In 1960, We Hated Montreal

[Paul de Denus]

Every Monday morning, the snow-covered schoolyard was littered with dirty trash talk and settle-ups over the weekend’s NHL hockey games, over who scored the unbelievable goals and who made the impossible saves and whose team kicked whose well-padded ass. We’d bask in the overblown details of any grisly brawl, illegal elbow, high-sticking infraction or skull fracture that may have occurred during the weekend games; these rants always ended with a symbolic bashing of the Montreal Canadiens, a perennial Stanley Cup champion and harder to swallow, the best franchise in the National Hockey league.

“Did you see dat azhole Beliveau talk like a first grader in dat interview eh?” my good friend Rejean Laurendeau, a huge Chicago Black Hawk fan (like me) would ask.

(mimic)

“...oh ya, it tough out dare tonigh but we work har and Jean-Guy score dat winner goal but doze other guys play har too… but we pretty good… better eh!”

 

“Why doen all doze God-damn French guys speak Ing-glish,” Rejean would growl.

“I hate ‘em too eh, “ I’d pout, drifting from the schoolyard and heading to French class, mulling over our weekend’s defeat to the Canadiens.

[Jared Handley]

I don't get hockey. At all. Scary soccer with weapons, something, something, penalty box (now that's one manly rule, I will say). But, I get this. This I like. I can fit in with these fans. Nice write.

[Paul de Denus]

and now I've gone back to look at that actual team and see the players -I see there was no Yvon (Cournoyer I was thinking) so threw in Jean-Guy Talbot- all the same to me=)

[Paul de Denus]

god, my memory is a little ticklish but I'm pretty sure it was (sp) Jacque Plante- there were so many to love/hate.

[Gita]

You wrote this for me! Fess up!

Jean Beliveau... Maurice "the rocket" Richard...his younger brother Henri "the pocket rocket" and "Boom Boom Geoffrion."  High-sticking was a skater's God-given right if you were Canadian. Oh to be in the Montreal Forum and scream, "Kill da ref" when a bad call was made.
I will send you an actual Canadian paper dollar from 1967  that has been in a safety deposit box since that year if you can tell me the name of the goalie (without looking on the internet) from the year 1960 when you and your friends hated the Habs.