OT: Is Vancouver a sports town?

[kes20]

I was in Chicago a few weeks ago and everywhere you went there were sports bars and everyone seemed to be talking about the Blackhawks, Bulls, Bears, Cubs, White Sox. I know we don't have the same # of teams, but would you consider Vancouver a sports town? Interesting article about it:

http://behindthesweat.com/2013/06/22/5-reasons-why-vancouver-isnt-a-sports-city/

Click to read more...

 

[PG Canuck]

Vancouver only has the NHL - no NBA, MLB, NFL. Sure we have the CFL, but it's a small league and just something most people don't become diehards for. We have the MLS, but soccer doesn't create as big of a buzz as big as the NFL, NBA and MLB would. When summer rolls around, there's nothing to discuss sports-wise in Vancouver (only CFL, MLS..), while Chicago for example, has MLB, NBA that creates a buzz.

 

[Dado]

If smoking copious amounts of weed and hiking the West Coast Trail are sports - yes, it's a big sports town.

 

[VeteranNetPresence]

vancouver is a canucks town

 

[carolinacanuck]

If you have to ask if Vancouver is a sports town, that means it's not a sports town.

 

[Pip]

vancouver is a canucks town

yup.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Not even close.

BC Lions? Usually picks up come Grey Cup time, but they generally don't see much attention throughout the regular season.

Many of my friends didn't even know the MLS season was still going on. The Whitecaps will probably receive some attention once they have an extended bout of success.

Leaves the Canucks as the sole major sports team in the region.

Giants and Canadians? Probably fair to say that those teams are better suited for the suburbs/rural communities.

Vancouver is what it is, a laid-back city surrounded by various outdoor amenities/activities.

 

[Win One Before I Die]

Guys you should watch the AFL (australian football league) this sport is awesome.

 

[ZKass The Bass]

I would rather not have NBA & NFL in Van. But we're definitely no sports town. You can hear the difference during a game and after a game.

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

Well we have the CFL, MLS, NHL, WHL and Euro cup/World cup.

Canucks
Giants
Italy or any other country that you like. (Confed/Euro/World cup)
Whitecaps
Lions

I like the Soccer(Football), Canucks and Giants.

 

[Royal Canuck]

I usually watch the Giants when they come to Victoria, didn't have a good year this year, but they look like they're going to be dominant again in a couple of years.

But yes, the Canucks are the only major sports team in the region, therefore we don't have much sports buzz come the summer.

 

[Sleeper]

No it is not a sports town. Although some of the points the author in that post made were silly. Saying Vancouver has no regional rivalries isn't true imo. When you consider how sparsely populated and isolated Western Canada is, Vancouver vs. Calgary/Edmonton is very much a regional rivalry. Plus Seattle's NHL team will be there soon enough.

It's a hockey town, but I don't think a place that couldn't even keep an NBA team past 6 years deserves to be called a "sports town"

 

[*Injektilo]

It's a hockey town, but I don't think a place that couldn't even keep an NBA team past 6 years deserves to be called a "sports town"

While I agree that Vancouver is not a sports town, the NBA example is a bad one. The people of Vancouver are the last to blame for the Grizzlies failure.

 

[xtr3m]

Vancouver is a sports town... when it's the cool thing to do (the Olympics, the Cup run). It's also a very fit city which doesn't mix well with pub culture.

 

[VanCityCanuck]

vancouver aint a sports town lol
maybe a canucks town but whaat the hell else do we have?

 

[Derp Kassian]

How is Vancouver not a sports town? They have Canucks, Whitecaps and Lions. Good enough. People talking ip Chi as a sportown must not know Chicago is pretty meh, apathetic fans at best. The contrast in interest between the Bruins 24/7 365 vs Hawks 24/7 365 is incredible.

But I guess most of your definitions of being a sports towns is having more than one major team so there's no point in continuing the discussion.

 

[iloveyouzac]

If you mean, do people play sports, hell yes.
If you mean, do we drink a lot of beer and leave things to the professionals -- probably a lot less than many cities.

 

[Free Edler]

vancouver is a canucks town

..when the Canucks are winning it's a Canucks town.

 

[Archangel]

..when the Canucks are winning it's a Canucks town.

Right now we are winning, but I remember being in the garage when we struggling a few years ago and the arena was at 60%. When Chicago was near the bottom of the attendance stats, it was not because the fans did not want to go, they were staying away in protest against Bill Wirtz. IN Vancouver when the canucks struggle fans stay away

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Interesting. This was brought up at one the past HF shinnys. I don't think it is. It's a Canucks town if anything, but even then a good majority of people don't really care too much to be diehards but bring it up for good conversation. Either you are a diehard I think or a 'bandwagonner'. When we are doing well though, Canucks are the only thing people talk about. That one month period from May to June 2011 was really decent for us being a Canucks town.

 

[LiquidSnake]

Not really a sports town.

But Chicago wasnt a hockey town until they started winning either. And I'm sure someone's going to bring up the Wirtz BS.

I'd say a real sports town is Boston.

 

[JBIZ14]

Of course its a sports town...Is its identity totally about the professional sports teams...no, but the city is extremely active in a variety of sports.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Not really a sports town.

But Chicago wasnt a hockey town until they started winning either. And I'm sure someone's going to bring up the Wirtz BS.

I'd say a real sports town is Boston.

Since 2000: 3 Super Bowls, 2 World Series, 1 NBA Championship, 1 Stanley Cup.

Not that I disagree with the overall point, but I'm not sure a city has endured that kind of success over that short a period of that time. Definitely one of the more spoiled cities for sure.

 

[VanCanucks53]

Right now we are winning, but I remember being in the garage when we struggling a few years ago and the arena was at 60%. When Chicago was near the bottom of the attendance stats, it was not because the fans did not want to go, they were staying away in protest against Bill Wirtz. IN Vancouver when the canucks struggle fans stay away

A few years ago? You must mean over a decade ago. Because that's the last time the Canucks struggled at all attendance wise. And it's not fair to bring up Wirtz for Chicago and not bring up the weak Canadian dollar and the Keenan/Messier era for the Canucks.

It's a Canucks town and I think it's not too bad as a sports town either for what we have.

 

[earl grey]

hipsters playing ultimate frisbee is the new vancouver flag coming out