As a hockey fan who loathes the Montreal Canadiens, I would like to encourage the franchise to hire only francophone coaches. Why? Because there are so few in the NHL to choose from, and many of them have already coached the Habs (Vigneault, Therien, Julien, Martin, etc) and been fired. Is Randy Cunneyworth the right guy for the job? Maybe, maybe not, but insisting that fluency in French is an absolute requirement severely limits their options. It is not as though the team is loaded with French speaking players and that language harmony is required for the coach to communicate with players. The perceived language requirement is mostly for communicating with local media, which hardly affects the team's on ice performance.
Please Montreal, keep lobbying so vehemently for a French speaking coach that the team is left with no choice but to scratch 90% of the candidates off their list. That's what I'd like to see, the Habs forever doomed to mediocrity.
As a born and bread Albertan I am sick and tried of haring how the French have had their rights violated or how they have been insulted by someone who disrespected their heritage.
ReplyDeleteI’m also so sick of how the rest of Canada bends over backwards to appease Quebec. It’s time that Alberta petition Ottawa to either do something or Alberta will separate. I’m sick of how my hard earned money and the heard earned money of my past generations have gone to support Quebec.
I’m also sick of the sense of entitlement that Quebec and eastern Canada has and how they expect Alberta to pay for everything. Without Alberta Canada would literally starve to death and freeze!
I call myself an Albertan first before I call my self Canadian.
I agree with anon
ReplyDeleteYou're right Iceman... The only reason for a tribal french talking coach is so he can communicate with the tribal french talkers in the media. I used to live in Kebec until bigoted french tribalism forced my family out... haven't been there for years and have no intention of ever going back. I would be willing to bet that most french talkers in that former British Crown Colony couldn't care less what the extremists in the french media have to say about hockey, or anything else for that matter. The media in Kebec is infested with radical marxists and intolerant extremists that use "language" as a means of controlling the tribe. The french talking media in Kebec love to stir up the shit... tribalism needs an instigator/agitator just as much as they need an "enemy", in order to stay relevant. This kind of indoctrinated hatred and State imposed isolation and intolerance assures mediocrity. One thing is for sure, this kind of State imposed bigotry and manufactured hysteria will assure Kebec city never gets another NHL team... who would want to play there.
ReplyDelete"radical marxists and intolerant extremists"
ReplyDeleteAmen to that.
Was born there, won't die there (at least I doubt I will) and have seen first hand the bigoted french tribalism. Both my right and my left hands have scars on them, never was much of a runner.
I don't think it is "just" the radicals and marxists stirring up shit. The freeloaders of quebec have become so accustomed to the free ride that they vote in the political clowns that has the best chance of getting them all the concessions from the rest of Canada. I want a referendum in the ROC as to if WE want freeloading quebec to remain in OUR Canada.
ReplyDeleteRob C
What about the players? They all speak french? Probably not, so they take french lessons or be turfed?
ReplyDeleteJust asking.
I thought talent and smarts trumped culture. If the French speaking coach was the answer - this should have been the winning combination a long time ago. Language wars are the life blood of Quebec politics - the attention span of lint pickers, always navel gazing. lol Cheers.
ReplyDeleteHow extreme and delusional are they? A comment made on a Quebec sport radio station, on the dire state of the Canadians game, was that there were not enough French Canadians on the power play for it to be effective.
ReplyDelete-
maybe les habs should also only play in quebec.
ReplyDelete".... I agree with anon"
ReplyDeleteWell MaryT - that clears that up. Anon-posters aren't "cowardly" when YOU agree with them :-)
Michael Maltby
St.Paul's, Toronto
“I used to live in Kebec until bigoted french tribalism forced my family out...”
ReplyDeleteOur family left as well in’70. After the terrorist FLQ kidnapped Cross and killed Laport. Any where else in the world it would be called “Ethnic Clensing”.
Actually there was a poll of Habs fans and a large majority want a French coach. Very tired of the racist attitude in Quebec. Trying to 'out' English top executives in corporations, as if they had leprosy. Complaining about how Montreal is losing its French complexion when it is the francophone population that decided to move to Laval and Terrebonne, etc. to get cheaper housing.
ReplyDeleteHaven't there also been complaints about the paucity of francophone players in recent lineups? As I remember, there was even a suggestion that the Quebecois players were being almost traitors for choosing to play elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteCanadiens fans would be well advised to drop their bigotry and pay more attention to their underachieving team ON THE ICE!
ReplyDeleteScotty Bowman and Toe Blake,in their prime,couldn't turn this group around.
I feel bad for Randy Cunneyworth, put into an impossible situation made worse by the bigotry of the Quebec media and fans.
He was a good,honest journeyman player,866 league games,and doesn't deserve to have the added pressure of Quebec hockey politics forced on him.
French coach then comes French hockey players.
ReplyDeleteIt's more important for an NHL coach to know Russian than French.
ReplyDeleteone would not be anonymous if the setup for posting was different. old white guy.
ReplyDeleteWe welcome anonymous comments at pragmatictory.com. If you have a problem with that, then don't visit. Some people just want to share their opinions without broadcasting their names to the internets.
ReplyDeleteI was born in Montreal and escaped that racist so-called province after I completed grad school and secured a job in Alberta. I lived through the FLQ crises, war-measures act, language police, referendums, etc. English is not even an official language! (thought quebec was part of Canada!)Let English be the only official language in all the other provinces! People outside of quebec who believe quebec is so wonderful, should go live there. Why are people so interested in learning French in other provinces??!! Logically, Chinese and Spanish are far more important. Any culture that requires racist laws to protect it simply does not deserve to exist. This French speaking coach issue is yet another example of their racist, bigoted, simplistic mentality. The rest of Canada should have a referendum to determine if we really wish to have that "province" continue to remain with us. Enough of their holding the rest of the country hostage. I cannot describe in words strongly enough the relief I experienced once I moved to Alberta! (I can speak French but why would I want to given that my language rights were removed there!) I will never return to that racist, pathetic environment. I feel very sorry for Randy and the Montreal hockey players (also for the other non-French professional athletes there). I am also not confident that any significant positive changes will occur there. I speak from over 30 years of trying to cope in quebec!
ReplyDelete