I have been meaning to write this post for quite some time. As the cold reminds me of many things, including Canada and ice cubes, it also reminds me of hockey (not that a Canadian really needs reminding of the passion for OUR game). I must confess, the first time I made the observation I am going to talk about, I thought, wait, is this just me? Am I a, well, for lack of a better term, “hockey snob”?
And so, here are my thoughts about hockey announcers here in the USA: SHUT UP!!! *LOL* Please, just announce the game. We do not care that Vince Vaughn is sitting in Row 3, Section 1 with his wife (although she is Canadian, so that’s nice!!). We do not care about giving a “shout out” to Joe and the guys down at the Pizza Bowl and Laundromat for scoring that perfect game. We do not care that your Aunt Marge is in town and she’ll be waving to the cameras from her box-seat at any moment now. We really do not care for you to constantly be talking about other hockey games except the one you are announcing. And we really, really do not care for your interruptions talking to the microphone-wearing coaches asking them what they are thinking about the game. They are busy coaching said game! The coaches never look impressed to be interrupted but I’m sure they have no choice.
I remember growing up with, “Hockey Night in Canada”. It was so exciting! The Toronto Maple Leafs playing at Maple Leaf Gardens, Sittler to Salming, he shoots, he scores!!!! It was about hockey, not focusing the camera on someone eating a beef dip. It was about the focus of the plays, the referee calls that perhaps we didn’t catch ourselves. Hockey announcers in Canada are talking about the topic at hand: reporting what is happening on the ice, not in Row 3, Section 1 (sorry for picking on you, Vince Vaughn). It disrupts the flow of the game; Canadians take this very seriously. Americans excel at so many sports and I love that; there are incredible athletes here and it is an absolute pleasure to watch! Go USA! I love the US, and I love Canada. But as my fellow Canucks might agree, we are showing the world what this hockey passion is all about.
We Canadians don’t get riled up about a lot; we are quite the easy-going bunch, this is true. However, to the hockey announcers South of the 49th, please, for the love of God, hockey, and everything holy, announce the game, not so and so’s name!
The Chicago Files 
