'Small distraction': Mayor Jyoti Gondek reacts to a chorus of boos from Flames fans
It's not the mayor's fault Johnny Hockey signed with Columbus, setting in motion an exodus of all-stars from the Calgary Flames, but Saturday night, it sounded as if a few thousand fans blamed her for it.
On a national broadcast ahead of puck drop on Saturday night, the Flames recognized several key members of the city’s South Asian community, including mayor Jyoti Gondek, who was received to a chorus of boos.
Thousands of fans booed the mayor as she walked to centre ice, and passed the Flames bench for a ceremonial puck drop.
Pollster Marc Henry, president of Think HQ public affairs, booed the decision to showcase a mayor stumbling in the polls and recovering from a recall petition.
“Why on earth would you send the mayor, who's sitting at 30 per cent approval or less to be in front of 18,000 anonymous hockey fans, when you know in hockey, booing and cheering is part of the deal?” asked Henry.
“Whoever the staffer was who thought this was a good idea, ought to be fired because they are completely tone deaf,” added Henry.
“You just put your boss in a very, very vulnerable and embarrassing situation.”
'SMALL DISTRACTION'
Gondek on Monday reacted to the event, shifting the focus to the meaning of why she was there.
“What may have happened was a small distraction,” she said.
“And I think it's important for us to remember that there was a bigger community that was being honoured and that was the goal of that game. I really appreciated the players showing up before the game wearing the jerseys proudly.”
The Flames hosted their first-ever South Asian Celebration Game unveiling a unique logo for the event designed by a local artist Zoe Harveen Kaur Sihota.
The logo included a peacock, which represents beauty and grace in many South Asian cultures, and the shapes on top of the flaming C invoking South Asian architecture.
Henry says that Gondek has seen the lowest approval ratings of any mayor in the city’s history, and although he admits the boos were distasteful, he wasn’t surprised.
“I think that it is very much indicative of the mood in the city and the challenge for the mayor is it seems to have transcended specific policies,” said Henry.
“It's now become more about her. The only saving grace is that it wasn't the Stamps (Stampeders) home opener because football crowds are even tougher than a hockey crowd.”
Gondek plans to leave the boos behind to continue managing municipal affairs in a city that will miss the NHL playoffs for the second consecutive season in 2024.
“I will continue to focus on the work at hand and get the job done,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Inspires a sense of adventure': Sask. man conquers Mount Everest
A Saskatchewan man made it to the summit of Mount Everest earlier this month.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event. The family asked for privacy and that people honor Murray by being kind to one another.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Hamas rocket attack from Gaza sets off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv for the first time in months
Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months on Sunday in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel's massive air, sea and ground offensive.
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Indianapolis 500 delayed as strong storm forces fans to evacuate Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The start of the Indianapolis 500 was delayed as a strong storm pushed through the area Sunday, forcing Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials to evacuate about 125,000 fans who had already arrived for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.