Why the Jets' Return Means So Much to all of Canada

The NHL's return to Winnipeg has been the biggest positive story of this off season. A midst all the tragedy this past summer, Winnipeg's return to professional hockey remained a beacon of optimism for hockey fans in Canada. With their debut now out of the way, and with the deluge of good will and support from hockey fans across the country we can start to reflect on what happened, how it happened, and why it was received like it was. Why did the return of the NHL to Winnipeg, or more succinctly, the return of the Winnipeg Jets, create such a swell of emotion from people who otherwise, have never been Jets fans?

The overwhelming love for these new Jets comes less from the reality of the current situation, and more from the climate in which the original Jets left.

I know it was ugly, but I still wanted to win it.

I was an eleven year old kid when the Jets left (so I suspect I was ten when the Nordiques left). Not at the age where you have become "smart" by any means, but at the age where you have become "aware" of what is going around you. I had liked hockey since I was about 5 years old, but was obviously too young to understand the inner-workings of, not necessarily the game, but the league.

When the Jets left, there was a very strong narrative surrounding professional sports in Canada; Things were bad, and they weren't getting any better. Two of our hockey teams had fled, not just to the US, but to the sunbelt. The CFL was embarking on its ill-fated American experiment. The Expos and Blue Jays had just been robbed of a potential World Series meeting. And to cap that summer off, in the World Cup of Hockey, Canada lost two out of three, and had to watch the United States celebrate on the ice in Montreal. Follow that up with a horrible run at the World Junior Hockey Championship (bookended by dynasties as they were), and things looked bleak for Canadian sports fan. The Jets (and the Nordiques) became more than just individual teams. They were symbols of the fleeting Canadian sports scene.

Another awful 90's moment I just remembered

The rivalry that has emerged between US and Canadian hockey is a symptom of that mid to late 90's, almost "moral panic", about the game in our country. Obviously there are other reasons contributing to the US supplanting Russia as our number one hockey rival, but this feeling that emerged then, that "the big bad Americans" were coming for us, that was a big spark to what is certainly the best current rivalry in international hockey. The stars of today are about my age and everyone I knew growing up and know now look at the Americans as our primary hockey rival. The Russian rivalry is quaint and nostalgic, but the American rivalry is mean and aggressive.

Fifteen years on, and the nation wide jubilation at the return of the Winnipeg Jets is emblematic of a feeling that Canada is "taking back" a sport that "those greedy Americans" tried to steal from us.

Kind of a big deal

Now obviously, that was never the case. Canada wasn't losing "its" sport and the US wasn't "stealing" anything. The economic realities of the time (both general and specific to those organizations) forced a sort of restructuring of North American professional sports landscape, and that restructuring is a part of why the Winnipeg Jets were able to return.

Antropov? That doesn't bode well

I think Canadians would be absolutely satisfied if the Jets were the last team to move to Canada. I think Canadians are happy with seven representatives in the top flight of professional hockey. Not that they wouldn't take more, and maybe time will change, but as it stands, I think Canadians feel somewhat vindicated that the NHL returned to Winnipeg. It was sort of like a nation wide "told ya so!" to the NHL.

So congrats Winnipeg. We are all pulling for you. And so long as you never cost my team points or a playoff spot, that will never change.









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