Should the Habs declare their humanity?

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Phil Parent

Sorel, 'fant d'chienne!
Feb 4, 2005
15,833
5,666
Sorel-Tracy, Quebec
I'm sure that title drew your attention, but I didn't know a better way to name it.

Basically, at the end of World War 2, Emperor Hirohito of Japan was made to publically declare that he was no God in a "Declaration Of Humanity".

Likewise, the Habs are religion to Quebecers. Maurice Richard is seen as the savior, the martyr, the hero, the GOD. For many people, the Habs are Mount Olympus, where our immortals go to reign on us mere mortals living our little lives in our little homes.

But, the time where it was a big deal that Rocket would beat the English and win one for us all conquered weaklings is gone. We're no longer made to sit in fenced off areas in the Forum. Quebecers now run big businesses, and our artists have conquered the world. We are no longer in need of a messiah to show us how to succeed, we had one. We've had many, Beliveau, Lafleur, Roy... Yet, the team is still expected to produce more, and the fans are always putting pressure for them to produce the next "Great Blue Hope" which I think is really a detriment to the organisation and really only serves to maintain a mythology which is taken way too seriously for what it really is: A hockey team.

You can respect the contributions of Howie Morenz and Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur, but there comes a time when that era is dead! It's not the same world anymore.

So I think the Habs should publically make it known that they are not gods to the Quebecers, nor the representatives of the people.

The declaration could be as follows...

- We are not the saviors or representatives of Quebec or the Quebecois.
- We are a business running in an international context and, to ensure our success, we cannot favor Quebecers ahead of foreigners. The only evaluation criteria of our player personnel staff should be talent. We will of course hire the Quebecer if he has the most talent.
- The media should not expect our staff and players to speak French any more than they would expect visiting international music or movie stars to do so.
- We will forever honor our heroes of the past, but we cannot uphold their standard of excellence in the reality of modernity. However, we will always aim for excellence.

I'm thinking it would alleviate some of the pressure on the org. and the players to no longer be expected to be gods on ice.

Thoughts?
 

Phil Parent

Sorel, 'fant d'chienne!
Feb 4, 2005
15,833
5,666
Sorel-Tracy, Quebec
Okay. Bad idea. Sorry folks.

Tried thinking outside the box, going right back between 4 panes of cardboard.

I'm just thinking some people, and I know some of them, they talk about the Habs and the weather. And it's the end of the world if they lose and it's the best day of their life if they win, and that just saddens me that's all. There's nothing else to their lives.

And then there's the fact that some fans and the press make such a big deal about the French factor and how the team represents the people... I believe that if Mike Babcock would coach the Habs and not speak a lick of French (I think he does speak it a little, he did live in town...) then we would have given him the Cunneyworth treatement. This is bad for the team.

Mike Komisarek, as much as I dislike him going to the Leafs, was pretty much correct when he said that this was just a business. It is. it's a business in the sports industry that shouldn't be expected anything else than profiting and succeeding on the field of play. I think we should hire the best players and that it's a premium if they speak french. Lecavalier is no longer a great player. Brière neither, and on top of that, he's really similar to what we already have and no longer want. The interest for them comes from the fact that they speak french, why does that matter? I don't hear anybody here clamoring for Iginla, where's the topic for him? He's at best no worse than either Lecavalier or Brière.
 
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GoHabsGo76

Fire Bergevin
Apr 16, 2009
1,469
56
Hawthorne, NJ
Okay. Bad idea. Sorry folks.

I just think it would just make the organization look very foolish, it's really a pointless exercise.

Regardless, they've shown that none of what you said would be true anyway, even if they said it. Look to just last year when we searched for a GM and coach but still put the onus on whether or not they could speak French first and foremost.
 

Kimota

ROY DU NORD!!!
Nov 4, 2005
39,195
14,070
Les Plaines D'Abraham
If they do that, then they would hurt a huge portion of their fanbase. First at the box office then there are still kids that plays in the hopes of playing for this team so you hurt yourself as far as recruitement.
 

Kimota

ROY DU NORD!!!
Nov 4, 2005
39,195
14,070
Les Plaines D'Abraham
But I think people will always hope for saviors as long as the team sucks. When the team will be close to challenge for the cup then everybody will forget about the past.
 

GoHabsGo76

Fire Bergevin
Apr 16, 2009
1,469
56
Hawthorne, NJ
But I think people will always hope for saviors as long as the team sucks. When the team will be close to challenge for the cup then everybody will forget about the past.

I'm 21, and I've been able to follow hockey closely since maybe 1997. I've been a Habs fan the whole time. We don't have a lot to hold onto since then. It hasn't exactly been glorious. I love to pretend I was alive when we were actually annually relevant...

This is a dumb retort I know, but whenever me and my friends are talking **** I always resort to "yeah well you could win a cup every year for the next ____ years and you'll still have less than us. Sorry man"
 

Phil Parent

Sorel, 'fant d'chienne!
Feb 4, 2005
15,833
5,666
Sorel-Tracy, Quebec
I'm 21, and I've been able to follow hockey closely since maybe 1997. I've been a Habs fan the whole time. We don't have a lot to hold onto since then. It hasn't exactly been glorious. I love to pretend I was alive when we were actually annually relevant...

This is a dumb retort I know, but whenever me and my friends are talking **** I always resort to "yeah well you could win a cup every year for the next ____ years and you'll still have less than us. Sorry man"

That's my whole point. We're no longer the team that won 22 of those 24 cups, and the world has changed. The last two were won in "modern times" but before that? The league barely had anything else than Canadians on the rosters, there were lesser teams, there was no official way to ensure the Habs would get the best French players but hey, if you are growing up in Quebec a hockey player in the 1950's, it's not like you have the most adventurous spirit, you will probably sign with the Habs if you can, and there probably won't be enough of a financial incentive from another team to make you leave the province, leave your family behind etc...

I'm thinking we live in a completely different world and the most storied franchise in sports may be that, but it can't be expected to be that in the future. So we should hope of winning more in the future with the best players we can no matter their language and not brag too much about the past.
 
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