Canadians Upset Over Green Jerseys

Next year, the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships will be held in Regina and Saskatoon, cities in the Saskatchewan province of Canada. To honor the province and their CFL football team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Hockey Canada has decided to unveil a green version of the team's jerseys to be worn twice during the tournament.

In a press release, Hockey Canada COO Scott Smith had high praise for the jerseys. "We believe fans in Saskatchewan, and throughout Canada, will rally around the green jerseys prior to and during the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship," he said.

They're rallying all right, but it's not the kind that Smith had in mind.

How do Canadians feel about a national team donning a primary color that is nowhere to be seen on their country's flag? Well, I'll let some of the comments from the Globe and Mail's story (all sic) give you the answer.

They are recognizing FOOTBALL!.

FOOTBALL!

This is an international hockey tournament.
People from other countries who are proud of there countries colors
will be trying to figure out what the heck FOOTBALL is, let alone why we would change our countries colors

Well, to be fair, there was a little green in the Canadian flag until 1957. A teeny tiny bit. I don't think most commentors are old enough to remember, though, unless they pay attention to such history (or use Wikipedia like myself). And paying homage to a football team through hockey?

(Cricket sounds)

Really? I mean, really?!

Don't ask me who decided to use a junior hockey team to honor a professional football team, but that's what happened. This is one of those times where it's hard to picture the marketing or design meeting where these were drawn up and then, apparently, approved.

I figure there are a few folks in Saskatchewan who will be jazzed up by seeing the hometown colors, but this reeks of trying to make money off of a third jersey, as the NHL has done.

Great idea: use Canada's junior hockey team to honour a football team with 23 Americans on its active roster.
That'll be sure to capture the spirit of Canadian hockey

Then, in the great anger of the internet, someone calls out the Globe and Mail's spell checker.