If home is where the heart is, then it makes sense that Vancouverite Cindy Wong should be rooting for the Nashville Predators.
Supporting the Vancouver Canucks was easy for Wong, that is, until they knocked the Chicago Blackhawks out of the Stanley Cup playoffs and advanced to the next round against opponents, the Nashville Predators. Since then, it’s been Nashville all the way. Why? Because of the roots she shares with Nashville d-men Shea Weber and Cody Franson. Like them, Wong was raised in Sicamous. Her family owned and operated the Jade Stone Inn for 23 years.
“I went to school with them, they’re two years younger than me, but Cody’s my brother’s age and we lived pretty close to each other, and we knew their families because we had the restaurant,” says Wong.
Wong isn’t alone in switching allegiances. Back in Sicamous, the orca pennants have gone down, replaced by the sabre-toothed tiger.
“Everyone was cheering for the Canucks, and now everything has changed, I mean, we’ve got to vote for the hometown boys,” says Mayor Malcolm MacLeod. “We’re going to be supporting Nashville, that’s for darn sure. How often does that happen, that two boys playing on the same team who come from the same town end up in the Stanley Cup?”
As of press time, Vancouver and Nashville were tied at 1-1, with their next game scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday nights.