|
SLAM! Sports SLAM! Hockey [an error occurred while processing this directive] COLUMNS NHL The Teams Full Schedule Monthly Schedule Standings Statistics Rosters Injury list Movement Trades Hits Gallery INTERACTIVE JUNIOR MORE HOCKEY ALSO ON SLAM!  |
Monday, May 29, 2000 Rocket always shunned political symbolismMONTREAL (CP) -- Rocket Richard never wanted to be a political bombshell. He didn't like to talk politics and modestly dismissed himself as "just a hockey player."But in 1955, he was at the centre of what has been described as a watershed moment in the rise of Quebec nationalism, when fans trashed downtown Montreal to protest Richard's suspension after a brawl. Commentators have since said that rampage was as much about French-Canadians rising up against English-speaking bosses as protesting the mistreatment of their hero. "The 1955 (riot) ... was one way of people saying, 'We're fed up with always being on the wrong side, the side of the victim,' " Guy Bouthillier, president of the nationalist Societe St-Jean Baptiste, said Monday. Bouthillier acknowledged he didn't consider the grander political implications of the riot at the time and participated out of youthful exuberance. Desmond Morton, a historian at McGill University, agreed that nationalism wasn't the only thing that sparked the incident. "I don't think that explains the mass behaviour entirely because people don't think that politically," he said. "But it does explain the morning-after justification which most levels of French-Canadian society indulged in and which were largely echoed." He agreed that Richard was "Quebec's act of defiance, the tough guy. He'd represent all the built-up resentments and hostilities minorities usually come to feel." It was no surprise that those resentments would boil over when the Montreal Canadiens star player was suspended by the aloof National Hockey League president Clarence Campbell, who was presented by some as an Anglo oppressor, he said. "Of course, it is also true that in any city there is a fair population that loves the sound of smashing glass and the chance to pick up the odd thing that no one's going to have to pay income tax on." Bouthillier agreed that the nationalist attachment to Richard has been in spite of the hockey player's apolitical stance. "These things are greater than the person," he said, noting Quebecers tend to root for the little guy who does well because it gives them hope for their own aspirations. Richard "had no fear of doing what he felt he had to do," said Bouthillier. "The feeling was that we weren't as capable physically as the Anglo-Saxons and maybe he proved we could be successful." Morton suggested The Rocket may have intentionally stayed above the debate. "It's not a stupid position to adopt," he said, pointing out that if Richard had supported federalists or separatists he would have been categorized. His funeral won't be overtly political. His family has declined to have the casket draped with the Quebec flag. The Montreal Canadiens hockey club, and not the Quebec government protocol office, continues to oversee the proceedings. "How do you live within a society where you are an iconic figure, where if you assert yourself as being more than a hockey player you'll be brought down to size," Morton said. "He was always available to the larger Quebec. There aren't very many people in Quebec society who perform that role." Since his death on Saturday, commentators have meticulously examined the loving embrace of Richard by his province. People have talked endlessly about his prowess on the ice and determination to win. Many have also said he carried the aspirations of French-Canada on his broad shoulders. "He never liked to lose and when the goal was close, he was determined to win," said Louise Paquet, president of the sovereigntist Mouvement national des Quebecoises et Quebecois. "That's why he will continue to be a great source of pride and a model for many generations of Quebecers." Bouthillier said the Richard riot ranked up there with demonstrations protesting the hanging of Louis Riel in 1885 and conscription during the Second World War. He quoted a woman he had heard on a radio phone-in show who described Richard as a "hero who refused to let people step on his toes, contrary to most Quebecers today." Premier Lucien Bouchard has designated Richard's burial as a state funeral and suspended the legislature for Wednesday, the day of the rites. More on Rocket Richard
|
