A defense of bandwagon fans

Having a hockey fan for a father has meant being aware of the NHL my entire life. I could probably tell you the name of every hockey team if I thought about it long enough, which is pretty impressive considering I don't especially like hockey. Not watching it on TV, not playing it, and not talking about it.

But, somehow I know that the Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup (they, along with Buffalo, have the 2nd-longest Cup drought--40 seasons). And somehow, this seems to matter to me.

I think it must have to do with regional pride and national identity. Even us Canadians who don't like hockey care about the status of our teams. The position of the Canucks in NHL hierarchy seems to be one of the ways we measure our value on the North American stage. Canadians in the East are cheering for the Canucks, because they're the last Canadian team standing.

So, here I am, jumping on the bandwagon. I want our name to move to the bottom of the drought list. I want to see Henrik Sedin hoist the Cup to the jubilation of thousands of screaming fans. I want the Canucks to bring Stanley home to Vancouver!