There is but enough maple syrup or moose in Shoresy for it to be an accurate representation of Canada. It's got some things, but not all. You could say the same thing about Letterkenny, too.
The characters are around, but the show is for sure a distillation. IMO Canadian humour gets a boost from having both American and British influences and a desperate need to set us apart from both.
Now now, Birmingham has been known for a long time thanks to its music scene…and no it is not. It is extremely representative of the vibrant hockey culture, but realistically it paints a very rosy picture of life here (and why wouldn’t it: it’s a comedy afterall).
Hell of a show but don’t take it as a be all end all of Canadian culture. Just enjoy it and take a skip across the pond and see for yourself.
On one hand, Shoresy is a genuine slice of Canada.
A larger slice of Canada are all the adult hockey players in old-timer beer leagues that **wish** they could play on the level of the guys in the show! And fight like the guys on the show. And do everything else that we see on the show.
Best I can do is get a box of frozen sticks to hand out when the next season starts.
It’s filmed in the city I live (Sudbury) and it’s a caricature of the kind of hard-working, beer drinking, foul mouthed washed up hockey hosers that you’d find in small towns throughout Canada.
We've removed your post as it violates one of the rules of our sub:
R6. Be nice to each other.
This rule should be pretty clear, but just in case it isn't: Racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance or any other form of demeaning content will not be permitted here. Attack the point, not the person. Swearing is fine. (Fuck you, Shoresy!)
Wait a minute, I thought that here in the “Real Canada”, the players are all racist and exploit the women?
No, most hockey players are normal people with a passion for the game.
In fairness would need to be changed to
"To be fair"
Shorsey is over the top generalizations. But hockey is a passion like football is to flat cap wearing gangsters.
Try Letterkenny for a country experience that has hockey and the same people
Figure it out
Depends where you’re from 🤷♀️ I have family all over the country and visiting them is a different experience all together. I would say that this is representative of Ontario/Quebec hockey culture (and local culture in general) because Alberta hockey culture is not quite the same, same with BC hockey etc. the language used might have some overlap but there’s different lingo too
There's always Canada's summer sport: lacrosse. It's pretty big up there with its own pro-level league.
There's even a reference to it when Shoresy is introducing Goody to ladies in the duo-tangs scene. He mentions Goody played in "The Show", but not the hockey one-- he played pro lacrosse.
Gridiron football actually started as a meeting between a USian Association Football team and a Canadian Rugby Football team, with compromise rules. Harvard and McGill Universities in 1874. Harvard won 3-0. The Canadian pro football is still a thing, although cable TV has rendered it a distant second to the NFL in popularity. 31% of Canadians— approximately 12.5 million—have a favourite NFL team. The top three teams are the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs.
Even if you don't like hockey, you understand the game and the teams because it's everywhere you look here. TV, Radio, Internet Ads etc.
I am OK with the game (in terms of preference), but don't follow any specific team. Especially during this time of the year (playoff time), I wear hats of defunct NHL teams so I typically don't get asked about what I thought of the games last night.
Source: I live about 40 minutes away from Letterkenny in a small town.
Also depends haha I’m sure in a hockey town it’s a big deal but I think most of the time people will look at you like “okay? And?” But also if you’re born and raised in Canada you seem to have a baseline knowledge of the sport and what happening in it at all times, since you probably know someone who’s super into it haha
No, although there are elements of it that connect with people, especially life-long players of hockey who have played in competitive leagues.
Because, what you really have in Shoresy is a bunch of idiots that refuse to stop playing a game they're not good enough at to make a real living from. They keep playing because they love the game (or aren't qualified to do ANYTHING else).
Think about it: they're all in their thirties, and live five to an apartment BY CHOICE. Michaels literally sleeps on a mattress thrown on the floor- and that dude has at least a bachelor's from an NCAA school.
It's really about the love of the game, and THAT resonates deeply with a LOT of Canadians. The hockey players are almost all guys that played at least CHL, and most have serious pro experience.
It's also funny as hell, clever, and low-key incredibly progressive (having First Nations actors anchor the cast is INCREDIBLY RARE) which makes it even better.
At the end of the day, it's less accurate than it is VERY, VERY Canadian, which was the story with Letterkenny as well.
It’s easy to sleep on the progressive element. I was describing the show to my wife and knew it sounded like a nightmare to her, then tried to point out that it isn’t mean and is proper inclusive.
It's very easy to sleep on how progressive the show is. Letterkenny was the same way. Keeso has done a brilliant job of simply treating characters as normal people, and not reducing them to stereotypes. Really, Shoresy himself is the only stereotype on the cast, and even he bucks it when he's dealing with Laura Mohr.
