The Root of Canadian mistrust

Between working at my parents' pizzeria and my current day job in reality television, I had a part-time fling in retail. 

I was 19 and had just gotten out of my first relationship. It did not resemble Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski's relationship. I was kind of distraught about the whole thing. I wasn't exactly happy with myself at that juncture in my life and working at my parents' pizza shop wasn't exactly helping. Yes, family can be there for you when you have a relationship problem, but not when it happens at the damn pizza parlor. 

I was constantly fighting with my folks and my sister about making food good and my lazy habits vs. their dictator leadership. I just hated it. It sucks working with people you love who happen to all hate their jobs.  I had been there for 6 years, working weekends and summers. It was time to move on from smelling like pizza, serving drunk college kids, and getting yelled at by my parents.

They were thriiiiilled (sarcasm).

I wanted to work at a place where I could look at hot girls all day and get a discount on clothes. What better place than the mall?

I know, people in retail who are reading this are probably gargling Drano at the thought of enjoying it. It is a thankless job where most costumers are assholes and messy. I can't tell you how many times I'd get annoyed at someone throwing shirts all over the place as if they were Buffalo Police looking for drugs in a crack house.

However, if you weren't a manager and just working there to look at girls and get a discount, it was fun for me. Honestly, I think it really helped me develop a decent work ethic today because I found out you are a much better worker if you actually enjoy your job.

As per every job, people chirp about costumers. No one felt the wrath more from employees than towards the Canadians. Everyday I'd work, there would be at least 1-2 complaints about the mothercanuckers.

"They were rude. They wanted 10 different sizes. They thought the music was too loud. Why don't they just shop in their own country?"

To me, I didn't notice the correlation between nationalities and personalities. I thought mostly everyone who walked in there was equally an asshole, but mostly everyone were especially tough on Southern Ontario.

Now, the retail shop wasn't the first time I heard Canadian slams. I've heard it at Sabres/Leafs games. I've heard it while being in the car and someone with an Ontario license plate would cut off a Buffalo driver and then mouth the words "You dumb Canadian fuck" along with flipping the bird. I saw it a lot as a teenager/young adult and sometimes, I see it on Twitter.

I mention all of this because we have entered Toronto Bills week. Oh. Joy.

Doesn't it seem like every year we end up having a meaningless game in Toronto?

There are a number of reasons why Bills fans hate the idea of the Toronto game. I've gone over them at least 100 times in the past and I'm pretty sure you all know these as well. The one thing people fail to mention is that I think most of Buffalo hates Canada in a I'm not racist, but I don't want to talk about it kind of way. Makes sense?

Sure, we like it when we invade the territory for hockey, beer, the CN Tower, and the strip clubs, but I don't think the majority of Buffalonians like them. It's petty, to be quite frankly, and maybe its a stretch on my end, but I think there is legit beef.

Take this for instance:

Let's say in a alternate universe that Buffalo/Rochester/Toronto were swimming in money. It was the Golden 20s and we could just build monorails, an endless elevator to the sky and a toothpick skyscraper (Simpsons jokes) . If they built a stadium between both Buffalo and Rochester or even if it was in Rochester, do you think there would be the same outcry if the stadium was built in Fort Erie or Hamilton?

Of course not.

Why is that? Is it because of the border? Maybe. I think it is because of people being anti-Canadian and their pride as being Americans are hurt.

Buffalo is perceived as being emotionally distressed when larger city fans or personalities call them out for the city sucking, which we normally sulk about and fling back a petty insult. But we know if a New Yorker or Bostonian says we suck, we kind of take it. We think we are good, but we pretty much know they are better.

In this instance, Buffalo vs. Toronto becomes an America vs. rest of the world battle. Americans seem to think they are above everyone else, right? We are the land of opportunity and we are the greatest country in the world. We are the envy of the universe. We are arrogant. Period.

I think Buffalonians/Americans don't like the thought of compromising with a country that is lesser than then they are. We can compromise with Rochester, Syracuse and I will even bet dollars to donuts if Toronto was a region in NYS, no one would have a problem with this. Long Islanders don't give a shit about the Jets being in NJ. They will do the travel and it is longer in some cases.