Anti-Habs crusade?

[alexstream]

we're in Montreal, the home team is the Habs.

yet, the media are on a anti habs crusade these days.

seeking every dark corner, stirring shit, etc.

Really un-cool. Pointless, useless. Unecessary. Cheapshot?!

We don't need that at this moment!

Go Habs Go!

[JLP]

Maybe the reason is we're assholes.

No MLB, no NFL, no NBA -- Montreal is the only big city in NA with just one top pro sport league.

Habs are not just a team, they are the team.

It becomes an obsession.

If the Habs lose, fans don't get disappointed, they get deeply frustrated.

Habs lose all the time, fans get angry, pissed off all the time.

An angry person wallowing in their own piss = asshole.

Assholes feel good when the media stirs shit.

[Bacchus]

This is a picture of the average Habs fan:

They get ecstatic when they win, and usher players as the next grea one; and when they lose, they think that they ought to scrap everything and start over. I'm pretty sure that most Habs fans are partially bi-polar.

Now, the journalists are the shit stirers fulling the psychological schism. In their desperate bid to sell, they will make a deal with the devil and sell their mothers.

Solution: Bring back the Nordiques, or some other Quebec city club. That way all the hacks can make sure that they are perenial losers, and leave the Habs alone.

Will this ever happen: No!

Edited March 6, 2007 by Bacchus

[tokyohabs]

Awfully harsh by JLP but in a sense true.

The media has always been the issue for the Habs. Always will be. There's nothing else to do for sports beat writers - even less now that the 'spos are gone. Only one focus point.

I think what really ticks them off is that bs teams like TB, Carolina, Anaheim, Nashville are winning cups, getting to the finals, contending. They can't get their collective head (and we know where it is firmly placed, in an upwards direction) around that We, l'Equipe, are not up there. I think it rankles them all the more that Detroit, a team with much crappier pedigree than us, is winning regularly.

someone in an earlier thread suggested that if the Habs were playing around Philly level, the pressure would be off. Dead wrong. Whether we're awful or on top, people do not lose interest. The criticism encircles the entire province.

Again, it would come down to a longer, bigger view of things, not just Boston killed us, we're shite, everybody out, BG for the plank.

But of course a rational, long-term analysis doesn't sell copy.

[justintb]

what it boils down to is fan support....

we keep on filling the rink, keep buying jerseys, merchandise, and very overpriced beer

does the upper management really care?....no! why? because we keep coming back hoping they wake the F up sometime soon! I liked it in the old days when the fans let the team have it and let them know they were upset (beers flying onto the ice), endless Boo-ing....Thats the kind of things that makes a GM say, okay something needs to be done fast. Instead, they got all of these things between commercial breaks now to keep the fans minds off the macrocosm with these stupid little microcosms aka "Energie Cardio, trivia things". The fans need to let this team have it if they play like a Jr B team next time on Home Ice. Like stated, THE CITY IS HOCKEY. The city has done its part for the hockey, now the hockey should do its part for the city!!!!

[InsaneHABSfan]

What the Montreal fans and media living in Montreal are missing is that they have a professional sports franchise that should be given better coverage. By this I mean a little more about how much Saku helps the city or why Kovalev and Samsonov chose Montreal over other teams as free agents. Markov has said he likes the city and he should be exposed more in clean media coverage instead of what dirty laundry can be found.

You guys do not know how envious I am that many of you can take in a game and see world class athletes play right in your back door. I would love Mississauga (Where I am) to have a professional NHL hockey team and would be going as much as possible to support them.

Yes I like the Avalanche too due to Patrick Roy playing with them in the past; however my heart has always been with the Habs It is frustrating tuning into stations (Team990) where they like to promote negativity towards the Habs like yesterdays crusade against Kovalev. Why not talk about how well Saku has played with basically one eye this year. I have noticed he misses the puck at this feet on occasion, but those thundering Koivu Checks make me smile!

My last few posts on Habsworld have been my personal positive vendetta against all the negativity against our Habs. I do not dispute the fact they have really stunk over the last couple of months, but this is our team and playoffs are close.

Just my 2cents as a habs fan.

GO HABS GO!