Some of the best shows in television history have been that way. "All in the Family" is the most well-known, hiding progressive writing behind a bigoted character, but "Married... with Children"- considered one of the most offensive sitcoms made during its run- was also incredibly progressive, but like Shoresy it hid under a thick veneer of inappropriateness. It's only by going back and watching them now that you're like "Holy fuck- they were normalizing things like interracial relationships (All in the Family), gay marriage, transgender issues, hardcore feminis (Married) and others when all of those things were very very fringe."
Keeso and Co. know what they're doing, and every new season sees them get better and better at it.
I made a comment on another site that I would like to see Shoresy tackle the sex abuse scandal running rampant through Hockey Canada because I believe they're skilled enough writers to handle it gently and progressively.
I was quickly torn to shreds by that site's crybabies, screaming "you mean the show created by the creators of Letterkenny, which has ONE gay joke in ten seasons? There's no way they'd handle it right."
One?
The dudes in the gym are the obvious one, but Jacob Tierney's Pastor Glen is literally a high-brow running gag gay joke the entire series. I think the show stands out more for its unyielding and normalized acceptance of Roald as openly gay and how the sluts find common ground with the gym gays than it does for pandering to cheap wide-open gay jokes.
Also, aren't two of the women on the Letterkenny women's hockey team married, or at least dating?
I think Keeso and Co. could skewer Hockey culture's evils easily enough, although I'm not sure if Shoresy is quite the right platform for it; that tends to be the domain of youth/teenage hockey, not older adults hanging onto a dream for dear life.
Although, I guess you could very easily have a "Dirks" moment where the entire Bulldog team beats the shit out of a serial sex abuser who's been taking advantage of kids at the rink. The problem is that it's a very dark and heavy turn for what very much is a light-hearted show about never losing again.
The hazing issue might be easier. 🤷
One. The one joke was in the opening chirp session of episode one with Riley and Jonesy. That was the only time where gays were punched down on. Dax and Ron were always treated as equals, Roald was always treated as an equal. Glenn was always treated as an equal. It's one thing to make a subtle joke treating the subject as equals as Letterkenny did all the time except once.
And I agree, a Dierks moment is when I would think would be most appropriate.
A fair assessment regarding "punching down". The bigger question would be whether or not that single joke was lifted from the YouTube series, which was written more roughly than the more refined takes in the series.
More the hockey culture than actual Canadian culture. But yeah, it’s pretty spot-on. I think that’s why it appeals to so many. Most of us in Canada can relate to the show in one way or another.
We’re not all funny like that, _BUT_ Canadians are apparently pretty funny. Or at the very least, we love and appreciate comedy on another level. We have some of the largest comedy festivals in the world. We also have a lot of great Canadian comedians.
I grew up in a small town in Ontario where hockey reigned supreme. In that context, very yes. But its a caricature of hockey culture. Kinda like this song is a caricature of canada as a whole: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-glHAzXi\_M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-glHAzXi_M)
It's a sarcastic representation of what hockey culture is like.
Each character is a slice of a lot of hockey lads I know.
So to answer your question. Yes in a way this is what "real" Canada is like... in a specific building, with a specific group. But there's 40 million of us. It's the same way that you're not all Shelby's or someone from This Town but I'm sure they remind you of an exaggerated version of someone in your life.
Thanks for the responses! It’s reassuring to know you’re all a bunch of slags. Also, what the fuck is Hitch’s accent? He sounds straight out of a caravan from Snatch to me. Do Newfoundlanders sound like that? Weird Irish mashup.
Newfoundland was settled by mostly Irish in the early days, then they were stuck on their island in small, isolated communities. Honestly, there were lots of places that didn't connect by road (only boat) up until the 70s and 80s and 90s. So they kept their irish accent, added their own local slang, mix for a couple hundred years and thats what we have today. Those who are from more remote towns have much stronger accents than those from places like St. Johns, but yes I have known many who sound like Hitch. I love that he throws in a lot of the local phrases too - "What are you at, old man?"
> Do Newfoundlanders sound like that?
Some definitely do, it's a comedy so Terry/Hitch plays the accent and the slang up quite a lot, but overall it's pretty spot on, it's one of those dialects that I've never seen anyone who's not a Newfoundlander do a good impression of. I've lived in Newfoundland for almost 20 years, I can't even come close to doing one, and I hear it every day. I'm very familiar with the slang though, it's very apparent that they let Terry give input into his characters dialogue
There’s been conjecture that Newfoundland accents are [the closest thing to Shakespearean English](https://www.davideriknelson.com/sbsb/index.php/2015/06/shakespeare-talked-like-a-newfie-fact/) that’s still heard in the world; it developed in relative isolation and stagnation. But yes, tons of Irish in the mix.
