Not only was Kyrou booed during his pregame introduction, but apparently #stlblues fans have been booing him every time he touches the puck tonight pic.twitter.com/8FlVUdXCiE
– Blues Buzz (@bluesbuzzblog) December 15, 2023
Kyrou’s response? He’s not my coach anymore: I don’t have to talk about him. #Ouch
Understandably, his words made the rounds on the web. And it’s clear from last night’s game that St. Louis Blues fans have chosen sides on the issue.
Coming to the defense of the coach who led the Blues to the Stanley Cup as recently as 2019, fans decided to boo Kyrou before the game… and during the game.
Fans didn’t mess around with the puck.
Obviously, fans have the right to boo a player, whether he’s an opponent or a home team player. That said, the player also has the right to take it badly.
In baseball, Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) was booed by Yankees fans in the playoffs during his MVP year… just a few weeks away from free agency. He was playing poorly and the fans let him know it. But that didn’t stop him from coming back.
But hey. New York isn’t Cleveland or St. Louis, and from the outside looking in, you’d expect situations like this wouldn’t necessarily happen there. But it did.
After the Blues’ 4-2 win over the Sens, Drew Bannister’s first in St. Louis, Kyrou spoke to the media.
And when it came time to talk about the fans’ treatment of him on the sidelines, he started crying on camera. He loves the city, he loves the Blues and he wants to stay here,” he said. The fans’ reaction brought him to the ground.
Kyrou on getting booed by fans throughout tonight’s game: “I see where they’re coming from with how my comment sounded.”
And he gets emotional when saying: “It’s just tough, right? I love playing here. So, it’s just tough to hear the fans booing me there.” #stlblues pic.twitter.com/FsRZPadaP7
– Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) December 15, 2023
Obviously, it’s sad to see a player pushed this way. We absolutely don’t disagree.
While I’m not saying his comments deserved such treatment, the fact remains that fans didn’t like seeing him hit a guy who was already on the ground. And I can understand that: it was cheap.
And although the journalist who asked him the question qualified his remarks by saying that it was the third question he’d been asked on the subject, the fact remains that what he said was… ordinary, let’s say. I’ll say it again: why hit Berube, a guy who’s already on the ground?
If Kyrou gets up and plays up to his potential in St. Louis, time will take its toll and he’ll get the applause he deserves one day. Yesterday, it was clear that the problems between Roberto Luongo and the people of Vancouver were behind us…
Cemented into #Canucks Ring of Honour, Roberto Luongo! pic.twitter.com/GEI0Zg1zs9
– Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 15, 2023
In a row
– Quite a sense of humor, hehe.
He (finally) spoke publicly. https://t.co/vHEXZYQkWY
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) December 15, 2023
– Did he?
QMJHL Commissioner Mario Cecchini wants to think outside the box and dreams of bringing the Memorial Cup to smaller markets in the coming years.
He explains how he intends to do this in this column: https: //t.co/FGZwjkYmpe
– Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) December 15, 2023
– What to do with him?
David Savard’s contribution and the dilemma it poses https://t.co/YJrDXvdT3r
– Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) December 15, 2023
– Kaiden Guhle needs to give more. [TSN 690]
– Good point.
The year 2023 is drawing to a close. The investigation began a year and a half ago. Gary, where’s the report on Junior Team Canada 2018? (Part Two) https://t.co/NBjeLJRvAc
– Martin Leclerc (@MLeclerc_Hockey) December 15, 2023