[Nilan]

what it boils down to is fan support....

we keep on filling the rink, keep buying jerseys, merchandise, and very overpriced beer

does the upper management really care?....no! why? because we keep coming back hoping they wake the F up sometime soon! I liked it in the old days when the fans let the team have it and let them know they were upset (beers flying onto the ice), endless Boo-ing....Thats the kind of things that makes a GM say, okay something needs to be done fast. Instead, they got all of these things between commercial breaks now to keep the fans minds off the macrocosm with these stupid little microcosms aka "Energie Cardio, trivia things". The fans need to let this team have it if they play like a Jr B team next time on Home Ice. Like stated, THE CITY IS HOCKEY. The city has done its part for the hockey, now the hockey should do its part for the city!!!!

that's pretty funny.

i have a question for you, and be honest. if you were a pro hockey player (and didnt come from montreal) and could make 3 million/year playing in pretty much any city in North America - would you come to Montreal?

[justintb]

that's pretty funny.

i have a question for you, and be honest. if you were a pro hockey player (and didnt come from montreal) and could make 3 million/year playing in pretty much any city in North America - would you come to Montreal?

Growing up in a small town in Ontario, it has always been my DREAM to play for the Montreal Canadiens. I will never cheer for any other team other then them, they have been my team since I was born, and I refuse to switch faiths. Why not come to Montreal? They have a few good prospects, the fans are crazy and passionate about the Habs like they are family to them, and you could help a team from falling, and making them stand tall, with the chances of raising a cup!! They are the most winningest team in hockey, and you could be viewed through eyes as HERO by fans, as opposed to someone on another team in North America.

[Talon]

I hate the Habs.

[Nilan]

Growing up in a small town in Ontario, it has always been my DREAM to play for the Montreal Canadiens. I will never cheer for any other team other then them, they have been my team since I was born, and I refuse to switch faiths. Why not come to Montreal? They have a few good prospects, the fans are crazy and passionate about the Habs like they are family to them, and you could help a team from falling, and making them stand tall, with the chances of raising a cup!! They are the most winningest team in hockey, and you could be viewed through eyes as HERO by fans, as opposed to someone on another team in North America.

im not talking about faith, im talking about where you would want to make your living.

i'll give you few reasons why not:

-unrealistic fan pressure (good for some, bad for many)

-ignorant media

-slim chances of raising cup in near future.

I love the team. but have to wonder why any sane person would want to play here (yes, you have the chance (slim) to be an absolute hero, but you have more of a chance of being run out of town on a rail).

this is beyond "spicy", the press treatment/media spotlight is bordering on insanity (i still cant get over that idiot hunting saks down while in the hospital last year and flahing a bulb into his eyes....)

[ShortHanded]

Growing up in a small town in Ontario, it has always been my DREAM to play for the Montreal Canadiens. I will never cheer for any other team other then them, they have been my team since I was born, and I refuse to switch faiths. Why not come to Montreal? They have a few good prospects, the fans are crazy and passionate about the Habs like they are family to them, and you could help a team from falling, and making them stand tall, with the chances of raising a cup!! They are the most winningest team in hockey, and you could be viewed through eyes as HERO by fans, as opposed to someone on another team in North America.

You could also be completely ripped apart for playing badly for a stretch of 20 games or so, lose all your confidence, develop an irregular heartbeat (Brisebois from all the booing and negativity) and constantly feel stressed and lose your confidence...

I posted the message below in another thread (about the Ducks / Habs) but I think it totally applies here. I don't think fans realize just how much of an effect they have on the team. Having read a lot about psychology and the impact of groups (aka fans and media) on individuals (aka the players), it's really safe to say that the constant negativity, booing, undermining, vilifying by the fans / media really can hurt the players' confidence, make them doubt themselves... etc. And I think when we complain that Gainey can't sign any UFAs, we should look at the situation like what's happening with Kovalev right now and ask who in their right mind would want to be put in that kind of a position.

Here's what I posted in the other thread:

The other thing I wanted to say is that it'll be much harder for Gainey to fill the team out with signed players than it would be for Burke in Anahiem... Montreal is WAYYYYYYY too stressful for most players' liking. The media looks for blood, and the fans (I admit I get caught up in it every so often) follow along... Gainey's hands are partially tied by the fact that he has to build almost exclusively from trades and drafts, and can't use all three ways to build (trades, drafts, and signings). Also, even when a player signs here or gets traded, I think it's fair to say taht many players' performances will suffer just by virtue of being in SUCH a stressful, and unfortunately, often negative, environment.

