Tuesday night’s Pittsburgh Penguins home opener went from great, to ok, to bad.
Starting out from a 2-0 lead and ending in 4-2 defeat, there was definitely lots to talk about from that night. You can check out some of those thoughts here, but there seems to be a particular sticking point, the “Fire Canada” chants that broke out.
A “Fire Canada” chant started to gain traction during the second period, spreading from one section to the entire arena as fans shouted louder and louder.
Being at that game, I loved it. It was hilarious, it was energizing, and it was a rallying cry for Pittsburgh sports fans who came to watch the Penguins open up the season at PPG Paints Arena.
It was amusing for a variety of reasons, but to be honest, I didn’t think all that much about it, which is why I was surprised to see a lot of people in the Pittsburgh sports media world show such disdain for the chant.
This isn’t about anybody in particular’s comments, and I’m certainly not intending to single anyone out, but there was considerable backlash to the chants that made the rounds on social and national media.
It was called “classless”, “distasteful” and “disrespectful”, among other synonyms to describe their displeasure about the chant.
But to me, this doesn’t make any sense at all. Why are we overreacting to the chant?
Pittsburgh is a sports-crazed town. Yes, every sports fan in this town has their own personal favorite, but generally speaking, every Pittsburgh sports fan is a fan of all three major teams in the city.
If you’re a Penguins fan, you’re probably also a Steelers and Pirates fan. And vice versa for every other combination.
So, why can’t fans chant “Fire Canada” at the Penguins game?
When you root for one, you root for all, and there’s no doubt that many fans who were dialed in to watch the Penguins play have also been closely watching the Steelers and their abysmal offense.
The Steelers clearly haven’t been listening, so fans are going to naturally keep the message up, and spread to other forms of voicing their opinions as well.
Anyone criticizing the chant I think simply fails to understand how united Pittsburgh sports fans are. They’re gonna cheer for all teams, and they’re gonna voice their opinions about all three teams.
And that’s not limited to just Pittsburgh. How many times have we seen pictures circulate from a random college game, or a wrestling match, or literally anywhere else where someone held up a sign saying “Fire Canada”?
I’m not seeing any of those people he called “classless” or “disrespectful.” But because it’s simply at a different Pittsburgh spots event, it’s all of the sudden a cardinal sin?
It’s not that deep, I promise you that. If anything, the Penguins are actually lucky this chant happened, and that it’s sweeping the news cycle.
It helps overshadow the awful late game performance they had that ultimately cost them the game.
(Featured image by Charles LeClaire/USA Today Sports)
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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