Boston Vs. Montreal...A Study Of Sorts

First, an apology to my handful of readers. I started a blog, made two entries and then promptly disappeared for about two weeks. That's a dick move and hopefully it won't happen again. I'm sorry.



That said I have been working and traveling to all sorts of wonderful games and it's led me to at least one interesting question. Which experience is better from the perspective of working media, covering the New England Patriots or the Montreal Canadiens?



Right off the bat let me make this perfectly clear, both organizations couldn't be better to work with. Their media relations staffs both work quickly and efficiently and on top of that, they generally seem like nice people without an ounce of pretension.



OK, let's get down to it. These are the categories that I'll be matching up these venerable franchises in: Surrounding area, aesthetic of the arena, press room, press box (there can be a difference), interviews, field access, and fans.



First up, is the surrounding areas.



Pats: O.K. so right off the bat the Patriots are in a hole. I mean, not to say that Foxboro isn't a nice New England town, but essentially it's Wrentham with a huge stadium, meaning it's kinda like every other medium sized New England town. Nice, but nothing special.



Don't get me wrong, it's not all boring/bland strip malls. Almost as soon as you get onto the main drag leading up to the stadium you start seeing these tribal enclaves of Pats fans. All tailgating, and at first glance, all of them experiencing varying degrees of drunkenness, well not the kid, correction, not ALL of the kids. Even with the windows rolled up in the news truck you can't help but smell the wonderful aroma of various scorched meats. Definitely, not bad...but definitely not great.



Canadiens: It's almost not fair to compare, but for the sake of science we must. Flat out Montreal is a world class city. If you've never been it's a no doubt about it travel destination. I defy you to drive across the Pont Champlain after nightfall and not be somewhat impressed by the city's skyline lit up in all it's glory with the St. Lawrence river in the foreground. Not to mention you can tell the mood of the entire city based solely on how the Habs are doing. Last year during the playoffs I did a story asking fans on the street what they would give up for their team to win another Stanley Cup. We stopped shortly after fans began offering up family members (both moms and dads) and body parts (one heart, and no, he didn't mean it in the emo kid, I cut myself to feel sense.) Everything pulses hockey. Jerseys are everywhere, and not just the big name players. More than mixed in with the Koivu's and the Price's are the Latendresse's, Kostitsyns, and Komisarek's. We'll get into the two fan bases later, but it's worth mentioning now because this sea of Blue, White, and Red gets you fired up as a jaded reporter to cover the game right, not just for your job, but for the sake of these fans, some of which don't even have tickets to the game, but just hang out near the arena to feel closer to their team.



The Canadiens win this category in a landslide. (1-0 Habs)



The Venue:



Pats: Gillette Stadium is really something to see in person. From the outside it's very aesthetically pleasing. No rough angles, everything seems to blend nicely into the next feature. Once inside, especially from field level at night, the view is fantastic. For some reason (at night) there always seems to be a bit of fog hanging in the air, which adds to the scene for purely cinematic reasons. And I don't care what anyone says, I love the lighthouse feature in the endzone end furthest from the press box. It's a cool nod to the team's home city (Boston) and it always catches the eye, and never in a bad way. I'm a huge fan of Gillette. (If Bob Kraft wants to scratch of a check for this ringing endorsement right about now, that would be great as well.)



Canadiens: Go ahead and tell me what the Bell Centre really looks like from the outside. I'm mean to the Habs credit, they do try to dress it up with 8 story banners of their players, but it's essentially a big brick and glass building carved into a city block. Major props to them for keeping the home ice where it needs to be, right in the center of downtown Montreal. Putting the home building (Note: "Building" is Canadian for arena) in the burbs would have been like ripping a child from it's loving parents. So they did the best they could with the building. Inside, well, it's a hockey arena. I never went to a game in the old Forum, but from what I understand you could literally feel the history of the organization's greatness wash over you. On the other hand, I also heard a couple of the press old-timers talk about how nice it was to use the bathrooms in the press room without rats running over your feet...jinkies. So I guess the new building has it's perks as well. Also, it still amazing to look up at the rafters and see the line of retired numbers and Stanley Cup banners. If you're a fan of sports history at all it's a bit like seeing the Constitution for the first time. You almost can't really believe it's real. And as a kid who grew up wasting his his weekends on much lesser sheets of ice, I can't resist making my way onto the ice at least once per trip. I always find a sense of home on compressed ice. I know, weird.



