Well, our Canucks had a great run. Despite their 4 - 0 loss to Boston, you can't take away the accomplishment of getting to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was a fun ride and the Vancouver fans have celebrated through every series. It let us relive some of the excitement we enjoyed during the 2010 Olympic Games. It really was a blast and it was an enjoyable atmosphere right until the end.
It is so unfortunate that a few "bad apples" spoil the whole party for everyone. With the city of Vancouver generously providing Big Screens and safely blocking of Party Streets for us to enjoy the atmosphere, it is such a disgrace that some people have to behave so badly. These are not the true Canucks Fans. These are just a small minority of people who have no regard for authority or property. I suspect many of the vandals who broke windows, burned up cars and louted businesses, were some of the same people doing the same things briefly when they tried to spoil our Olympic spirit just over a year ago.
Last night as I watched the news I felt so ashamed for Vancouver. So embarrassed for our beautiful city. But as I've had time to think about it, I am still very proud of our city and the people in it and realize that this was such a small representation of us. I was told (probably very unofficial numbers) that there were about 150,000 people downtown and that it was about 250 people causing all the trouble. That is a very small percentage and should not reflect on us as a society. I think what does reflect on us though, is how we have handicapped our police force. They come under such scrutiny for everything they do that it appeared that they were really holding back on any use of force to subdue these idiots. I would have personally applauded the police if they had used more force, sooner, on these belligerent people who would not leave the area in an attempt to prevent some of the damage that then occurred.
With today's technology and all the the picture taking that was going on, I really hope that the people responsible are exposed and charged accordingly. There really is no excuse for such disgraceful behavior
