unless you are living under a rock (or outside of canada) you probably learned the nhl cancelled the season. there's been so much spin on both sides of the conflict, that you no longer know who to believe and where does the league go from here. either way; both sides messed up and we will not see the stanley cup being rewarded this spring. the loss of this historic cup however only seems to resonate in these parts of the globe and but elsewhere,it's life as usual.

the country of canada collectively shed a tear of sadness while the rest of the world didn't having a fucking clue what was going on. you can't blame it though because it's not their fault hockey isn't god outside of canada. i guess that's the thing about this sport: unless you live outside of these borders you just do not get it.

sorta like if david beckham (the soccer star, aka "football" star for non-american readers) turned out not to have a penis. do you know what would happen in england? people kill themselves. people doucing their british blood in favour of the french. i'm sure the country would descend into utter choas overthrowing its symbolic monarchy and publicly hanging charles with his mother elizabeth II just for the sake of it. all because of beckham's lack of penis. that's the brits and their soccer, ahem, football. but if i heard the story, i'd laugh and think, "damn stupid english people, it's only soccer."

remember when that dale earnhardt (or whatever) racer guy crashed into the wall and died? it was SUCH a big story whenever i put on cnn, nbc, cbs, or any american station. i was quite annoyed and thought, "why don't they cover REAL stories not some stupid fool who drives cars fast in circles for a living? he deserved it if that's his job." but shit, americans wept and wept and you had children being interviewed on what dale meant to them and how he was a role model for them. all of us outside of that country were like on, "god dammit! put my 'friends' back on!!" we just didn't get what the fuss was about. nascar's death of its living legend just didn't generate much sympathy around here, we simply could careless. but can you imagine what would happen here in canada if wayne gretzky was shot dead? i can't even begin to get my mind around it but something along the example of england above would suffice.

i guess it is easy to understand why the loss of hockey is so big in canada but no where else. i mean, yes, financially the states stand to suffer but culture wise, the death of the season carries so more weight for us. hockey; that's our "thing"; we know it and so does the rest of the world. whenever you have a foreigner learn you are canadian typically you'd hear something like, "you like your hockey, dont you?!" when early culture cues are tossed around. the cold long winter just got longer with today's announcement. but our united longing will ultimately save the game. what else do you we have really? it's the glue of the nation.

maybe it's sad that it took a professional sport to make our mark on the rest of the world, but we're damn good at it and that's well, about it, what else is there?. name anything else were known for outside of the country? you never hear the french say something like, "damn those canadians and their fine wine from ontario." you don't hear fidel castro compliment canada's worldly renowned cigar*.

in a globalized environment; the world associated us with excellence in hockey. the little things go unnoticed but the big things matter. now the sphere where this domination originates has been locked out until at least september. that's why we watch hockey; we take pride in what it does to the country as a whole. watching canadian born professionals dominate on the ice, their control of the lockroom among other foreigners is rewarding in some way. we justify their grossly overpaid salaries because of the pride their power instills in the national mystique. but when bob the co-worker makes a little more money for what appears to be a more cozy job, we bitch to high heaven. though he may more canadian than anyone in the history of time and give more to the meaning of canadian mystique, bob the account's money just cannot have the same importance as the hockey player.

and that's why the loss of the season will the ultimate gain for hockey, in this country at least. once the league starts up, we'll do everything and anything to avoid this from happening again. the loss of hockey in canada is what 9/11 is for america. i mean that in a non controversial way and by no means are offending anyone. here is where the "out of context" response would apply if you are offended right now.

once hockey returns, we'll rush to save it and spend tons and tons of money to ensure it's survival and long-term existance. whether it has the same result in the states, we won't care and move on because hockey is our thing, and what's going on with it outside of the states isn't worth caring about. we get more upset by canadian teams leaving and heading south because they have a better chance of making money there. see what happened with quebec moving to colorado? it's like part of us was ripped away. even though the colorado move was smart and it's become of the best teams in the league, we linger for the old nordiques. i can't imagine how the city dealt with that one.

so hockey will live on folks. and those who "do not care" about today's news will start caring the second hockey is back. they'll even support the league even if they hire replacement players. **

so do not worry canadians, the cancelled season is going to be the saving grace of our love of the sport. never again will we let this happen again and huddle around our sport and develop hockey players like robot machines.

*we do not actually produce cigars, no need to fret fidel, your nation still kicks ass

**can you imagine how cool it would be to watch nhl replacement league highlights?. all those super rich hockey players standing outside of the arena throwing eggs at the replacement players entering the place where money is made. that would be AWESOME television.