Canada takes Gold in WC Juniors 5 years in a row...

[Fencergrl]

... okay, it's in hockey and not fencing, but I'm still proud! Winning 5 times is great achievement. Canada knows how to make good hockey players.
http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/

[matt9476]

I only got to watch a little of the tournament, but Canada looked really good in what I saw. Despite how popular hockey is in Europe, Canada still produces the best players.

[Fencergrl]

A few reasons for that....

1) Most of Canada is cold and a lot of kids grow up playing hockey. I live in an area that sees very little cold weather and I have 3 multi-ring arenas within a 20 minute walking distance.

2) We are a large country, with lots of hockey players to create our National teams from.

3) The lion's share of funding both private and public goes into funding our hockey players. Hockey gets most of the sports funding.

4) There is a payoff for the players and the parents to encourage their kid to play hockey. Unlike the majority of sports, they can have fame & fortune by going pro.

If Canada decided to fund other sports like they fund hockey, I suspect we would see a big difference at the Olympics in the performance of our athletes. In general we have an active, healthy population, there is no reason why our country shouldn't be putting out high calibre athletes that frequently make the podium.

[Mr.MightyMouse]

The Russian defender who let the puck squirt from under his tukhis with 8 seconds left + the forward who went for the empty net - presented the gold to the Canucks on a plate with a blue rim.
The Junior thing is fine and dandy - but let's wait for Whistler 2010 and see how Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalev line does.

[Purple Fencer]

If Canada decided to fund other sports like they fund hockey, I suspect we would see a big difference at the Olympics in the performance of our athletes. In general we have an active, healthy population, there is no reason why our country shouldn't be putting out high calibre athletes that frequently make the podium.

That's because hockey is your national religion...I remember the protestations of betrayal when Gretzky made the move to Los Angeles....

[Fencergrl]

The real funny thing is some cabinet minister decided that lacrosse is our "National sport" so officially it isn't hockey... nope, that would be crazy.

[matt9476]

The real funny thing is some cabinet minister decided that lacrosse is our "National sport" so officially it isn't hockey... nope, that would be crazy.

I can see how someone would make an argument for lacrosse as the national sport of canada. There is a longer tradition of lacrosse in the area than hockey, although the orginal game was different from what we see now. Hockey is easily more popular, but it draws a comparison to the United States. Baseball is our "National Pastime," but football is more popular.

Of the 22 players on the Buffalo Bandits (professional indoor lacrosse), 17 are from Canada. The other five are from the U.S. The Rochester Knighthawks also have 17 Canadians. Actually, a very large majority of players in the league come from Canada. Just saying.

[Fencergrl]

Yeah I know. It has a long history in our country. It was originally and Native Indian game (thus belonging to both of our countries). However, the modern version was developed in Canada and the first club was in Montreal. Canadian hockey areas developed "box lacrosse" as opposed to playing it in a field.

Personally, I love the game and wanted to play it as a kid (I ended up playing hockey instead, I suspect because the timing for hockey worked in my softball off season better). However, if there was a soccer league for women/girls then, it would have been no contest... but I digress.

Basketball was also developed in Canada.... face it we're a country of folks that have long boring winters and we need something to do (besides the obvious snuggling under the covers with the person of your choice).

Hockey has a long history in Canada, while developed in Europe it has been played in Canada since the first settlers. The foundation for the modern version of the sport came from Montreal. The first hockey club was McGill University Hockey Club, was founded in 1877 followed by the Montreal Victorias, organized in 1881. The hockey mask was invented in Canada.

Canada has produced many famous hockey players. I think most Canadians (much less anyone else) could name one great lacrosse player. Also, just about every kid in Canada has played some form of hockey, be it street hockey, ice hockey, grass hockey, or floor hockey, the same can not be said for lacrosse.

[matt9476]

I think most Canadians (much less anyone else) could name one great lacrosse player. Also, just about every kid in Canada has played some form of hockey, be it street hockey, ice hockey, grass hockey, or floor hockey, the same can not be said for lacrosse.

Continuing this horrible thread drift, I did a feature story last year on John Tavares of the Buffalo Bandits. He's from Ontario, and he is the all-time leading scorer (goals, assists and points) in the National Lacrosse League. He is to lacrosse, what Gretzky was to hockey, Jordan was to basketball and Ruth was to baseball. However, most people don't recognize him. He can walk through the Walden Galleria (biggest mall in Western New York) and maybe have one person pick him out of the crowd. But he's a great guy.

[ChristopheK]

The real funny thing is some cabinet minister decided that lacrosse is our "National sport" so officially it isn't hockey... nope, that would be crazy.