The Pats win the Venue fight to even thing up. (Tie 1-1)



Press Room:



A real quick clarification here: For the sake of this argument I'm considering the press room to be the place where the media hangs out and pretty much watches TV and eats before the game and the press box to be where you actually watch the game. Great, I'm glad we cleared that up.



Pats: Like almost every other press room there are a bunch of tables in a room and a buffet filled with all sorts of food. Now as a rule, you should never...EVER...complain about the food. First of all, for the most part it's free. Secondly, they don't have to give you anything so be grateful you can fill your plate up as many times as you want to the point that everyone in the room is shooting you looks of shame (I'm talking to you stereotypical newspaper beat writer. I mean do you really need three helpings of bacon wrapped eggs?) That said, this past week aside (steak!) the food at the Pats game is lackluster. The hot dogs the serve at halftime are a bit too huge and frankly I feel like I'm trying out for a sketchy "art film" every time I try to eat one. Seriously, I'm waiting for someone to pop out asking me about my gag reflex. The deserts though, are killer to the point that you actually have to stop yourself. They always have cookies, and almost always have pie, cake, and brownies. My God, it's a wonder that only most of us are tubby bastards! Your view is the stadium, which is cool because it keeps your mind on the game, but like most of my reporter brethren I act like I suffer from low level ADHD and it's nice to mix things up a bit.



Canadiens: First the downside is you have to pay 10 bucks Canadian to eat. And that's that last downside. They always have an alternate entree, which is always delicious (usually chicken or Italian of some kind), but the real crowd pleaser are the hot dogs. No really. I know I just bashed hot dogs a second ago, but these are dramatically different. They're much smaller so you can eliminate the Ron Jeremy aspect right of the bat, and the taste like heaven on a bun. They're grilled up (pre-steamed?) right in front of you Nathan's style and served up to you on a delicately toasted New England styled roll. Just fantastic. For desert they have ice cream, cheesecake, and cookies. The cookies are so good that my wife asks me to one bring back home (white chocolate and macadamia nut) for her after every game. Plus, the Habs have gone the extra step of hiring staff to come and pick up your plate for you and to make sure the tables are clean.

As for your view you can't see the ice but you can either look at the cityscape from the 7th story of the Bell Centre (which is a pretty great view) or you can watch Hockey Night In Canada. It's your classic win-win situation.



Habs take this one as well. (Habs 2-1)



Press Box:



Pats: The press box at Gillette is broken up into two levels. The red or lower level also doubles as the press room. I usually sit with the vast majority of the press in the blue level so I'll focus on that. You never have to worry about having enough space. There are tons of seats and the seats are tiered into three levels so you'll never have to stare at the back of Bob Ryan's head, or even worse Dan Shaunghnessy's fro. Your view can be partially blocked by the dividers that separate the ceiling to floor windows. Those windows also knock down a ton of the crowd noise. I understand that it's a necessary evil with the reality of New England's fall/winter weather, but you do feel a touch disconnected.

A big plus is all the flat screen plasmas that thanks to the network delay provide you with even more instant instant replay.



Canadiens: In Montreal getting to the box is an experience in it's self. You walk upstairs from the press room and then down a dimly lit stairway to the press galley. Think of the greatest catwalk in creation. You are literally suspended 7 and a half stories up directly above the ice. At first, looking down can actually make you a bit dizzy, but you can really see the entire sheet of ice and you truly get a feel for the flow of the game.

More importantly to me, you're directly connected to the fans. The only thing between you and them is air and anticipation. If you turn around you're at eye level we the fans who sit in the rafters. You can hear every cheer, boo, and chant. Every deafening moment, good and bad, are yours to share.

The new high def center ice display can obstruct the view to a corner if your in a rough seat, but for the most part it's all good.



Again the Habs prevail (Habs 3-1)

Interviews:

Pats: I don't know if ya'll have figured this out for yourself, but Pats head coach Bill Belichick isn't exactly a talker. You have to phrase your question just right or you'll get a one word response, or worse yet you'll get annihilated like one reporter did after the Bills game (btw, it was fantastic to watch someone from a big market shrink in their chair right before your eyes...I'm a bad person.) Now, this isn't all bad. You do get to test yourself and your reporting skills so it's actually kinda fun.

