Two Canadas Going For More Than Two Points

By: M. Patton

Baltimore, MD - Sitting back and watching the pregame on TSN before the Canadiens and Leafs game, most American born fans, myself included, probably do not realize the rivalry between these two teams. In fact, the game is much more than just a scrum to secure two points towards a playoff spot, it seems like a battle between two very different Canadas. I claim no expertise in the analysis of Canadian culture, but I did grow up close enough to the border to know that there are major differences between the English speaking and French speaking Canada.

The first obvious sign of this rivalry is the number of Toronto fans in the Bell Centre. It's not obvious whether the TSN sound engineers have pumped the crowd volume to enhance the drama of this game, but the cheers of "Go Leafs Go" are loud considering the Leafs are the visiting team. It probably need not be said that since Montreal is a close second to the New York Yankees in total world championships won, the Canadiens don't have much trouble selling out regular season games.

Another reason for this rivalry is just the difference between the two cities. Let's not forget that the there have been several political movements, one of which I remember from when I was a kid, where Quebec came very close to seceding from Canada. When you think of the biggest American sports rivalries like the Yankees vs. Red Sox, Notre Dame vs. USC, or the Celtics vs. Lakers, the bitterness really does not go beyond the playing field. French speaking Canada is proud enough to tell English speaking Canada that it no longer wants to share the same nationality. To me, that's a rivalry.

So why do I even care about this game to point that I would write about it? Well, it's quite simple and very selfish. The banged-up Buffalo Sabres play Toronto tomorrow night and Montreal on Friday. I am hoping this rivalry is so strong tonight that these guys do nothing short of abuse each other all night long because given the injuries to Buffalo, I wouldn't mind an extra edge.