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Quebec/Canadian Media Always Looking for a Fight
by Alanah McGinley on 12/15/08 at 01:25 PM ET
Comments (11)
This is the sort of thing that’s liable to get one of my favorite coaches in hot water.
“A lot of players are falling on the ice on purpose. That means our team looks more like a soccer team. This style of play is often practised in Quebec, where players fall down easily and good body checks are often penalized.”
Pat Quinn quoted in the National Post and citing Radio-Canada
The National Post story headlines itself with “Quinn offends Quebec by saying its hockey players are divers.” And while we can debate ad nauseum whether the Quebec junior hockey system encourages diving—and frankly, I’m more inclined to run with Quinn’s other cut about soccer—here’s the first thing that should be kept in mind about Quinn’s words: they were stated originally in English, then translated into French, then translated back into English.
That’s a whole lot of mutilation for a quote that I don’t think is all that incendiary to begin with.
Besides, who says “Quebec is offended” but Radio Canada and the National Post?
The only other quote in that piece is that of Michelle Courchesne, the Quebec Minister of Sport, who merely remarks, “I hope Mr. Quinn is not trying to insult Quebec players and teams in particular. That would be unworthy of the coach of the Canadian junior team.”
And she would be right about that. And I’m sure Quinn wasn’t trying to do anything of the sort. Even the Minister went on to add that she expects there will indeed be Quebec players represented on Team Canada, and she didn’t seem to be making a federal case out of Quinn’s comments herself, just responding to the hubbub.
I doubt the entire province of Quebec hockey fans is losing sleep over it any more than Courchesne is, either. But that won’t stop this from being a mini-tempest in a teapot, as media on both ‘sides’ start acting indignant or insulted about Quinn’s remarks.
Alas, the tail starts wagging the dog.
Update—Sorry, I forgot to add this part, where Quinn responds:
“My message was not directed at Quebec players. I was simply saying that hockey has become a game of diving.”
Whatever his original meaning, things sure have a way of being blown out of proportion. And in cases like this, it’s seldom fans—or even players—who were the ones making a stink to begin with.
Filed in: | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: pat+quinn, team+canada, wjc,
Comments
This is what happens during the christmas trade freeze. Has it started yet?, if not its still close enough. Let me guess, next they will demand that Quinn address the quebec media in FRENCH! He has lived in CANADA for so long that it is their GOD GIVEN RIght to have it spoken to them in french. Kinda like how they castrated Koivu a while back. Man, these shitty reporters are all a bunch of tabloid related trash
Posted by Luongo-is-my-hero on 12/15/08 at 01:38 PM ET
Yes there’s a media circus in Quebec every time such comments are made from Westerners, especially people like Quinn and Don Cherry who never watch QMJHL hockey and don’t know that there are talking about.
Quinn’s comment was classless, but being from Quebec, I won’t lose any sleep over such a comment from a has-been coach like him.
Posted by Slasher98 from Levis, Quebec on 12/15/08 at 01:44 PM ET
Please don’t start with the language topic… It has nothing to do with this debate. Our “fascist” language laws surely don’t have an effect on your poor little life, so let us make an effort to protect and preserve our language. See, I’m even able to write a comment in English… I hope that makes you happy my friend.
Please stop bringing the language question every time there is a hockey debate… it’s getting old..
Posted by Anonyme (Anonymous) from Québec City on 12/15/08 at 02:31 PM ET
Unsurprisingly, I’m with Anonyme.
Also, seems that only one Quebecer made the team in the end, huh? Three from the Q, but one comes from New Brunswick and one comes from Ontario. I’m not necessarily blaming Quinn for this (he’s the one who actually watched the training camp, after all), but it’s kinda sad - whatever the reasons are - that only one player from the second-largest province in the country managed to make the team.
Posted by Josh from Montreal on 12/15/08 at 02:41 PM ET
I would like to see hockey actually do something about diving. At least soccer tries to curb it by giving yellow cards to flagrant divers, hockey does absolutely nothing except even out a (suspected) penalty. Basically you have nothing to lose by trying to dive. If the NHL would start calling diving BY ITSELF, I think that would help a lot.
