There are good sports, and then there are the Gatineau Olympiques
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008The Gatineau Olympiques had just concluded a Memorial Cup tournament they’d probably prefer to forget. After losing 3-1 to the Spokane Chiefs last night, the Olympiques were eliminated from the 2008 tournament without posting a single win. But they may well have won the hearts of hockey fans in Kitchener.
Immediately after the game, in what was likely their deepest moment of disappointment, the Gatineau Olympiques unfurled a banner and skated around the ice with it. The banner read, simply, “Thank you Kitchener-Waterloo. Merci.” In all of the hockey games played in all of the arenas across this country this year, I’m not sure a nicer gesture has been made.
The Gatineau Olympiques may not be leaving Kitchener as Memorial Cup champions but they are most certainly leaving as some of the classiest hockey players we have ever had the privilege of hosting. And so to Gatineau I say, “très beau travail!”