Coulda been the 6-pack,coulda been the Russians
(The obscure reference from the title ties to the Irish Rovers – if you don’t know it, or would like a reminder – click here).
We have more readers from the US than from Canada and I thought this may be an interesting piece of perspective on our nation and the city in which I live. I should explain that we live on one of the busier streets in the city on the edge of a very social strip of town. A 3 minute walk would bring you past 8-12 restaurants and bars as well as a concert venue.
I have managed to find myself on the streets of Toronto around 7PM for the last 2 evenings. There has been an unusual amount of people walking, by themselves, with cases of beer. It’s usually a 6 or a 12-pack but they are out there and they are generally walking hurried through the cold winter night.
I have also noticed that by 8PM they are not around.
Last night I counted 10 people walking on the streets as described above between 6.30-7.15. I sat at a College Street bar for a few hours after this and while I wasn’t facing the street, frequent glances outside revealed no additional beer.
Perhaps I’m hallucinating but I draw an easy conclusion – Olympic Hockey drives behaviours across our city (and I suspect, our Country). The television support my claim – 20 million Canadians (2 out of 3) watched at least part of the game on Tuesday night. I suspect last night’s game (vs the Russians) was even higher.
I walked across College and noticed the crowds in many bars who were huddled around televisions. The bars were diverse – typical pubs, restaurants, watering holes and holes in the wall contained their tribes – all part of a bigger tribe of the Canadian Cult. It seems that hockey – and beer – are a right of passage for many Canadians these days.
A mention of beer may seem to be a very loose tie to a food post – if you could see the frequency that this pattern occurs it would be instantly clear why it’s not a loose tie at all. I’d love to know the statistics on beer sales in Canada this week.