Have you had enough yet, Vancouver? There is only one answer to this question.
The past year (and if you're keeping count, the previous year) has been that of the championship. Sports fans-fans of sports, not just a single sport-can't but hail the generous fortune of the amateur and professional sports entertainment industries in 2011 (and 2010, again, if you're counting).
The year started with observers of the National Hockey League discussing our city's hockey club. Indeed, the Canucks were the team to beat. Pre-season predictions put the Stanley Cup in their grip, as did the historical precedent that saw Montreal and Calgary win hockey's holy grail after having hosted the Olympics. (Now there's an indicator to trust.)
Then the Canucks delivered, bringing home the Presidents' Trophy following a banner season and phenomenal individual performances by team leaders. It was on and we were high from the fumes. But the flames burned too high. They burned so high they scorched the city June 15. (Our reputation for being Drakkar Noirsniffing egotists with a dinosaur-sized id remained intact.) Or so it felt that way with the shame and regret for the behaviour of our fellow fans.
The Canucks tried to distance their "real" fans from the rioters, a shortsighted effort and nonetheless spurred a season-long tribute Heart of a Canuck that recognized the contribution of emergency professionals, health workers, volunteers and citizens.
When I write that 2011 was the year of the championship, I, of course, don't mean the championship victory. The energy, desire and desperation that fanned the flames of the seven-game Stanley Cup series is now an inescapable, rather prominent notch on the timeline of our short modern history. It was a championship. The Canucks lost it. The Boston Bruins and their Vancouver-born forward Milan Lucic won it.
On the ball diamond, the single-A Toronto Blue Jays-affiliated Vancouver Canadians won a championship pennant. The C's have made a remarkable resurgence in a half-decade that culminated with the regional victory and a celebration at Scotiabank Field at the cherished Nat Bailey Stadium. As the club's play-by-play announcer wrote afterward, the C's under owners Jeff Kerr and Jake Mooney have in five years grown "from a tattered stadium with a valueless ticket, to three straight attendance records, a renewed sense of community and a Northwest League Championship."
The Whitecaps were the Major League Soccer team furthest from championship contention; yet, the debut season of the Vancouver club was spectacular in terms of attendance, fan enjoyment and history. The season launched at Empire Field and continued at a revamped B.C. Place-two storied stadiums. Next year can only get better and the franchise has overhauled its front office and already signed new talent. In 2012, I'm paying close attention to Long Tan, the newly acquired Korean star Young-Pyo Lee and, of course, Eric Hassli.
Finally, a third championship in Vancouver and a second championship victory for a Vancouver team. The B.C. Lions started the season with a losing streak. Doubt swirled around the job security of the winningest coach in CFL history, Wally Buono. In the end, he won again. The B.C. Lions claimed their sixth Grey Cup, winning at home in front of a sell-out crowd at B.C. Place Stadium.
Twitter: @MHStewart
