Honking for the Habs

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPnj2r1Eu0s[/youtube]

Thanks to Fagstein (another worthy candidate for Best Blog in the 2008 BOMs, by the way) for the above video. Last night, as the Habs won their second game of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the streets filled with the familiar sound of celebratory horn-blowing. Although it had nothing on the honking and flag-waving that follows even the most minor World Cup win by Italy, France, Portugal or Greece, it was still quite the ruckus — and, unlike the World Cup, which divides Montrealers along ethnic lines, cheering for the Canadiens is something that unites almost everyone.

So far, honking aside, most Montrealers seem to be expressing their pride for the Habs through flags mounted on cars, flying from balconies and hanging in apartment windows. Firefighters at several stations got into trouble when they painted fire station doors in Canadien red, blue and white; police have shown solidarity by flying the Habs flag on their patrol cars. Bus drivers, meanwhile, have joined in by flying flags and displaying a message of support on their buses’ LED screens: “Go Canadiens Go!”

Photo by Steve Faguy