Friday, November 02, 2007
Of Finns and French
The idiocy of French politics and the Quebec media reared its ugly head one more and Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu was the unfortunate victim.Koivu, born in Finland, arrived in Montreal 12 years ago by himself with limited knowledge of English to start off his NHL career.
Now he's the team Captain and has mastered the English language so he can communicate with the public, media, and more importantly, his teammates to ensure he gets them to perform at the highest level they possible can. All is good, right?
Well, forget it. Because he hasn't taken the time to learn French, he should be considered a disgrace according to some Quebec politicians and journalists. Bless the Montreal Canadiens: The only franchise in the 30 team league where an issue of what language a player speaks would make front page news.
Immigration is a sensitive topic, and I'm one of those people who do believe you do need to learn your new country's official language (or in Canada's case, languages as English or French will suffice) if you want to make Canada your home. Koivu did that. English is the primary language for NHL players and for 95% of the media, so a Finn should make it a point to learn English if he wishes to make professional hockey their choice of career.
But under no circumstances should Saku feel obliged to learn French simply to appease the public. He has to answer to his teammates and management, and no one else. Learning a new language is difficult enough, and he did that. If he wants to learn another, fine, but only if he wants to, not because he's getting badgered about it.
Everyone in Montreal wonders why guys like Daniel Briere and Ryan Smyth take a pass when deciding which team to play for when they're mulling over new contracts. Who wants to deal with this type of criticism? It's one thing to be scrutinized for your play on the ice, but for being a pawn in a political debate, no player should ever have to put up with that.
Last night, Koivu addressed the crown on the jumbotron in French to cheers from the crowd. I guess for fans it might be interpreted to them that he was wrong for not learning French and is willing to make amends. It's not enough he battled back from cancer to play again in the NHL. It's not enough he almost lost vision in one of his eyes for his team after taking a high stick in the 2006 playoffs. But speak French, and yeah, you're finally "in", I suppose.
He's a much nicer guy than me because if I were Saku Koivu, I'd ask to be traded in a heartbeat. Now I hope for Saku's sake this subject will never, ever be brought up again.
# posted by SBP : 4:53 PM
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