Uh oh...
Nova Scotian screech-in gets thumbs down
Quote:
A screech-in party during last weekend's Grey Cup festivities is not going over well with some Newfoundland traditionalists.
Sheilagh Williams, who has screeched-in thousands of people — usually tourists, who are then deemed honorary Newfoundlanders after the light-hearted ceremony — for more than a decade with Spirit of Newfoundland in St. John's, was not impressed.
She said the Schooners' attempts to emulate a ceremony that she takes great pride in performing is insulting.
"I would just say it's wrong. It failed in my opinion," Williams said.
Pushing for CFL team
The Atlantic Schooners are from Halifax, a city that's been pushing to land a CFL team for years. Each year they throw a party to show what the rest of Canadian football fans are missing.
And it appears they borrowed a little from their East Coast neighbours to enhance the experience.
Shanneyganock's Chris Andrews says the terminology tends to change depending on the issue.
"I once again find it funny that when it's appropriate we're all Atlantic Canadians, and where it's not, we're not," he laughed.
His view on the apparent cultural kleptomania?
"When you're the best, people borrow from you all the time. And if that's what it takes to help them attract more people to their tent and make it a better time for them, nothing wrong with it."
The Atlantic Schooners also flew a tonne of authentic Newfoundland Screech, the brand of rum that is traditionally used for the event, to Regina for the big party.
"(But) if they could afford to fly up 46 pallets of Screech, I'm sure they could have flown up one Newfoundlander to do the screech-in," said Andrews.
Williams, meanwhile, would rather the Maritimers drew on their own culture and tradition for such large, high-profile events.
"I don't find it flattering. It's just one more thing that people would want to take. But that's not up for the taking, in my mind. That's our tradition."
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...down-1.2442886
Three thoughts:
1. I agree that they shouldn't be doing it. It's not Nova Scotian and, more importantly, it's not representative of what Canadian football fans would experience visiting Halifax for CFL games. Halifax is far less removed, culturally, from other mainland Canadian cities than we are.
2. Although I feel that way, I'm a little uncomfortable with the sensation. It seems reasonable to me to want to protect one's culture, but less so to prevent it from spreading. Completely disagree with and horrified by the quote, "When you're the best, people borrow from you all the time." It's just a silly ceremony, not some symbol of cultural superiority. And I'm quite sure it's a relatively modern invention. I highly doubt we were Screeching In Basque whalers and Portuguese fishermen in the 1600s.
3. I hope they get their CFL team ASAP so, for the rest of its existence, we can joke we got it for them.
All jokes aside, though, I do hope they get it. I'd like to see the CFL grow, and I'd like to see Atlantic Canada included more in major sports.
EDIT, one more:
4. Wow, most people's reactions are less nuanced than mine. I'm hearing a lot of "They should drown in that Screech", "Someone should **** them with that cod", etc.