I drive a cute little silver Mazda Protege 5 that is a few years old. I'm happy with it - I like the looks of it and it's totally functional. But if someone called me from a contest I entered and told me I won a brand new car, I'd be pretty excited. I'd eagerly anticipate the 'big reveal', imaging a hot new sports car to joy ride in or an SUV perfect for hauling all our sports equipment to events. And then if the big day arrived and they unveiled a 2003 Mazda Protege 5 (the exact same car I already have) painted blue instead of silver, it would be a major let-down. Not that I don't like that car...but I would have just been expecting more.

Now let's talk about the new Canucks jersey that was revealed yesterday. It was totally hyped - the Canucks organization threw a big party at GM Place, they pumped the intro of the brand new jersey in the media, there were radio stations broadcasting from the event, etc. I was expecting a totally new design - a whole new logo, colour scheme, etc. And then TA DA! They reveal basically the same jersey in different colours. It felt like a let-down.

All over the paper this morning people are trashing the new jerseys. But the thing is - after the initial let-down subsided, I realized I actually like the changes they made. I like the new colours that revive the blue and green of the old 'stick in rink' jersey. I like the new font they chose for 'Vancouver'. And I'm glad they kept the Orca logo - it represents the west coast and I'd be upset if we had to lose Fin (our Orca mascot). It's just that they hyped the 'brand new' jersey so much that my initial reaction was shock when the jersey they revealed wasn't much of a departure from the old one.

Back to the car example. Even though I like the 2003 Mazda, I still probably would have raged on the contest organizers for false advertising! So, maybe the answer is to get angry at the Orca Bay organization for over-hyping...and not get angry at the jersey.