(EPISODE360 – LIVE FROM THE TWEETUP at the WINTER CLASSIC)

We co-hosted a podcast live from the NHL Winter Classic Tweetup on January 1, 2010 and it was really fun. I hope you enjoy the first of hopefully many more opportunities for me to voice my thoughts and opinions to the world of sports.

Thanks for reading (and listening)!

Look to your right and you will see the poll to vote.

Tell your friends; humiliate a Bruins fan! and don’t forget to donate!

Wouldn't you pay good money to see a Bruins fan wear this?

Everybody drop what you’re doing. I don’t care what it is. Just drop it and pay attention.

Against all odds, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins in Boston on Thursday, November 5, 2009. Carey Price played a phenomenal game and he looked amazing. We had not been able to beat the Bruins in FOREVER.

But not only that. I won a very important bet against a Bruins fan. As reported on metricjulie.com here, Sarah Connors and I made a friendly wager on this game. The deal was: if the Bruins won, I would wear a Bruins jersey to the Winter Classic Tweetup on January 1, 2010; however, if the Habs won, Sarah would wear a Habs jersey to the WC Tweetup. The jersey would then be raffled off to one lucky person, and all proceeds would go to Hockey Fights Cancer.

Now don’t get me wrong: I love my team. And I’m a Price girl. I was ecstatic to be in Boston to watch this game regardless of the score. But I never, EVER, thought we would actually WIN and that *I* would win my bet. I had gone through the 5 stages of grief and had made my peace with it all.

Suck it, Sarah

But we won. What the HELL. WE WON! Which means I WON! Oh man.

So listen up folks. Here’s what happens next:

We all heckle Sarah.  I gloat. We all donate. I get her this. She wears it at the Winter Classic Tweetup. We all take pictures and threaten to blackmail her for the next 20 years with them. We raffle off the jersey. We give all the proceeds to Hockey Fights Cancer. Sarah is scarred for life.

We understand each other? Good.

You can read more about it here: http://winterclassicwager.chipin.com/hockey-fights-cancer

And Sarah… this will be you and I on January 1, 2010. I promise I will give you a special birthday kiss.

À la prochaine chicane!

In just five easy steps, you can become an embarrassment to Montreal fans everywhere and make us look like complete morons to everyone else in the world.

5. Make the Spike.com list of annoying fans

In October, spike.com published an article featuring the Top 10 Teams With The Most Annoying Fans. Montreal Canadiens fans were number 9. Why?

“Years ago, Montreal fans decided that instead of supporting their team or bathing on a regular basis, they would prefer to torment their best players and effectively eliminate themselves from Stanley Cup contention every year. They made Patrice Brisebois, a homegrown blueliner who won community service awards, leave town in tears and recently decided the best way to foster their young, superstar goaltender (Carey Price) was to boo him relentlessly to the point where he looked like he was going to have a mental breakdown during the post-series handshake.”

Indeed, we are so horrible sometimes, we made Carey Price pull a Patrick Roy following mock cheers from the crowd as he blocked a routine shot from the blue line, and we made General Manager Bob Gainey call us a bunch of gutless bastards for booing Patrice Brisebois in September 2003. If you were responsible for any of these events, congratulations! I’m sure your players loved you for it.

4. Boo your own team

This is a really fun one to do, because it proves you know more about hockey than anyone else, because HOW could they be playing so badly?! Never mind that we are not even one month into the regular NHL season nor that our team has a brand new face and is just working to get the chemistry just right. If your players lose two games in a row, boo them every time they make a bad play. It will encourage them to play better and they will thank you for it. Kyle Roussel of NHLdigest.com asks the following question: Should fans boo their team?

“Booing your team gives the visiting team an edge, it shows a lack of class and it shows the rest of the players in the league that the home town fans are about as supportive as underwear made from wet toilet paper. What is the attraction with booing your team? Do these people honestly believe that their negativity will bring about change, whether through improved performances, or personnel moves?”

The awesomeness of this technique needs not be explained, Kyle.

3. Disrespect opposing team’s national anthem

This can be done two ways: Either boo while the opposing team’s national anthem is being sung, or chant GO HABS GO to drown it out. Now I know Bob Gainey appealed to you to stop booing the US national anthem during the 08-09 playoffs against the Boston Bruins, but by booing, you are showing your unwavering support for your team AND your native country. Because we all know how many Québécois are proud to be from Canada right? Bruins fans clearly have it all wrong.

2. Act like you’ve won before the game is over

This is how you do it: wait until your team is up in the game but DON’T wait until the game is over to start taunting the opposing team. Start singing something incredibly rude and arrogant to prove your supremacy. Most opposing teams will feel intimidated by your brazenness and simply give up. A great example of how this technique works is this year’s Halloween game between Montreal and Toronto, where fans started chanting Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye when the Habs were up by two goals. We won, didn’t we?

1. Riot

Nothing quite says “passionate fan” like rioting. What’s awesome about this is you don’t even have to wait until your team wins a Stanley Cup; you can trash the beautiful city of Montreal if, say, they eliminate another team from the playoffs and advance to the next round, as was demonstrated in the 07-08 season playoffs. I mean, look at how much FUN they’re having! Plus, since most people are wearing Habs jerseys, you just know it’s real fans who are doing this.

So there you have it, mes amis. No matter what you do to show your support and no matter where you are, make sure you are the loudest, most drunk and don’t forget to proudly wear your bleu, blanc et rouge so that people everywhere recognize you and know instantly that you’re a Montreal Canadiens fan and that we’re the best fans in the world.

Hockey Fights Cancer

As it seems, my competitive ways have landed me into some trouble again — this time with rival Bruins fans. Why subject myself to their arrogance, bullying and ultimately insecure ways you wonder? For charity, of course!

In honor of friendly competition, an age-old rivalry and shenanigans, Sarah Connors and I have settled on a wager that involves hockey, a tweetup, a great cause, an upcoming trip to Boston and of course some silliness.

Here’s how it’ll work:

On January 1, 2010 Sarah and I will both be at the Winter Classic Tweetup in Boston.

On November 5, 2009 I will be in Boston for the Habs-Bruins game.

If, during this game, the Habs beat the Bruins, Sarah will bravely wear a Habs jersey during the Winter Classic in Boston. I will arrange a poll to determine whose number will be more humiliating for her to wear; I’m thinking Price or O’Byrne.

If, however, the Bruins beat the Habs, I will wear a Bruins jersey to the Winter Classic Tweetup and you can bet there will be tons of pictures circulating to further haunt me.

Then, the winning jersey will be raffled off to one of our tormentors fans.

Here is where you can bid on the jersey NOW! All proceeds will go to Hockey Fights Cancer!

If you love hockey and would like to see either Sarah or me be humiliated (all in good fun!), please participate!

If you would like to contribute to Hockey Fights Cancer in other ways, visit their donations page here. If you want to get in on the fun at the Winter Classic Tweetup, click here.

May the best team win!