Versteeg and the archer celebration
by James Mirtle on May 13, 2009 3:32 PM CDT
16 comments
It's been one of the feel good stories of the season for Canucks fans: Alex Burrows and his "bow and arrow" celebration, done in tribute to Luc Bourdon, his friend and teammate that was killed in a motorcycle accident last year:
The celebration's something that's even been commemorated in a T-shirt this year that benefits a charitable foundation in Bourdon's name. You can imagine the outrage in B.C., then, when Kris Versteeg pulled out the same routine after scoring in Game 6 on Monday in Chicago:
Mocking tone
Kris Versteeg scored a power-play goal to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead in the second period and celebrated with Canucks forward Alex Burrows's favourite move - the bow and arrow.
The move is immortalized on a T-shirt dedicated to the memory of Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon, who passed away last summer in a motorcycle accident. Bourdon used the move in his rookie year with the Canucks. Burrows has been using the celebration all season long, as a tribute to his best friend.
I've heard from a few Canucks fans on this (and here's one example of what some are saying) so I touched base with the Blackhawks today for a comment.
"Kris meant no disrespect to either Alex or Luc," said team spokesman Adam Rogowin. "His motion to the sky after the second period goal on Monday was in honor of a friend that passed away a few weeks back."
Rogowin added that Versteeg is a big fan of sprinter Usain Bolt, who has used a similar celebration in the past.
Burrows didn't score in the series, so he didn't get a chance to use the celebration against the 'Hawks in the playoffs, but it's possible he did it late in the year when he scored against Chicago. (Or that Versteeg had seen the celebration used by Burrows in the St. Louis series.)
It does seem like a strange coincidence.
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Honestly I saw only a glimpse of Versteeg’s celebration (whatever the local Chicago station that Versus was using didn’t show all of it) and it didn’t look like what Burrows does.
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by Yankee Canuck on May 13, 2009 3:38 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Hmm..
I hadn’t heard about this at all. If he was mocking Burrows’ move, I can’t imagine he’d have known about the significance, maybe he just thought it was his celebration move, not a tribute.
You can see Kris’ celebration about 2:13 into this clip.
by Matthew Dirt on May 13, 2009 3:56 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I’m not even really seeing a bow in arrow move in that clip at all. More like he just happened to drop his hand without the stick first…
by Ebscer on May 14, 2009 10:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, you know, I really haven’t seen a video that’s definitive on what exactly he did, but whatever it was, it sure has some Canucks fans upset.
I think we definitely have to give Versteeg the benefit of the doubt here. If he was really mocking Burrows, I’m assuming it would be clearer than this.
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by James Mirtle on May 14, 2009 4:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Carey Price did a similar one back in late December after winning a game in a shootout. Apparently the heavens didn’t like it… He apparently had hurt himself earlier in the day, played the game hurt, and the next day was re-examined by the doctors and put on IR. He didn’t regain his form upon returning from injury.
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by saskhab on May 13, 2009 4:11 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Is it really worth the time and energy to make a big deal about this?
by Costa24 on May 13, 2009 4:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I don’t really see this as a big deal … just a response to some of the email I’ve had about it.
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by James Mirtle on May 13, 2009 4:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
That’s pretty much my reaction. Assume good faith unless you have good reason to assume he’s being a douche.
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by Doogie2K on May 13, 2009 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
wondering
Was this supposed to be well-known outside of Vancouver? I mean, everyone knew about Bourdon’s death, but up until the Canucks fans started crying foul over what seemed like just a giddy goal celebration, I had no idea about that particular celebration as a tribute. It seems like a fairly common move?
by gmh on May 13, 2009 4:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
That is the first thing I thought of.
by hallock on May 13, 2009 5:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Patrick Kane did it when he was with the London Knights, but it was cooler and didn’t point to the sky.
by wlittle on May 13, 2009 4:44 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I'm pretty sure
that I have seen this move done by many a player, for years now. In Burrow’s case it may be linked directly to Bourdon, but I’m pretty sure I saw players doing it before he passed away, and since too (but unrelated to the Canucks).
by Selanne on May 13, 2009 8:07 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
It definitely was a Bow and Arrow gesture.
That being said, and having what i think is a good idea of VERSTEEG! as a person i have serious doubts that it was done in a mocking tone. He could have been making fun of Kaner as previously mentioned OR. he is a member of the BLACKHAWKS, ya know an Indian tribe………
by Roos-34 on May 14, 2009 10:51 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
It's an old move
I remember Jocelyn Lemieux doing it at the Chicago Stadium. Hell, I did it the last time I scored a goal in broomball. Maybe Versteeg, like me, is a huge fan of comic book archers like Hawkeye and Green Arrow.
I really doubt that Steeger would be that disrespectful; he’s not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but he’s also not mean.
by russellguldin on May 14, 2009 11:00 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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