What's the German Word for 'Canucks Lose'?

"Here we go again..."

Over the past few years, a word has made it into our lexicon, borrowed from German, that I'm sure most of you are familiar with, and which many of you may have even used.  I am talking of schadenfreude, which is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.  And I am feeling schadenfreude at the result of the Canucks' loss last night, in overtime, to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Let me set the record straight, I really don't like the Chicago Blackhawks.  Naturally, I don't like them because they are an opponent of the Calgary Flames, and I'm a homer.  But I also had the worst experience I've ever had a sporting event, at Game Two of the first round series between the Flames and Blackhawks in 2009.  Having things thrown at me, things yelled at me (a flurry of C-sharps and F-bombs) and an all around unpleasant time at a hockey game, has not endeared me to the team.

But last night, I found myself jumping off the couch with excitement, hands in the air, after Ben Smith's goal.  It may seem odd to cheer so enthusiastically for a team I dislike so much, but I wasn't so much cheering the Blackhawks' victory, as much I was cheering the Canucks' loss.  'My enemy's enemy is my friend' goes an old Chinese proverb, and that was the reason for my excitement last night.  My dislike of the Chicago Blackhawks is small potatoes to my feelings for the Vancouver Canucks.

Not only was I excited the Canucks had lost, but also at the fashion in which they did so.  Having taken a three nothing series lead, them advancing to the next round seemed a certainty.  But after humiliating losses of 7-2 and 5-0, and last night's overtime loss, they find themselves playing a game seven they shouldn't.  Roberto Luongo being pulled two games in a row and benched for last night's contest only adds to my jubilation.  And now they face elimination at the hands of last year's Stanley Cup Champions and the same team that has eliminated them the past two seasons.

And there I was feeling schadenfreude, thinking of all the fans in Vancouver, reluctantly asking for their tabs and leaving the bar dejected and sad, staring at their shoes as they made their home through the rainy Vancouver night.  I even continue to smile as I write this.

Now the only thing that can make it even better, would be another Blackhawks victory, this time in front of 19,000 Canucks fans, to complete the greatest of comebacks.  And it would allow me to experience a feeling of schadenfreude one more time.

-TheRev


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