Posted by Mike from Idaho on 12/15/08 at 02:51 PM ET
Okay, I can see how Quinn’s comments were misconstrued, and that he more or less walked into a minefield as an English-speaking player or coach saying anything critical of the Q tends to be seen as an insult specifically directed at Quebecers and Quebec-born players…
But QMJHL players from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Russia, you name it, they dive, too. The Q is known as a league where player diving is prevalent, but it’s a coaching tactic—not some sort of Quebec-bred prediction to diving. I don’t think that Quebec-born players dive; I think that QMJHL’ers are told to dive because they’ll draw penalties.
Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 12/15/08 at 02:53 PM ET
Please Note: My intention wasn’t to bring the language issue into this at all. Quite the opposite!
I agree this is a fair argument to have about hockey, and it’s not about language or fans generally speaking. Unfortunately it seems like the media is intent on pitting Quebec against the rest of Canada (and vice versa) whenever they can all find an excuse. As a hockey fan, I just find it tiresome.
And besides, I have every intention of starting my own campaign to get Alex Burrows on Team Canada for the Olympics. And I’m pretty sure everyone in the NHL—Quebec and elsewhere—will be calling me a dumbass for that effort. 
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 12/15/08 at 03:00 PM ET
My comment wasn’t directed at you Alanah.
And I think you are right… media here are looking for a fight… just like any other media in any other city about anything…
Are hockey players diving in the LHJMQ? Yes. Are they diving in the OHL? Yes. Are they diving in the NHL. Yes.
I don’t know if coaches in the Q are asking players to dive… maybe… that would suck. Let’s hope this is not the case.
Quinn said he didn’t even get the chance to watch any game in the Q. So he surely got some info from someone else…
Let’s just root for Canada and trust that the coaching staff made the best choices for the country to win its 5th consecutive gold medal.
Posted by Anonyme (Anonymous) from Québec City on 12/15/08 at 03:12 PM ET
Please don’t start with the language topic… It has nothing to do with this debate. Our “fascist” language laws surely don’t have an effect on your poor little life, so let us make an effort to protect and preserve our language. See, I’m even able to write a comment in English… I hope that makes you happy my friend.
Please stop bringing the language question every time there is a hockey debate… it’s getting old..
First, I mention language because it always comes up when Quebec, Francophone players, and the French media are involved. It’s like clockwork. If it hasn’t already, it probably will, especially if anything goes wrong at the tournament.
Second, I mention language also because mistranslation isn’t exactly a difficult thing to do, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a media outlet looking for a story, regardless of language, would choose the less charitable interpretation of his words. (How many times have we heard the “mistranslation” card played by Russian/Eastern European players in recent years over interviews translated from their mother tongue to English?)
Third, my mother grew up in Montreal (NDG) and wasn’t allowed to use her own name in school for half her life. Cut the condescension, buddy; I know what I’m talking about.
Posted by Doogie2K from Calgary on 12/16/08 at 05:30 PM ET
We are a multicultural and bilingual nation and we shouldn’t play with the language or cultural topics. Stop hurting each others’ feelings.
Posted by Omar from Toronto on 01/25/09 at 08:44 PM ET
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Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003 (with a notable gap in time through 2010, kicking it with new baby Lucy while living knee-deep in chaos while reading “parenting for complete idiots” during every spare minute) sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen.
In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah was one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast. She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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And so the tail starts wagging the dog.
It perpetually baffles me how the French media behaves. Anything that smells like the third-day leftovers of a story becomes a full-page extravaganza if it can be turned into a language issue. It’s as if the French media is trying to feed a victim complex among Francophones. Whatever makes you feel better about your fascist language laws, I guess.
Shane Doan and Saku Koivu feel your pain, Pat.
Posted by Doogie2K from Calgary on 12/15/08 at 01:35 PM ET