London’s Canadians celebrate Olympic gold medal glory
It was a little piece of Canada in the heart of London, so said the sign on the door. Hundreds of Canadian ex-pats and their supporters piled into London’s Maple Leaf Pub last night to watch Canada win against the United States in the battle for the Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey.
A Canada knit. Photo Credit: Heather Christie
Two hundred bodies squeezed into the United Kingdom’s only Canadian-themed bar, with another 80 hopefuls waiting outside in the rain, hoping to gain entry to the big ticket event. Eager Canucks arrived before the Maple Leaf opened in order to secure seating for the game, waiting over eight hours for the puck to finally drop on-screen in Covent Garden.
Canadian beer poured liberally from fast-drying kegs and the crowd was a sea of sea of red, white, and brew. Some members of the crowd tied the flag, cape-style, around their necks, others sported maple leaf mittens, face paint, and tattoos. Few were spotted without at least one article of clothing displaying their patriotism.
Mark Motlieb, The Maple Leaf’s general manager, said he and his staff had been expecting a busy evening.
“We got an idea that people were excited for Olympic hockey when loads of people came in to watch the women, so we ordered more beer, put more staff on and got some security at the door,” says Motlieb.
Big Game Means Big Beer
The Maple Leaf ordered an extra 20 kegs of Sleeman’s beer for the occasion. Motlieb says he also ordered an extra 20 cases of Moosehead, but there was a “nightmare” delivery problem.
The throngs that gathered did so to share a proud national moment in the company of other Canadians.
“I came down to London for this game; I wanted to be surrounded by Canadians and didn’t want to watch it alone,” said Fraser Fell, 24, a teacher from Unionville who works in Bristol.
Others, like Whitney McWade, 23, flocked to the game for nostalgic reasons. “I grew up watching hockey. The fact that we’re so far away from home and yet able to come together as a country here is wonderful,” said the graduate student from Ottawa studying at London’s Kings College.
Canadian brew for a Canadian victory.
Some took the patriotism even further. “It’s like in 1814 when we beat the US on their own soil; we’re going to do it again,” said James Thomas, 29, of Peterborough, in London as a sporting goods store manager.
Anthony Howitt, 22, was one of the few Britons present. At the Maple Leaf with his Canadian girlfriend, the Londoner was more circumspect about our favourite sport.
“It’s not rugby,” he said.
When team Canada scored the winning goal, the noise level inside the Maple Leaf was almost deafening enough to be heard across the Atlantic.
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