I participated in a quizz in Cancun in November.
One of the question was: What is the national sport in Canada?
I said Ice hockey but the answer was Lacrosse...

However some facts:
35% of professional NHL players are canadians and NHL is one of the 4 big sports in North America. So hockey can definitely be a synonym for Canada.

[Fencergrl]

You will often see (incorrectly) stated that hockey is our national sport. In the minds of Canadians it is, even those of us who are not fans of the sport.

[Mr.MightyMouse]

Basketball was also developed in Canada.... face it we're a country of folks that have long boring winters and we need something to do (besides the obvious snuggling under the covers with the person of your choice).

Hockey has a long history in Canada, while developed in Europe it has been played in Canada since the first settlers. The foundation for the modern version of the sport came from Montreal. The first hockey club was McGill University Hockey Club, was founded in 1877 followed by the Montreal Victorias, organized in 1881. The hockey mask was invented in Canada.

Canada has produced many famous hockey players. I think most Canadians (much less anyone else) could name one great lacrosse player. Also, just about every kid in Canada has played some form of hockey, be it street hockey, ice hockey, grass hockey, or floor hockey, the same can not be said for lacrosse.

basketball???

did not Charlie or Lionel Conacher play lacrosse, as well as Jim Thorpe?

[Fencergrl]

basketball???

I was going by memory, checked my facts and it was invented by a Canadian in the Springfield, Mass. He also taught in McGill and thought it came about then.

http://inventors.about.com/library/i...basketball.htm

As for lacrosse players, I stand by my comment that they are not considered famous sports stars. I have no idea who the people you mentioned are, and I'm sure most Canadians would react the same.

[Mr.MightyMouse]

I was going by memory, checked my facts and it was invented by a Canadian in the Springfield, Mass. He also taught in McGill and thought it came about then.

http://inventors.about.com/library/i...basketball.htm

As for lacrosse players, I stand by my comment that they are not considered famous sports stars. I have no idea who the people you mentioned are, and I'm sure most Canadians would react the same.

1.
I had no idea Mr. Naismith was Canadian.
May be Steve Nash is his relative.

2.
Lionel Pretoria Conacher, MP (May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954), nicknamed "The Big Train", was Canada's top all-around athlete in the 1920s, excelling in Canadian football, ice hockey, lacrosse, baseball, boxing and wrestling.
He later became a politician and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the Canadian House of Commons,won a Grey Cup, 2 Stanley Cups, a Memorial Cup, and an equivalent of AAA baseball championship.
He's a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame , the Canadian Football Hall of Fame , the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame , and Hockey Hall of Fame.
The award for the Canadian Press Canadian male athlete of the year is called the Lionel Conacher Award. He was named Canada's Greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century (1950) which IMHO should have gone to Howie Morenz.
Conacher's younger brothers, Charlie Conacher, and Roy Conacher, were also Hall of Fame hockey players.
Charlie won a Stanley Cup and had a trophy named after him - similar to Masterson.
Roy won an Art Ross trophy once and 2 Stanley Cups with the Bruins .
Roy's twin - Bert - I believe is still alive - and had to quit hockey due to an eye injury.
Lionel's son - Brian played for the Toronto Maple Leafs & won the Stanley Cup in 1967.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:...ient=firefox-a

3.
Jim Thorpe
Won 2 Olympic Gold medals in 1912 - was stripped of them, and had them reinstated after his death.
In 1950, an Associated Press poll of nearly 400 sportswriters and broadcasters voted Thorpe the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century.
In 1999, the Associated Press placed him third on their list of top athletes of the century, behind Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan.
ESPN ranked him seventh on their list of North American athletes of the century.
United States House of Representatives passed resolution 198 honoring Jim Thorpe as "America's athlete of the century".
He was inducted into halls of fame for Pro Football, College football, U.S. Olympic teams, and national track and field competition.
The Jim Thorpe Award is awarded annually to the best defensive back in college football.

[Fencergrl]

<shrug> While they are accomplished athletes, they're not exactly household names (as Matt mentioned) Gretzky, Jordan and Ruth are. The truth is there's many, many accomplished athletes that have won multiple awards and medals in a range of sports (much more current than the early 1900's I might add) doesn't make them household names in the US or Canada.

[Mr.MightyMouse]

sorry, I'm not Canadian - so I thought perhaps Conacher family was a big deal there. I would think if an annual best athlete award is named after him he'd still be quite popular?
Aren't Howie Morenz, Aurel Joliat, Cyclone Taylor, Newsy Lalonde, Joe Malone, Lester Patrick, etc, well known in Canada?
Jim Thorpe IMHO is pretty well known in US, similarly to Jesse Owens.