I just think of myself at work, and if a bunch of people are constantly criticizing me, I probably won't work nearly as well as if I wasn't feeling so stressed. Think about it; when players have a bad game or make a bonehead play in a city where there isn't so much focus on hockey, how much faster can they put it behind them and move on. When they do it in Montreal, there's 5 articles about it, they have to talk to a bunch of press and recount their mistake again and again.... how much of a hit would that take on someone's confidence... and then there's the regularly occuring controversies and nonsense like what's happening with Kovalev right now... players get misquoted and vilified...

I love hockey,a nd I love that it means so much to this city and that our team means so much, but I think it's also a BIG part of what disables us from getting better...

[Athlétique.Canadien]

And I think when we complain that Gainey can't sign any UFAs...

Interesting point of this is the opposite end of the spectrum. Which franchise has the smallest media that doesn't truly bother the team AT ALL?

Hint: They have won 3 cups in the last 12 years.

I wonder if having a relaxed media and impartial fans has anything to do with it. Take that Monsieur Brunet.

[ShortHanded]

Interesting point of this is the opposite end of the spectrum. Which franchise has the smallest media that doesn't truly bother the team AT ALL?

Hint: They have won 3 cups in the last 12 years.

I wonder if having a relaxed media and impartial fans has anything to do with it. Take that Monsieur Brunet.

New Jersey, eh?

I wouldn't want ppl to care that little, because it really is a shame when no one follows the team, but it gets to the point here where the environment is poisonous.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

New Jersey, eh?

I wouldn't want ppl to care that little, because it really is a shame when no one follows the team, but it gets to the point here where the environment is poisonous.

Exactly! If the Kovy interview is a reality would it have made the press if he was a Devil? Maybe. But they probably wouldn't bother.

Some NJ interviews in the locker room show only 2 or 3 mics in the players face, not 10,000!

Edited March 6, 2007 by ATHLÉTIQUE.CANADIEN

[KoZed]

Its funny that fans complain about the medias giving the Habs too much exposure; yet here we all are talking about every little Habs movement on an Internet forum.

We Habs fanatics, and few other teams in the NHL can say their fans are more fanatics than us.

The medias just reflects that. Could you imagine following the Habs and having just a couple of journalists on the beat, nothing more than 1 or 2 articles on the Habs in A WEEK?

There's about 12 articles on the Habs EVERY DAY. You think you could deal with having that amount but in something like 1 month?

Think what you want of the medias --I'm not defending them-- but they obey a very basic logic: they're on the pulse and fill a need.

The medias are there because of the fans. And we might not agree with what they say or do; but that's because you can't just agree with what you are told by the medias. You've got to take it with a grain of salt. I'm glad the majority of us here do it. But lot more people out there just swallow it up.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Just rename the "Le Presse" to "Le français seulement-Le Pequists" and get it over with

[KoZed]

Just rename the "Le Presse" to "Le français seulement-Le Pequists" and get it over with

La Presse is almost the only French newspaper that's federalist/liberal (exception for Le Droit). Quebecor (TVA, le Journal, etc) is traditionaly sovereigntist/pequiste, so is Le Devoir, Le Soleil and Radio-Canada.

[saskhab]

I'd be way more concerned if there was no media outcry after this team's performance since Christmas.

Someone mentioned if they were playing at Philly's level they wouldn't care as much. Well, THEY ARE playing at that level. And people are rightfully pissed off and embarassed by it.

Worse off, the team expects miracles from a 21 year old AHL rookie goalie to turn the team around on his own, since it's obvious no one else on the team could do it.

There's a lot of things going wrong right now. Good thing there were quite a number of things going right in previous years that we should recover in time.

I'm angry that we're stuck in netural on our rebuild process. We do need a 90 degree correction. Hopefully the long spring we're going to have gives everyone in management a chance to get away from the poisonous atmosphere for a few weeks and come back refreshed and with an aggressive plan for the summer, because we need life breathed back into this program from somewhere.

[Wamsley01]

This whole nonsense about players will not come here because of the media is nonsense.

