Highway Robbery!!!....

Yes.. I am talking about the CBC's Hockey night in Canada's
"Bring Home The Cup" Contest.

Now I realize..this was based on Fans votes, so about all
I have to say is this.
There are ALLOT of really STUPID people in the east.
And whatever they're smokin' could make them millions,
I hope they're cashing in on it, because they've sure
Got some wicked Hallucinations.

You see.. I have nothing against the folks who won the contest,
They had a great story.
But the fact of the matter is this...
The contest was for the BEST HOCKEY SHRINE!! NOT the best
Story.

This is a quote from the contest website about what they were
Looking for:

Hockey is Canada’s Game. Canadian Hockey fans are passionate about their game, and about how they watch their game. Pepsi®, Lay’s®, Gatorade® and the NHL® in association with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and in partnership with the National Hockey League and the National Hockey Players Association are seeking out the most passionate hockey fans to share their hockey viewing rituals and most amazing hockey shrines for a chance to win the Ultimate Prize..to Bring Home the Stanley Cup®!

You would have to be completely blind and deaf not to see the
Single best hockey SHRINE was easily Dean McCords
Flames shrine.

A quote from a news release on the flames website about
The Shrine..

"But McCord's basement doesn't just look like the insider
of the Pengrowth Saddledome, the die-hard fan owns pretty
much anything and everything Flames FanAttic has ever sold.

If they've sold it, McCord has it.

"I have probably everything the FanAttic has ever made in
terms of posters, pictures, memorabilia stuff, you name
it," added McCord. "I've got every Flames jersey they've
ever worn back from when they started in Atlanta in 1972
up until today."

The only thing missing, according to McCord, is a framed
poster from 1989 entitled 'Face off of Champions'."

For the complete story, click here

EVERY Jersey from 1972 till now??? and pretty much everything
FanAttic has ever sold?? how many people can even begin to
Claim that?
The time, effort and money put into the shrine deserved
The win alone, not to mention..there's not a die hard
Fan in the city not drooling over his basement at the moment.

I truly feel a better method was needed to decide the winner,
Because basing it on fan votes, the Eastern entries already
Had a huge advantage over the west due to the majority of
The population of Canada being in the east.
And people seem to have the inability to vote honestly, voting
"Because" the winners were from the east.
Not because it was the best shrine.
And for that.. I feel CBC owes Dean McCord an apology, anyone
With a brain in their head can see he got Robbed of the
Grand Prize based on the the fact it was "Supposed" to
Be for the best shrine, not the best story.

Judge for yourself, here are the three finalists for the contest

The Winner:


Dean McCords Flames Shrine:


Martin Wanless Halifax Nova Scotia:


Now as of monday morning, just 15 hours before the voting deadline, this is how the votes looked:
As of Monday Morning

Dean McCord
Calgary, AB
Views: 10490

Peter Calder
Greater Matawaska, ON
Views: 8779

Martin Wanless
Halifax, NS
Views: 2645

Truthfully.. I'm not convinced there wasn't some kind of tampering either in the voting itself,
Or of the results in the last 15 hours.
McCord was almost 2000 votes ahead of Calder just 15 hours before the deadline.
I tried to sign up using two different email accounts so I could vote, and never received my
Verification email, I wonder how many other folks from the west had the same problem.

Either way... IMO McCord was robbed.

Congratulations to Peter Calder, you do have a great story, it's heartwarming, shows
The Canadian spirit and passion for the game.
Stories like that do deserve recognition..and a place in Canadian history to show just
How much Canada loves their sport.
But of the three finalists...I'm sure even you would agree that not much comes close
To the Shrine McCord has worked 12 years on.

I guess, the only consolation is knowing that there's a good chance the designers
Would have wrecked an already beautiful thing.
Creating for Calder...a Hockey night in Canada shrine more than a specific teams
Shrine.
It's more...a chance to Party with someone like Messier..and have the Stanley cup
In your home is a once in a lifetime experience for most...
Everything else in the prizes for the most part can be bought, but you can't buy
An experience with a hockey legend and Lord Stanley.