When I first heard that Vancouver-newspaper-delivery-boy-turned-mega-celebrity Ryan Reynolds was working with a group of investors on a bid to buy the Ottawa Senators, my reaction was similar to that of many Vancouverites.
I thought "Why the heck doesn't he buy his home team?!"
Metro Vancouverites reading this know that Reynolds isn't just any world famous dude, he's our world famous dude.
Sure he bought a Welsh soccer (football) team, and a Portland distillery, and a US mobile carrier. Sure he lives in California.
None of that matters - the dude is without a doubt the best, most-generous, most-famous, and relevant former B.C. resident who constantly flies our flag in front of the entire world so that they may be reminded of how great it is here.
He not only flies the flag that represents this place but he's also a shining example of the awesomeness of the people of this province. He's our champion, and to see him choose to try to buy a team from Ontario was - while understandable, as the team was up for sale - like a dagger to our rain-soaked, west coast hearts.
Today it was announced that the Senators are instead going to be sold to some Ontario billionaire, and the team's chairman and governor Sheldon Plener released a statement about it which contained a dagger of his own. He noted that the new buyer “represents everything we could have hoped to find coming into this process — a passionate owner who is committed to Ottawa.”
I could hear Ontario native The Weeknd, who also had a bid in, say "Ouch, bro," all the way from the opposite coast.
What I also heard was a collective sigh of relief from those around me, who have rejuvenated hopes that the Canucks owners, the Aquilini family, may one day soon decide that they're done and that they want to pass the torch to an ownership group headed up by someone who people love and deeply respect.
Let's hope that the guy waving the B.C. flag will be standing in the wings if and when they decide to do that.