Toronto has 4 major daily papers and is home to Sportsnet/TSN/The Score, plus has CTV/CityTV/Global/CBC/LeafsTV and the Fan590/AM640 that cover this team 24/7. Not to mention what it is like for the Yankees in NYC. The Leafs still recruit players as do the Yankees. If you pay the bucks and win games then the players will come. It is proven over and over again. If you want to blame a reason for the players not coming here look no further than taxes, not the media.

You should have seen the media storm when Corson walked out in the playoffs 3 years ago. Now every Leaf fan I know believes for a fact that Shayne Corson had sex with Mogilny's wife and Mogilny threatened to leave the team if Corson did not. Just like Leeman had sex with Iafrate's wife in the 80s forcing the Leafs to deal Iafrate.

Is the media bad in Montreal? Yes. But they are not the only city in the NHL with that problem.

That is why Gainey is doing the smart thing and building from within. Keep drafting good prospects and develop them and then they come up in the system and maintain a loyalty to the franchise. Look at Rivet's comments about Gainey. Once the team begins to ascend then the Free Agents will look past the Media/Taxes and be more than happy to sign on the dotted line. It has been a long and frustrating road with peaks and valleys, but looking at the depth in the minors shows that there is a bright future for this team.

The media is no different today than it was in 93. Shrewd talent evaluation and smart trades will win you championships. Free Agency is to add the FINAL PIECES, always has been. Other than Detroit in 2002 I cannot really recall a team loading up and winning the Cup. The Championship core always exists from internal development and trade acquisitions.

[saskhab]

The media IS different than 1993. Back in '93, print still dominated. Now it's instant information. Stories break quicker, and the first to the story generally commands it. There is a greater chance for errors, misquotes, and complete fabrications in this reality.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Passion for the Habs? Yeah, passion is rioting in the streets when you player has been suspended.

Why can't a hoard of fans wearing jeseys protest down at the La Presse building? If 400 showed up and peacefully demonstrated and did cat calls they just might listen.

Someone organize this - I think that's an idea

[ShortHanded]

The media IS different than 1993. Back in '93, print still dominated. Now it's instant information. Stories break quicker, and the first to the story generally commands it. There is a greater chance for errors, misquotes, and complete fabrications in this reality.

Yup. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

You could also be completely ripped apart for playing badly for a stretch of 20 games or so, lose all your confidence, develop an irregular heartbeat (Brisebois from all the booing and negativity) and constantly feel stressed and lose your confidence...

I posted the message below in another thread (about the Ducks / Habs) but I think it totally applies here. I don't think fans realize just how much of an effect they have on the team. Having read a lot about psychology and the impact of groups (aka fans and media) on individuals (aka the players), it's really safe to say that the constant negativity, booing, undermining, vilifying by the fans / media really can hurt the players' confidence, make them doubt themselves... etc. And I think when we complain that Gainey can't sign any UFAs, we should look at the situation like what's happening with Kovalev right now and ask who in their right mind would want to be put in that kind of a position.

Here's what I posted in the other thread:

The other thing I wanted to say is that it'll be much harder for Gainey to fill the team out with signed players than it would be for Burke in Anahiem... Montreal is WAYYYYYYY too stressful for most players' liking. The media looks for blood, and the fans (I admit I get caught up in it every so often) follow along... Gainey's hands are partially tied by the fact that he has to build almost exclusively from trades and drafts, and can't use all three ways to build (trades, drafts, and signings). Also, even when a player signs here or gets traded, I think it's fair to say taht many players' performances will suffer just by virtue of being in SUCH a stressful, and unfortunately, often negative, environment.

I just think of myself at work, and if a bunch of people are constantly criticizing me, I probably won't work nearly as well as if I wasn't feeling so stressed. Think about it; when players have a bad game or make a bonehead play in a city where there isn't so much focus on hockey, how much faster can they put it behind them and move on. When they do it in Montreal, there's 5 articles about it, they have to talk to a bunch of press and recount their mistake again and again.... how much of a hit would that take on someone's confidence... and then there's the regularly occuring controversies and nonsense like what's happening with Kovalev right now... players get misquoted and vilified...

I love hockey,a nd I love that it means so much to this city and that our team means so much, but I think it's also a BIG part of what disables us from getting better...

I agree with most of this.

