forgive Canada
-ocean10kv
Author's Note: Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Stanley_Cup_riot
http://www.globaltoronto.com/Vancouver+riot+2011+Police+press+conference+June+round/4958585/story.html
