It doesn’t bother me so much if a politician engages in some photo ops for political purposes, even if it’s not really that genuine (if it’s not genuine, the public can generally tell and the photo op will backfire on the politician anyway) but it seems rather un-Canadian in its rudeness to actually actively prevent someone else from enjoying that spectacular moment, just so a politician can give the appearance of being on the level of the common people at a historic sports moment.

If Jack Layton had just stuck to some pre-arranged photo opportunity with some of the Olympic hockey team at a later time in order to mug for the cameras, that’s one thing, but this just makes Layton look attention-whorish. The puck had already gone in, there was nothing more to see, really, so it’s not like it really mattered if someone’s arm was obstructing his view. Even then, he could have gently pushed her arm aside or ducked his head out from under her arm, instead of rudely dragging it. If someone did that to me I think I’d be pretty pissed.

This, combined with his rather craven attempt to keep Elizabeth May out of the political round table prior to the last election, has really soured my opinion towards Jack Layton as a person. He never used to strike me as that kind of politician, but lately he just seems so… politician-like that I really can’t say I like him all that much. I’ve heard other people whisper words like ‘power-hungry’ and I’m starting to worry that they’re right.

Honestly, if more politicians acted a little more human and didn’t have this incessant need for self-promotion, people might not be so cynical about politics and become so apathetic. I don’t really need to feel that Harper, Ignatieff, Layton or any other politicos are real, dyed-in-the-wool hockey fanatics for me to decide whether or not I want to vote for them. If anything, I’d rather they didn’t pretend to be something they are not, as clearly not all Canadians are hockey fans. And while politically it might serve politicians well to seem to be hockey fans, it’s difficult to fake fanatical appreciation for something like hockey, and it only comes across as fake and somewhat pretentious when people just pretend to be these hardcore fans of something when they’re clearly not.

Of course, maybe I’m just a hypocrite because while I might claim some allegiance to certain sports teams (eg. The Sens, Man United), I can’t honestly say I’m an expert or a fan in the same way that people who’ve followed these teams since they were born are. But I fully admit to not having been a fan for as long, or that I’m any expert, but I am learning.

But I guess it’s hard to be a Canadian politician and admit publicly that they don’t really follow hockey. I only started following hockey semi-seriously a year or two ago, and even then I’d say I have a lot to learn. It wasn’t that long ago that I probably wouldn’t have even been able to tell you what sport Brodeur played, or even heard the name Jarome Iginla.

I do feel more “Canadian” now that I follow hockey, though. It’s a nice feeling, for an immigrant-turned-citizen like me, to feel truly Canadian in that cultural sense, not just because I carry a laminated card in my wallet saying so.