Don't forget that New England used to be part of the Empire. Historically we Maritimers have way more in common with New Englanders than the ROC. A big part of my family descended from the Tapleys of Mass. Boston, to me, felt like a very large Saint John, New Brunswick. Of course, Bobby, the Upper Canadian, had an influence on my generation.I think there are a few factors, and we’ve already touched on a couple.
1. Bobby Orr was larger than life, and my friends and I knew all about him even though we were too young to remember him on the Bruins. It’s natural that people everywhere would root for him and the Bruins.
2. WSBK TV38 had a powerful UHF signal that reached into Canada and fed anyone who wanted it a steady diet of Bruins hockey. Almost kind of a “Radio Free Europe” kind of thing. Winning of hearts and minds.
3. Lastly, some people just want to be different. The Bruins image and culture of being “bad guys,” “rebels” and “tough guys” has tremendous appeal to some people.