Have a little Faith? Religion and Sport Intertwine

A little twisted, sure but don't tell that to Habs fans....

When else but Easter weekend to have a blog about religion and faith as it relates to life and sports. I will be the first to admit I tend to have "Faith" that things will work out. I do believe that there is a higher power but I'm not sure if any of the worlds' hundreds of religions are a definitive guide as to what is or isn't God and "His" words.

Regardless of this fact, I do have faith in the fact that some (if not all) of the world's religions have some basis in truth somewhere. With that said, I find the parallels between religion, faith and sport quite startling, especially between the Catholic church and both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Other examples are present in sport as well such as the fans bases of both the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox in Baseball, the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in the NFL and Manchester United (really any English Premier League Team) in England, but I will focus on the 2 Canadian NHL teams.

 As odd as it sounds, there are a ton of similarities between Montreal, Toronto and Organized Religion

I'm not the only one to make this connection with Religion and these two teams. The Montreal Canadiens actually have a course taught on them as religion at the University of Montreal. Taught by a Swiss born Professor (named Olivier Bauer), he began to notice similarities between religious relics and rituals that Habs fans followed and believed in that he could relate to how the average religious zealot views his or her own actual religion.

He used 3 particular examples as the basis of his thesis:

 Known as a Saint already, what happens if he leads them as their coach to the Cup?

#1. He referenced the nicknames of 3 of the most notable recent players and referred to them as "Prayer Leaders". Patrick Roy's nickname is "St. Patrick", Guy Lafleur was known as "Le Demon Blond" or "The Blond Demon" and Carey Price who was being referred to as "Jesus Price" (the most obvious religious connection and most recent of them all).

Me thinks he got his nickname a tad....premature....Agree?

#2. The "Ghosts". It has long been talked of that the "Ghosts" of the old Montreal Forum (and have somehow "moved" to the new Bell Centre) would come down from the rafters and help the Habs win games.

Even when they honour players, they do it in style

#3. The "Miracles" that were rumoured to have been performed by Maurice "The Rocket" Richard in his heyday.

The professor went on to make claims about how much deeper of faith the Francophone people in Quebec are when compared to the rest of Canada (evidenced by their continued connection with the Catholic Church in many rural areas of the province) and how some in Quebec have the notion that "The Canadiens are the proof that we have God's blessing," pointing to Quebecers' pride in the only major pro sports team that has had a consistent presence in the province over the last 100 years.

Former players even have given some legitimacy to this course, which began being offered in the fall of 2008. Rejean Houle who was raised as a devout catholic in the Montreal suburb of Rouyn-Noranda, was quoted at the time as saying that "We were raised with this religion just like we were raised with the history of the Montreal Canadiens - there's a common (thread) there," He went on to say, "People were practising their prayers a lot and going to mass on Sunday, but also listening to the hockey game on Saturday night. That was part of the ritual."

While the Habs can be viewed in this light (with saints and relics), the Maple Leafs can be seen as part of the other, much more sinister side of the faith spectrum. To be a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs (as I am), one has to have a need to be tortured and put through painful season after painful season. Unlike the Habs (who are successful both on and off the ice, generally), the Leafs are only successful in draining money out of the pockets of their fans. They give them glimmers of hope only to shatter those same hopes in a matter of  a few weeks (as can be seen by their total utter collapse this season from February 6th when they were 6th in their conference to now where they are 13th).

 These men are looked upon as Legends as they are the Last Leafs to play in a Cup Final...oh, and they won too

They haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967 (the final year of the Original 6 team NHL Era). They haven't had a player win the Rookie of the Year award since 1966 (Brit Selby). They haven't had the top Goaltender in the league since 1964-65 when Hockey Hall of Famers Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk shared the award. They haven't even had a player win the League MVP award since the 1954-55 season when then team Captain Ted "Tedder" Kennedy won the award.

Yet fans keep on coming to watch games. They keep believing that the team will eventually get better. They entrust their faith in the men at the top who make grand proclamations and announcements for all to hear (kind of like the Pope, only with a bit more articulation and Truculence...) and, for the most part, those men at the top tend to disappoint the faithful with the things they do and say. This is where the truly sad part of my blog will begin.

 Kind of says it all, doesn't it?

The past transgressions of men associated with the Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens are nothing if not horrendous and sickening. The many young boys that were molested at the hands of staff members at Maple Leaf Gardens deserve our deepest, most heartfelt condolences for the childhoods that were robbed of them by sick, disgusting men. While the Maple Leafs were able to address the issue head on and weed out those disgusting elements, it is unfortunate that the very same issue is still one that haunts the Catholic Church and will continue to haunt them until there are fundamental changes made to their infrastructure.

Both organizations faced the same crisis (or are still facing it) and had it resonate all the way to the top of the organization (with the Leafs old owner, Harold Ballard, even being directly accused about 10 years after his death of being involved in some capacity and the Pope being often accused of helping to cover up the issue instead of facing it head on). The fact that many of the victims of the abuse have been coming forward over the last 15-20 years have helped to change both organizations (one faster then the other) but at least their is change occurring. The biggest issue with both organizations is the men at the top. They are rigid in their ideology, hold steadfast to the thought that they are infallible and act as if what they say should be gospel (yes I am talking to you Brian Burke).

So between both the Leafs and Habs, you have all the elements of both the good and bad aspects of the Catholic Church: Saints, ghosts, divine intervention, unwavering faith by the masses in your organization (never to be fully repaid by the Leafs, at least the Habs have won 24 times), sexual exploitation of minors, and leaders who think WAAAAY too highly of themselves. Both NHL teams are gigantic money makers while the Catholic Church (whose mission it is supposed to be to help the poor) is the richest organization in the world.

 These banners are looked upon (by some) as a source of strength and inspiration

Clearly hockey in Toronto and Montreal is much more then a sport. In both of these cities, the 24/7 obsession with the sport has transcended into a religious fanaticism that indoctrinates new members each and every day. Some become so brainwashed, that even when it is time when losing might be (and is) more beneficial to the long term success of the team, there are those "fans" who would still rather cheer a win. Is it any wonder that for years the song that the Leafs would play after a goal was called "Zombie-Nation" or was it a subtle little jab at their own fan base?

Even when they don't like the product on the ice, their butts are still in the seats....

And you thought this was going to be a light blog today.....


(With files from tsn.ca)
(http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=263480)