Why is what’s happening here happening here?
This is 72nd and Scott Road, on the border between Surrey and Delta – or Strawberrry Hill. It’s an intersection of two major arterials, with strip malls and shopping centres on every corner. (Map here.)
And if you are in the Newton area when the Canucks are winning a play-off game, you just know this is the place to go. Because everyone else knows this is the place to go too. Even if no one knows exactly why.
Actually, there are a few good reasons. The Sikh Temple is just a few blocks away, and, as you can tell from the crowd, this is where the South Asian community concentrates. Scott and 72nd is one of its commercial centres, with lots of free parking – a natural gathering place in a car-dependent suburb.
And it allows for something critically important. As you can see on the video, the crowds are assembling, flag-waving fans are running back and forth from corner to corner, cheering the honking cars, their banners waving, as the police regulate the traffic flow.
Then, at 1:53, they spontaneously rush into the centre of the intersection – and do what’s needed to affirm that this is truly a celebration.
They stop traffic.