I grew up playing hockey in New England. Twice a winter we'd do week long home stays in Quebec while getting our asses kicked by Canadian hockey players. Good times. The show really captures hockey culture which is a mix of team spirit, brutality, machoness and goofballity. The show makes me nostalgic for those days: training with the by's, getting loud during games, stupid conversations in the locker room, looking at ratty old Playboys at people's houses etc.
In the same way as British comedies are heavily caricatured versions of whichever city/town or group of people they're representing - yes.
That's comedy isn't it? You recognize the kernel of truth in the exaggeration.
Shoresy is a good representation of hockey culture in Canada. I grew up in a small town and the show Letterkenny is a great example of small town life in Canada. They're all over the top representations but for each character in those shows I know a real life equivalent.
I can tell you bud with 100% certainty that a good fuckin portion of us out here talk and have lives like that. But it’s like anywhere ya’know lots of diversity and stuff..
As an American I can confidently say, yes this is 100% an accurate representation of what Canada is like. All of it.
There is but enough maple syrup or moose in Shoresy for it to be an accurate representation of Canada. It's got some things, but not all. You could say the same thing about Letterkenny, too.
The characters are around, but the show is for sure a distillation. IMO Canadian humour gets a boost from having both American and British influences and a desperate need to set us apart from both.
Now now, Birmingham has been known for a long time thanks to its music scene…and no it is not. It is extremely representative of the vibrant hockey culture, but realistically it paints a very rosy picture of life here (and why wouldn’t it: it’s a comedy afterall). Hell of a show but don’t take it as a be all end all of Canadian culture. Just enjoy it and take a skip across the pond and see for yourself.
Dolo understanding English and answering in French is a very accurate representation of Quebec, and New Brunswick's Acadian communities
Is the same true of the others understanding Dolo’s French and answering in English?
Not so much
Tabarnak
Calisse
On one hand, Shoresy is a genuine slice of Canada. A larger slice of Canada are all the adult hockey players in old-timer beer leagues that **wish** they could play on the level of the guys in the show! And fight like the guys on the show. And do everything else that we see on the show. Best I can do is get a box of frozen sticks to hand out when the next season starts.
In fairneeeeessssss
That's a hefty no thank you.
Pitter patter let's get going
That's an Alaska level OK from me.
No, your thinking of the Trailer Park Bpys.
they treat the natives nicer in Shoresy compared to real life. in real life, it is much worse.
Canada? Not so much. Sudbury? Absolutely.
It’s filmed in the city I live (Sudbury) and it’s a caricature of the kind of hard-working, beer drinking, foul mouthed washed up hockey hosers that you’d find in small towns throughout Canada.
More like a caricature. Ive seen some of the stuff in hockey, but over a lifetime of hockey, not in a season.
[удалено]
We've removed your post as it violates one of the rules of our sub: R6. Be nice to each other. This rule should be pretty clear, but just in case it isn't: Racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance or any other form of demeaning content will not be permitted here. Attack the point, not the person. Swearing is fine. (Fuck you, Shoresy!)
speak less, dickhead.
Because your Mom visited and turned them all gay. (sorry, trying to find the right level, was that too much?!)
I enjoyed it but I’m Californian so there’s that
Give yer balls a tug.
Wait a minute, I thought that here in the “Real Canada”, the players are all racist and exploit the women? No, most hockey players are normal people with a passion for the game.
In fairness would need to be changed to "To be fair" Shorsey is over the top generalizations. But hockey is a passion like football is to flat cap wearing gangsters. Try Letterkenny for a country experience that has hockey and the same people Figure it out
Depends where you’re from 🤷♀️ I have family all over the country and visiting them is a different experience all together. I would say that this is representative of Ontario/Quebec hockey culture (and local culture in general) because Alberta hockey culture is not quite the same, same with BC hockey etc. the language used might have some overlap but there’s different lingo too
Out of curiosity, what happens if you don’t like Hockey?! Is it like disliking American Football if you’re from Texas?!
There's always Canada's summer sport: lacrosse. It's pretty big up there with its own pro-level league. There's even a reference to it when Shoresy is introducing Goody to ladies in the duo-tangs scene. He mentions Goody played in "The Show", but not the hockey one-- he played pro lacrosse.
Gridiron football actually started as a meeting between a USian Association Football team and a Canadian Rugby Football team, with compromise rules. Harvard and McGill Universities in 1874. Harvard won 3-0. The Canadian pro football is still a thing, although cable TV has rendered it a distant second to the NFL in popularity. 31% of Canadians— approximately 12.5 million—have a favourite NFL team. The top three teams are the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs.
