[Professional Blog] Hockeyvillains

Now that the votes are in and the announcements been made, I feel I can safely say I never expected Harbour Grace to win Hockeyville. Not from day one. Now before you load up the busses and head to St. Johns for a good old fashioned lynching, hear me out. I didnt, not for a second, doubt the communitys legitimacy as a contender nor underestimate their ability to put off a second-to-none bid. My lack of faith stemmed primarily from the belief the contest was rigged, by Kraft and the CBC, from the outset so that a certain geographic area of the country would be declared victorious. (If they can do it with American Idol, they can do it with Hockeyville.) Before you write me off as an overzealous conspiracy theorist, consider this. The first winner, in 2006, came from Salmon River, Nova Scotia. Year two went to North Bay, Ont. And last years winner was Roberval, Que. Hmmm. Each from a different geographic region of the country. And lo and behold, year four goes West. I guess peanut butter and cheese and cracker sales in B.C. are down. As for the CBC, theyre on a western Canada kick as of late precipitated no doubt by the Winter Olympics breathing down our necks. Mark my word, Hockeyville 2010 is going to the Territories or a prairie town. Id be willing to bet my autographed John Slaney draft card on it. And after that, if this sham of a contest is still around, theyll start going by province. Which means Newfoundland and Labrador should get a Hockeyville honour by sometime near 2015. Following P.E.I., New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Southern Ontario. * * * * On that subject, if Harbour Grace cant win it... who can? For a region of close to 5,000 people and a province of just under 500,000 we didnt do half bad in the votes (754, 936). But the winners, Terrace, B.C., (population approximately 18,000) had almost three times as many votes (1,923, 456). Which begs the question; can a Newfoundland and Labrador municipality ever win a Hockeyville? Moreover, if its not Harbour Grace? Who is it? Deer Lake? Grand Falls-Windsor? Wabana? Corner Brook? Cases could be made for any, and one would think that a larger population base, both current and former, would earn them more votes. But do they lose part of their charm and genuine appeal as a result of being that much larger. And is the widespread support there? Theres no way of telling which town or community will put their name in the mix for the fifth Hockeyville, but theyll have a ton of work to do if they want to top Harbour Graces bid. Hold your heads high folks, you have plenty to be proud of.