The players take after their coach and almost always say the right thing. They do actually give you the courtesy of explaining why they feel a certain way about something, and even better almost none of them duck into the trainer's room to avoid the press.

Canadiens: The big problem up north is the language barrier. With Coach Carbonneau you have to split time with the French speaking press and you always feel like you're either asking the poor guy the same question twice or that you're missing out on a really great answer in French. And look, I do realize that Montreal is a primarily French speaking area, and to be honest, I'm just grateful that the players and coach do make an effort to give you answers in English at all. I understand all these things, but yet I still leave the press conferences feeling frustrated.

In spite of the language barrier hockey players by far are the best interviews. They carry all their emotions right out there on their shoulders. Quick to laugh or grumble, good sound bites are never hard to pick out. They even crack themselves for rattling off cheesy cliches.

This one's a Tie (yes Donovan...A TIE) (Habs 3-1-1)

And finally...Fans:

Pats: Maybe the city of Boston has seen too much success this decade. 2 World Series, 3 Super Bowls, and a NBA title, heck B.C. even won the national title in Men's hockey... it's an awful lot of winning. And now it seems like Boston fans just expect to win everything, and when they don't they just bail. I was left in shock as I watched Red Sox fans stream out of Fenway INNINGS early when the Rays were killing them in ALCS games 3 and 4. And enough with the argument that these weren't the TRUE members of Red Sox Nation, more posers who plunked down big money because it was just another 'social event.' That argument holds little water when all you hear about all season is how ALL of New England lives and dies with every game. And sadly, I think this region of fair weather fans also shows up for Pats games. I mean, yeah they cheer when the stadium jumbotron tells them to, but the Pats fans also bail exceedingly early in the face of peril. Maybe everyone is still scarred from watching their season die 8 minutes in along with Tom Brady's knee. But as a kid who grew up watching the Yankees all I heard about were these rabid New England area fans who would sacrifice body parts for another championship, I'm a little disappointed by a fan base that acts more like L.A. fans.

Canadiens: Flat out, there are no more passionate fans in North America than Montreal Canadiens fans (I'm not willing to say the world with soccer fans rioting, throwing baggies full of urine, and hitting opposing goalies with homemade flare guns walking the earth.) Habs fans love every member of their team like family. Exactly like family in fact. By this I mean, you may love your sister, but if she acting like a fool you'll tell her to her face. It's the same for the Habs and their fans. As I mentioned before, fans rock the sweaters (Canadian for jersey) of all players, stars and also rans alike.

Habs fans also know the game exceedingly well. They cheer for good shifts not just goals and great saves. They sing OLE... OLE OLE OLE until they drown out the P.A. system. Last season when they were knocked out of the playoffs early by the Philadelphia Flyers fans weren't heading for the gates halfway through the third. NO NO NO, these fans hung out until after the final buzzer to thank the guys on the ice for one hell of a ride. And when they win....run and hide.

Quick story: Last season the Habs beat the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs in seven games. After the game I'm feeling adventurous so I drag my cameraman and my wife (who was taking pictures for the TV station's website) outside of the Bell Centre to shoot my stand ups for my next day stories. After shooting a couple of safety ones with some rather rambunctious fans I dragged everyone further from safety and deeper into crazy Habs fan country. When I felt like we were properly mobbed I had Killer Conroy (photog) flip on the camera light...and promptly touched off a mini-riot. My wife had to hold onto to Killer to not get dragged away, and I literally had to fight my way out of the pack. That night 8 Montreal police cars were set on fire (by organized crime) and a full scale riot broke out. Now I in no way condone riots. Frankly, that was the scariest moment of my career so far (yes, even more than having then Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Ted Williams telling me as an intern to go 'F@#%' myself after asking him for an interview.) But if fans are that wound up after a win it clearly means the world to them and I'm in to that sort of devotion.


Habs Win the fan category and overall head to head. (4-1-1)

I had someone tell me earlier when I mentioned this blog that comparing these two game experiences was like comparing apples and oranges. And that's fine. I've never seen what's wrong with comparing apples and oranges. Sure they're different kinds of fruit, but it's still OK to like one over the other (I'm an Orange man myself mostly because apple juice looks like pee and who wants to drink pee. That's just gross.) That said, both events are amazing to go to, let alone as a member of the press. I just happen to love the vibe that Montreal puts out over Foxboro. Feel free to comment or just call me nasty names behind my back.