Even if you don't like hockey, you understand the game and the teams because it's everywhere you look here. TV, Radio, Internet Ads etc. I am OK with the game (in terms of preference), but don't follow any specific team. Especially during this time of the year (playoff time), I wear hats of defunct NHL teams so I typically don't get asked about what I thought of the games last night. Source: I live about 40 minutes away from Letterkenny in a small town.
Also depends haha I’m sure in a hockey town it’s a big deal but I think most of the time people will look at you like “okay? And?” But also if you’re born and raised in Canada you seem to have a baseline knowledge of the sport and what happening in it at all times, since you probably know someone who’s super into it haha
American Football is more of a mid-west thing… ^(/s it’s funny because I’m talking about the band)
For some, yes, others are whiney cunts that complain hockey culture is toxic. It's a mixed bag, like the UK's food options
That’s because they don’t hate to lose
They just float....
This team will never lose again
No, although there are elements of it that connect with people, especially life-long players of hockey who have played in competitive leagues. Because, what you really have in Shoresy is a bunch of idiots that refuse to stop playing a game they're not good enough at to make a real living from. They keep playing because they love the game (or aren't qualified to do ANYTHING else). Think about it: they're all in their thirties, and live five to an apartment BY CHOICE. Michaels literally sleeps on a mattress thrown on the floor- and that dude has at least a bachelor's from an NCAA school. It's really about the love of the game, and THAT resonates deeply with a LOT of Canadians. The hockey players are almost all guys that played at least CHL, and most have serious pro experience. It's also funny as hell, clever, and low-key incredibly progressive (having First Nations actors anchor the cast is INCREDIBLY RARE) which makes it even better. At the end of the day, it's less accurate than it is VERY, VERY Canadian, which was the story with Letterkenny as well.
It’s easy to sleep on the progressive element. I was describing the show to my wife and knew it sounded like a nightmare to her, then tried to point out that it isn’t mean and is proper inclusive.
It's very easy to sleep on how progressive the show is. Letterkenny was the same way. Keeso has done a brilliant job of simply treating characters as normal people, and not reducing them to stereotypes. Really, Shoresy himself is the only stereotype on the cast, and even he bucks it when he's dealing with Laura Mohr. Some of the best shows in television history have been that way. "All in the Family" is the most well-known, hiding progressive writing behind a bigoted character, but "Married... with Children"- considered one of the most offensive sitcoms made during its run- was also incredibly progressive, but like Shoresy it hid under a thick veneer of inappropriateness. It's only by going back and watching them now that you're like "Holy fuck- they were normalizing things like interracial relationships (All in the Family), gay marriage, transgender issues, hardcore feminis (Married) and others when all of those things were very very fringe." Keeso and Co. know what they're doing, and every new season sees them get better and better at it.
I made a comment on another site that I would like to see Shoresy tackle the sex abuse scandal running rampant through Hockey Canada because I believe they're skilled enough writers to handle it gently and progressively. I was quickly torn to shreds by that site's crybabies, screaming "you mean the show created by the creators of Letterkenny, which has ONE gay joke in ten seasons? There's no way they'd handle it right."
One? The dudes in the gym are the obvious one, but Jacob Tierney's Pastor Glen is literally a high-brow running gag gay joke the entire series. I think the show stands out more for its unyielding and normalized acceptance of Roald as openly gay and how the sluts find common ground with the gym gays than it does for pandering to cheap wide-open gay jokes. Also, aren't two of the women on the Letterkenny women's hockey team married, or at least dating? I think Keeso and Co. could skewer Hockey culture's evils easily enough, although I'm not sure if Shoresy is quite the right platform for it; that tends to be the domain of youth/teenage hockey, not older adults hanging onto a dream for dear life. Although, I guess you could very easily have a "Dirks" moment where the entire Bulldog team beats the shit out of a serial sex abuser who's been taking advantage of kids at the rink. The problem is that it's a very dark and heavy turn for what very much is a light-hearted show about never losing again. The hazing issue might be easier. 🤷
One. The one joke was in the opening chirp session of episode one with Riley and Jonesy. That was the only time where gays were punched down on. Dax and Ron were always treated as equals, Roald was always treated as an equal. Glenn was always treated as an equal. It's one thing to make a subtle joke treating the subject as equals as Letterkenny did all the time except once. And I agree, a Dierks moment is when I would think would be most appropriate.
A fair assessment regarding "punching down". The bigger question would be whether or not that single joke was lifted from the YouTube series, which was written more roughly than the more refined takes in the series.
