Over the past winter, I have made trips to Prince George in support of the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League.
Through the season, I was totally impressed with the support for the local team that the community had displayed, to the point of telling others of what a positive experience it was to watch a game in Prince George.
This positive outlook of the P.G. support changed dramatically during the weekend of the Major Midget Provincial Finals between the Cougars and the Vancouver NE Chiefs.
During these two games, which the Chiefs ended up winning, the behaviour of the fans was to say the least disgraceful. Major Midget is still a level where the players have to be described as children. During the second game specifically, there were three occasion where a Chiefs player was injured. The first two occasions elicited cheering from the crowd. The third occasion was booed by the crowd, not due to the injury as much as it was in conjunction with a disallowed goal. As the situation became more obvious that this was not the time for the Cougars to come away victorious, the crowd very loudly proclaimed their displeasure with the refereeing of the game. The insults that were thrown in the direction of the referees were certainly less than inspiring. If people wonder why BC Hockey would consider banning parents and others from the games, watch the video of this weekend and see if you can see the fine example being set for our children.
These fans gave a black-eye to the good citizens of Prince George.
Ted Brown
Richmond
