[TPMarko]

Alright Canuck fans, it’s time we had a chat. In fact, it’s time we all sat down and had a think. Inspired by this video, the most recent instance where a handful of people make our fan base look like aggressive, self-centred whiners, there are three issues I think we need to address.

In the spirit of nondisclosure, I’ll give you a background of how my love for the Canucks has developed. I have been an avid sports fan my entire life and study the local sports diligently wherever I live. I have been a Canucks fan since 2007 when I moved to Vancouver and started following hockey. I have seen Burrows develop into one of our star players, Ryan Johnson shock everyone with his speed, Mats Sundin make an appearance in our lineup, Ryan Kesler tally a 40 goal season, read more articles on the goalie controversy than I would have liked and, of course, seen more passing plays that leave my jaw on the floor from the twins than I can imagine possible. I can confidently call myself a knowledgeable, passionate Canucks fan.

Which brings me to issue number one. You can’t call yourselves the best fans in the league and then go to games and sit there in silence. The Bruins game (what a glorious win that was) on Saturday night was the first game in a long time that I remember hearing the crowd constantly throughout the game. I was at the game the night before, where we beat Edmonton 4-0, and I felt awkward hooting and hollering in the upper bowl. Noise spurs teams to wins; they do great things when they feel great support.

Which leads to issue number two. At that game against Edmonton, we led 3-0 with a little under three minutes to go. I was astounded when I saw streams of people getting up to beat the traffic while Lu was defending his second shutout of the season. My friend saw Lack notch his first shutout against Carolina the week before and said the same thing happened when we scored an empty netter to make it 2-0. Support your goaltenders, who have been through more for you than you have for them, by staying to the end and applauding them when they step on the ice to receive recognition for a stellar performance.

Now, issue number three is where things get serious. After the Bruins game on Saturday night, I’ll put money down that more than a handful of players from both teams were out celebrating. For most of us, the days are gone when you get starstruck upon seeing an NHL player at a bar. You are more than welcome to approach them, say hi, applaud their performance from the night and so on and so forth. Keep it amicable. They’ll let you know if they’re not in the mood for a chat. In no circumstance should you insult a player. What are you trying to achieve by doing that? Would you like to think you’re ‘tougher’ than an NHL player? Who cares.

Have some class. Keep your fists where they belong – by your side. Sure, there’s history with the Bruins. But that was over two years ago. Both teams are markedly different now. There is no way the teams were sitting in their dressing room pondering over the Bruins return to Rogers Arena like the media was. Our fans vandalized Lucic’s church and his grandparents’ house after that series. Now we, and I say we because the person who did it is regarded as a Canucks ‘fan’ by anyone outside of B.C. who sees that video or reads an article regarding it, have further compounded our reputation by physically engaging with Lucic when he’s trying to have his own night.

And we haven’t even touched on the riot.

Sports is about mature competition, friends. Stay classy.

Go Canucks Go.

agree with every sentiment on that letter.

An open letter to Canucks fans | Vancity Buzz | Vancouver Events, News, Food, Lifestyle and More