By Jason Menard
What’s in a name? When it comes to fans and their sports arenas, quite a bit. But unless fans are willing to dig a little deeper into their own pockets, perhaps they should take solace that the marquee outside has little impact on the product inside.
And that’s something that the citizens of London, Ontario need to keep in mind, with our curious case of preferring one brand over another. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
For a city that’s trying to brand itself as the City of Champions, showing clear favoritism and treating an actual champion as the ugly red-headed stepchild is hardly winning behaviour.
The City of London recently decided to try branding itself as the City of Champions to coincide with an expected Memorial Cup victory. It sounds nice to say, but if you listen closely you’ll hear an echo as the name is totally hollow. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
It was a night of tears in London, Ontario.
There were tears of joy, of course, as the London Knights claimed the Ontario Hockey League title and earned a berth in the Memorial Cup. But, more poignantly, there were tears of sorrow as just across Dundas Street a jury convicted a man of the murder of Victoria Stafford. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
While London, Ontario has received a black eye thanks to a thrown banana, it’s important to not let the negative obscure the positive that this city – and its hockey fans – have to offer.
Nothing’s ever perfect and beyond the moronic actions of one banana-throwing idiot, there are certain negative things that London is known for. The market is somewhat fair weather, failing to sell out the John Labatt Centre unless the team is amongst the upper echelon. There’s always at least one moron who disrespects the national anthem to shout “Go Knights Go!” before the song is finished. Games are filled with, uhm, “plentiful and opportunistic” advertising. And let’s not even talk about the music – I’m all in favour of a permanent ban of “Cotton-Eyed Joe” in any arena. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
In the song Coax Me, iconic Canadian band Sloan sang, “it’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans.” And while I normally feel the same about attending sporting events, last night I had the pleasure of sitting next to two people who reminded me of the joy that being a sports fan can hold. Continue reading
The M-Dash by Jason Menard 