Montreal's 15 Minutes

This is an Op-Ed piece from yesterday's National Post from a certain Martin Patriquin about the 15 minutes of recognition that Montreal received as a result of two articles, one from Spin and the other from The New York Times, on the burgeoning Montreal music scene. Besides the fact that the piece drips with cynicism and sarcasm, I took enough issue with his remarks about the Anglophone community in Montreal that I wrote a letter to the National Post editors. In case you are not registered to the National Post on-line, the article is below.

Montreal's 15 minutes
Given the chance, most ex-Montrealers will talk your ear off about how much they would have preferred to stay home. Montreal is beautiful, they say, full of laissez-faire joie de vivre and all that. Their reasons for leaving are eerily similar: A job dragged them away, right down Highway 401, or all the way to the West Coast.

Scratch the surface with the help of a stiff drink or friendly massage, and they'll get into the other reasons. Language is always a favourite: It's easier to find a job in Toronto than memorize French verb conjugations.

But some ex-pats may now be second-guessing their decision. Thanks to a recent mini-boom in the city's economy, as well as a dose of revisionist history, the city is attracting international notice as a trendy hot spot for new Yorkers and Europeans.

"No really - Canada is now officially cool," read a five-page article on Montreal in Spin's February issue, which deemed the city "The Next Big Thing". Not to be outdone, The Times flew in a correspondent to pen 2,400-word tribute to the music and club scene. "Montreal has become such a cultural magnet that some Americans are relocating here," he gushed, underscoring the theme of the articles: If Americans find the place cool then it must be so. Indeed, when Time Canada followed up by putting famed Montreal band Arcade Fire on its cover, the writer took pains t mention the lead singer is from Texas.

Montreal has its Anglophone minority to thank for its rebirth, we are told. Due to the French nationalism upsurge of mid-1990s, Anglos became of the more frustrated and cliquish - the perfect Petri dish for music and art. "The threat of secession (sic) was supposed to end Anglophone viability in a majority French culture," reports The Times. "Instead, it seems to have led to an artistic regenesis."

To locals, the idea that Anglo angst can function as an artistic muse - let alone a "regenesis" - is a little bizarre: In my experience, demonstrations of Anglo angst are generally whiny, preachy and unlistenable.

Unfortunately, the warm fuzzy feelings everyone has about the city now threaten to throw off the benefits that made this place such a blast to begin with: cheap rents and unyielding cynicism. What if all the ex-pats decide to flock back? Worse, what happens if Americans heed the call and snatch up all the charming Montreal walk-ups with their bloated American dollars?

Thankfully, the press, particularly the music press, is notoriously fickle. With any luck, it will soon be the turn of some other neglected town to bask in the limelight, for 15 minutes at least. (For the record, I nominate Peterborough, Ont. You aren't anybody until you perform a booze-fuelled stomp down George Street.) And thanks to a slew of recent Liberal cock-ups, separatism is once again on the rise. Soon Montreal will be in the throws of paranoia and bankruptcy once again. I can't wait.

My letter to the editor follows this post.

NHL Season Cancelled

Well it's about fucking time somebody makes a decision in this affair. I did not read one article today about the decision to cancel the season because I would not have learnt anything new. It would have been the same bullshit rhetoric that the NHL and NHLPA have been spewing back and forth since September. Bon débarras at least for this year.

Will I miss the NHL? Probably. Is that a little crazy for a soon to be middle age man? Maybe, though my wife would probably say yes. I will probably miss the NHL eventually because I love hockey so much. I love playing it, I love watching it, I love talking about it. I enjoy hanging out after a game and shooting the shit with the guys I have played with. I love the aggressiveness about the game and I love the finesse about the game. I love the friends I have made through the game.

I love the memories that I have about the game involving my father. He coached me, he watched me and he supported me. And I wasn't even good. I remembered my father coaching me on the outdoor rinks of my hometown. When he later stopped coaching he would drive me and many of my teammates to almost every one of my games.

I love the way the game bonded my father, my brother and me. I love the way the game created this little rivalry between my father and his two sons whenever the Montreal Canadiens played against the Quebec Nordiques. My father was a Canadiens fan but he could never root against his hometown team even if their jerseys were the same colour as the separatist flag. A playoff game between the two teams seemingly brought us closer to my father as we would tease each other whenever our team performed better. And when the Nordiques would occasionaly win he would never rub it in because he knew his sons were disapointed and deep down inside he was pulling for the Canadiens.

I loved hearing my father tell me stories about my uncle playing on the same junior team in Quebec City with the great Jean Beliveau. I love playing pick up hockey outdoors. I love the way hockey brings Canadians together from coast to coast during the World Junior Hockey Championship. I love the way hockey brings the country together during the Stanley Cup finals. I love the memory that I watched the 2002 Olympic gold medal game between Canada and the U.S. with my oldest son at my friend's house the day after my youngest son was born. I love the memory that my wife was ok with me leaving the hospital for awhile because she knew that the game was that important for me and sharing it with my son was even more important.

I love Saturday nights because it means Hockey Night In Canada. I love the theme song from Hockey Night In Canada. I loved listening to Danny Gallivan do the play by play on Hockey Night In Canada. I love listening to Pierre McGuire on TSN.

I loved watching Guy Lafleur fly down the wing and score on a booming slap shot. I love watching Bobby Orr skate end to end and score. I loved watching Mario Lemieux stickhandle through a whole team and embarrass the goaltender. And I loved watching Patrick Roy become the greatest goaltender in Montreal Canadiens history.

I can say without reservation that this will be the corniest item I will ever post but right now I don’t care because hockey is about good memories to me. And that is why I will eventually miss the NHL. But right now I am too angry at the owners and the players to care.

Who I Am and Why I Am Doing This

The "Who I Am" is easy. I'm a 40 year old man, husband and father of 2 amazing boys. I live in the western suburbs of Montreal otherwise known as the West Island. As to the "Why I Am Doing This" portion that is less clear. Because I have tons of opinions that I like to express I figured "why not start a blog and stop annoying my wife". Is that reason enough? I'm not quite sure but I'll see how this evolves.

In summary this blog will be a work in progress.

Cheers