It's true that other cities - e.g., Toronto - have a massive media machine. The difference seems to be that Toronto fans cheerfully make heroes out of bums and are always RAH RAH LEAFS!!!! no matter how putrid the Leafs actually are. (Part of this, incidentally, comes from the blue-collar ethic the team has established since Wendel Clark...the Leafs may lose but they will always give 100%, unlike les canadiens).

Here the culture is different. It has a chronic impulse to turn viciously on individual players almost at random - there is a perpetual need for a scapegoat around here (Brisebois is the archetype, but apparently they booed the shit out of Laperriere back in the '60s, so it goes deep). And when the team is losing, the whole city turns on it, mercilessly, relentlessly, savagely, and all too often ignorantly. Look at the RIDICULOUS abuse Gainey has received in the last week or so.

So in the end, I think the media is giving Montreal fans what they want: scandals, made up or not, accusations, fair or not, recrimination, justified or not, and serious public humiliation.

All those years of success meant we, as a fan base, never learned how to lose. And 10 years of sucking don't seem to have changed a thing.

Still, if I were UFA, I might consider coming here because this is a place where hockey really matters. Only a handful of cities can offer a comparable combination of tradition and passion (Toronto, Detroit maybe...). BUT - and it's a big but - I wouldn't touch Montreal with a 10-feet pole unless I felt the team was strong. Otherwise, you're asking to live at the centre of a nightmare. Ask Kovalev.

Edited March 6, 2007 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[alexstream]

La Presse is almost the only French newspaper that's federalist/liberal (exception for Le Droit). Quebecor (TVA, le Journal, etc) is traditionaly sovereigntist/pequiste, so is Le Devoir, Le Soleil and Radio-Canada.

And Mathias Brunet, despite his latest articles that I really hated and I told him about that fact, is one of the best and most credible journalist... I'm not ready to write him off or to call him a jerk.

The articles on BG are opinions... and he's entitled to his opinions.

The articles on Kovalev are based on a thorough research he did... and since he wanted the scoop, he couldn't wait for the whole audio interview... where he ######s up though is that he GUARANTEES that the CONTENT of the written interview is legitimate... Heck it's SO frequent that we hear such and such has been misquoted...

That's where he made his error. Guaranteeing the legitimacy.

[Wamsley01]

The media IS different than 1993. Back in '93, print still dominated. Now it's instant information. Stories break quicker, and the first to the story generally commands it. There is a greater chance for errors, misquotes, and complete fabrications in this reality.

You missed the point The Message is the same, the media is different. You think I did not realize that there was no internet 15 years ago? The point is the same Montreal reporters have been stirring shit up for 50 years with their English/French arguments. They had people stirring the pot then, they have people stirring the pot now. Maybe greater numbers, but still the same ol BS. It is never going to go away. It is not the medias fault. You want to know why the Habs are no longer an elite franchise, it is because they are now working on 23 years without drafting a SUPERSTAR player. No Richard/No Beliveau/No Lafleur/No Patrick Roy. Add to that they have not developed any secondary stars in 20 years either.

Who is the best Montreal draft pick in the last 20 years? Koivu in 93? Theo in 94? Vokoun in 94? You have to go back to Schneider/Leclair/Desjardins in 1987!!! to find an impact draft. That is the reason this team is stuck in mediocrity. But it looks like that is about to change. Higgins/Lats/Kosty/Price/Grabovsky/Chips are the best youngsters the Habs have had since the infusion of Lemiuex/Corson/Richer/Roy that lead to a 7-8 year run. Is that a guarantee of future success? No but it shows that this franchise is on the right track.

and to claim that Montreal eats their own worse than any other city is nonsense as well. Leaf fans are different than they were 15-20 years ago. They now expect a winner every year, not a Stanley CUp winner but a playoff team. They booed Larry Murphy a Hall of Fame defenceman out of town and he promptly won 2 more Cups with Detroit because they took out their frustrations on him. NY booed ARod every game for half a season even though he was the reigning MVP. You want to talk about tough??

Everybody in the league has caught up to the Canadiens. For years they were ahead of the curve. But they are just another franchise right now. The Yankees went through the same thing from 1981 to 1996. But Bob is a link to the glory years and has stabilized the franchise. It is a slow climb, but the Habs are on the right side of the hill. I have to keep the faith in the kids.

Edited March 6, 2007 by Wamsley01