Not once, but twice, the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League have sent the city into a downward spiral. Riots occurred following two game seven Stanley Cup Finals losses. A local Vancouver company, Made Sportswear, has captured the elements that went down in downtown Vancouver.
After a fairy tale playoff run, the Canucks wound up losing in game seven to the New York Rangers. Following the heart-wrenching loss, fans fled the downtown core. On June 14, 1994, 540 police officers were deployed on upwards of 70,000 people on the streets. The large crowds were doused with tear gas, as they set cars on fire and caused a ruckus for hours.
According to some reports, the 1994 riot cost the city $1.1 million.
Almost 17 years to the day, a case of deja vu happened. On June 15, 2011, the city erupted once again. Hooligans forced the Vancouver police into an outrage, as the Canucks lost once again in game seven, but this time to the Boston Bruins.
It’s not official, but the number of police officers sent to deal with the destruction was likely more than in 1994, as there were close to 100,000 rioters.
The difference between 1994 and 2011 was cell phone footage and social media. The police were able to locate some of the more serious offenders. Vancouver Mayor at the time Gregor Robertson said, “Vancouver is a world-class city and it is embarrassing and shameful to see the type of violence and disorder we’ve seen tonight.”
It seems like fighting is in not only in UFC or fight fans’ blood, but also hockey fans.
Get to know Made Sportswear Founder and Owner
How did the brand come about?
“I was 18-years-old and I just wanted to make some shirts, so I just chose the name Made. It was short, but the word can represent so many different things like I made it and other stuff. And sportswear just made sense because I was always a big Nike and Adidas head, so I threw the sportswear on there as an homage to Nike Sportswear.”
You’ve collaborated with MMA fighters in the past, how did that happen?
“I’m a fan of JR (Glen Cuevas), obviously, that’s my buddy and I also like MMA. I’m not a super fan, but I’m keeping on track with the UFC, so it was just natural. He had something coming up, and I was like let’s do a shirt to get some sponsorship money for you, as well as letting people see the brand.”
The new line is about the Vancouver Canucks’ riots. What made you want to drop a line like this?
“I was always inspired by vintage sportswear and they always have merchandise dropping with the finals. Like Western Conference Finals, Stanley Cup Finals or NBA Finals and I was just really inspired by that. With streetwear, you’re looking at something that’s regular and you’re always looking to try and flip it. I wanted to do something centered around Vancouver, both times the Canucks went to the finals, both times they lost and it resulted in the riots, so I just thought that was a cool flip. And yes, it is a little bit controversial.”
Some of the comments have been bashing because of the amount of controversy, but you seem to use that in your favor. Do you take any of those critics to heart? Or are you of the mind, any press is good press?
“When you create something and someone puts a bad comment like, ‘this is sh*t’ or someone said, ‘this is cringy as f*ck,’ it always kind of stings. I think it’s kind of misunderstood. People will ask me if it’s promoting the riot or if it’s in favor, I’m not saying anything, it’s just a flip. This is what happened and it’s looking at historical Vancouver sports events. I think fans get really emotionally attached to a team, so that’s just a negative side.”
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Get your hands on one of these two beautiful new riot line t-shirts by entering our contest.
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