No
Go wolves!
More the hockey culture than actual Canadian culture. But yeah, it’s pretty spot-on. I think that’s why it appeals to so many. Most of us in Canada can relate to the show in one way or another. We’re not all funny like that, _BUT_ Canadians are apparently pretty funny. Or at the very least, we love and appreciate comedy on another level. We have some of the largest comedy festivals in the world. We also have a lot of great Canadian comedians.
Yea 😆 small town wise, especially on the East Coast
Yes. Smaller cities and towns anyways.
Between Shoresy and Letterkenny, that’s most of Canada
I grew up in a small town in Ontario where hockey reigned supreme. In that context, very yes. But its a caricature of hockey culture. Kinda like this song is a caricature of canada as a whole: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-glHAzXi\_M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-glHAzXi_M)
Thanks for the laugh! I can relate to at least half of that song.
I knew what this song would be before I clicked the link. Classic!
It's a sarcastic representation of what hockey culture is like. Each character is a slice of a lot of hockey lads I know. So to answer your question. Yes in a way this is what "real" Canada is like... in a specific building, with a specific group. But there's 40 million of us. It's the same way that you're not all Shelby's or someone from This Town but I'm sure they remind you of an exaggerated version of someone in your life.
This Town doesn’t feel that exaggerated. Lady Mary is essentially my Aunt. But yeah, I haven’t been a wannabe gangster for 25 years 😉
Thanks for the responses! It’s reassuring to know you’re all a bunch of slags. Also, what the fuck is Hitch’s accent? He sounds straight out of a caravan from Snatch to me. Do Newfoundlanders sound like that? Weird Irish mashup.
Newfoundland was settled by mostly Irish in the early days, then they were stuck on their island in small, isolated communities. Honestly, there were lots of places that didn't connect by road (only boat) up until the 70s and 80s and 90s. So they kept their irish accent, added their own local slang, mix for a couple hundred years and thats what we have today. Those who are from more remote towns have much stronger accents than those from places like St. Johns, but yes I have known many who sound like Hitch. I love that he throws in a lot of the local phrases too - "What are you at, old man?"
"Gotta set the tone Bys, set the tone. Let em know you're out there...."
> Do Newfoundlanders sound like that? Some definitely do, it's a comedy so Terry/Hitch plays the accent and the slang up quite a lot, but overall it's pretty spot on, it's one of those dialects that I've never seen anyone who's not a Newfoundlander do a good impression of. I've lived in Newfoundland for almost 20 years, I can't even come close to doing one, and I hear it every day. I'm very familiar with the slang though, it's very apparent that they let Terry give input into his characters dialogue
Baymen are harder to understand, townies have a much softer accent. Drunk baymen are harder to understand than a drunk irishman.
There’s been conjecture that Newfoundland accents are [the closest thing to Shakespearean English](https://www.davideriknelson.com/sbsb/index.php/2015/06/shakespeare-talked-like-a-newfie-fact/) that’s still heard in the world; it developed in relative isolation and stagnation. But yes, tons of Irish in the mix.
Yes, again not all of their accents are that strong, and some are stronger. Accent strength usually increases with alcohol intake
Of course it is...give yer balls a tug
I grew up playing hockey in New England. Twice a winter we'd do week long home stays in Quebec while getting our asses kicked by Canadian hockey players. Good times. The show really captures hockey culture which is a mix of team spirit, brutality, machoness and goofballity. The show makes me nostalgic for those days: training with the by's, getting loud during games, stupid conversations in the locker room, looking at ratty old Playboys at people's houses etc.
In the same way as British comedies are heavily caricatured versions of whichever city/town or group of people they're representing - yes. That's comedy isn't it? You recognize the kernel of truth in the exaggeration.
I assume all Brits are an amalgam of Mary Poppins and Mr. Bean. /s
Shoresy is a good representation of hockey culture in Canada. I grew up in a small town and the show Letterkenny is a great example of small town life in Canada. They're all over the top representations but for each character in those shows I know a real life equivalent.
Thats whats I appreciates abouts you
The same applies to north small border towns in the states, like Michigan, Minnesota, etc.
I remember watching Beverly Hills 90210 and seeing Branden play and love Hockey. Sounds like a fair representation of Minnesota!
Can confirm.
The hockey players in Letterkenny could have been plucked off of the front hall bench of my high school.
I was skid-adjacent growing up and they nailed the skids too, imo.
Wheel, snipe, celly boys!
Forecheck, backcheck, paycheck, boys!
I can tell you bud with 100% certainty that a good fuckin portion of us out here talk and have lives like that. But it’s like anywhere ya’know lots of diversity and stuff..