22 minute read
Opinion
TIM HARRISON/PHOTO EDITOR
CONOR COLUMB
OPINION COLUMNIST
As November comes to an end, many of us are thinking about the holiday season: stores are playing Christmas music, it’s cold and snowy, and children are writing up their wishlists. When one thinks of the original theme of Christmas, that is, the birth of Jesus Christ, this music, snowy weather, and wishful thinking are not related to it.
As young people are increasingly irreligious, yet Christmas is commodified and not waning in popularity, I believe that Christmas is a secular holiday.
According to Statistics Canada, approximately 64 per cent of Ontario’s population is Christian; 23 per cent of Ontarians are irreligious; the remaining 13 per cent are of different religions. This seems like a large Christian population, but this data is not clear. Many people identify with Christianity as their religion, yet are not practicing Christians themselves.
I find myself to be in this situation. I was baptized as a Christian, but am not necessarily affiliated with the religion today. I am not the only one who is like this. Since many people are, it means that this data demands nuance.
Christmas remains a significant holiday, though. It can be considered one of the most commodified. As we are already seeing with many malls and shops, decorations are going up and sales are being promoted.
The imagery of Christmas has shifted from the Birth of Christ to Santa Claus and the North Pole. I am not trying to suggest that this is problematic, but rather, that this shift has allowed for Christmas to become a holiday of gift-giving (thus buying), which indicates commodification.
Although the number of practicing Christians is going down, Christmas continues to be celebrated. It can be said that the commodification of Christmas, which has desecularized it, has made it more accessible. This accessibility has allowed it to maintain popularity, if not grow.
For example, my co-workers (at my old part-time job) and I used to do a Secret Santa gift exchange of small gifts. Of this group, I think I was one of the few that celebrated Christmas at home. Therefore, it can be said that Christmas has become a commodified holiday.
If Christmas is so commodified, and thus accessible, then it can be easily argued that it has become a secular holiday. After all, the Christian population is increasingly less religious and young people beyond Christianity are also increasingly
irreligious. Despite this, Christmas is still a huge market for businesses to sell goods and services and the holiday itself continues to be celebrated. Does this mean it is becoming a secular holiday? I think so.
As an irreligious person, I find that Christmas can still be thought of as an important holiday. What does one do during Christmas? Before the COVID-19 pandemic, one might answer this question by saying that they would have family over to exchange gifts and share a meal.
Although I do not participate in the religious aspects of Christmas, I still hold the values of loving family and friends, showing my gratitude to these loved people.
This means that I can still think about Christmas as I have always thought of it, which is the secularized version of the holiday that has arisen in the last several decades. Is it in bad faith? Certainly not.
After all, giving gifts is (within reason) a way of showing love and gratitude to those I want to express such feelings. Moreover, this is fairly consistent with the religious idea of the holiday without disrespecting the religion, or religious people.
To the irreligious person, I would say to treat Christmas as a celebration of connections. Whether it is our family, significant others, or friends, giving them a gift (even if it is a small one) shows a certain level of care for one another — at least within a capitalist concept. This does not mean that I am saying to buy big over the top gifts, in many ways, that just reflects one’s competitive nature. My friends and I often do a very small gift exchange that is more personal than something I simply want, which is less personal.
During the pandemic, we have been distanced, which has led to isolation and caution when people come together. Christmas this way perhaps is healthy to remind us of the importance of others in our lives.
If Christmas is so commodified and thus accessible, then it can be easily argued that it has become a secular holiday. Therefore, it can be said that Christmas has become a commodified holiday.
Could Spider-Man: No Way Home fan theories ruin it?
MADALYN MOSTACCI CORD CONTRIBUTOR
Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to release in theaters this December.
Fans are undoubtedly more excited than ever, as the film’s trailer accumulated an impressive 355.5 million views within the first 24 hours. However, could this extensive fan excitement serve Spider-Man: No Way Home negatively? Frankly, it could.
It’s been nearly three years since we’ve seen our favourite web slinger in his own solo movie. We last left Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland in some hot water as his identity was revealed to the public along with the implication that Spider-Man is an anti-hero.
Spider-Man has always had a dedicated fan base, even when Peter Parker was strictly portrayed in 2-D. That die-hard fan base, mixed with the sheer anticipation this upcoming movie is accumulating, has caused elaborate fan theories to arise. Some rather hopeful theories include the appearance of Spider-Man’s notorious villain group, The Sinister Six, in the film. There’s also the speculation that Peter Parker’s best friend, Ned Leeds will take on the role of Hobgoblin, another historic Marvel supervillain.
Yet, perhaps the most widespread theory regarding Spider-Man: No Way Home is the hope that previous Spider-Man actors, Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man Series) and Toby Maguire (Spider-Man Trilogy), will reprise their roles and appear alongside Holland in the movie.
This theory is not far-fetched at all. Marvel has been exploring the existence of the multiverse throughout their films, so essentially anything could happen — including the co-existence of three Spider-Men. As amazing as having all three Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home would be, Marvel has yet to confirm any theories.
While director Jon Wattis, in an interview with Empire Magazine has only stated, “We’re trying to be ambitious … It’s Spider-Man: Endgame,” producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal have been quiet.
During an interview on The Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon slyly mentioned how photos have been circulating of Maguire and Garfield on the set of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Garfield replied with a swift, “I’m not sure about that.”
Even with rumors continually being denied, fans will not take no for an answer. Spidey’s fan base still believes all their No Way Home hopes and dreams will come true.
While fan theories are thoroughly thought out and completely plausible, it’s unlikely Marvel will meet everybody’s expectations.
Unfortunately, when expectations are not met, negative reviews, low scores and overall audience disenjoyment will occur. Much like the let down fans experienced following Marvel’s WandaVision series finale. Similarly, fans had created extensive theories about the series finale of WandaVision, only to be upset when their expectations were not met. This caused bad reviews to arise following WandaVision’s trail of positive fan feedback.
If Garfield and Maguire don’t end up swinging across the theater screen, once eager fans will be returning home disappointed; and that is of no fault but their own.
CONTRIBUTED IMAGE
Sports SPORTS EDITOR MARK CASCAGNETTE sports@thecord.ca LEAD SPORTS REPORTER ETHAN CAPLAN sports@thecord.ca
FOOTBALL
Hutter-Coppin on his career with the Golden Hawks
MARK CASCAGNETTE
SPORTS EDITOR
“Obviously it’s not the result we wanted, but regardless of how it ended and how my university career came to a halt, this was one of the most fun teams I’ve played on and one of the most closely knit teams I’ve played for,” fifth-year defensive back Christian Hutter-Coppin said about the past football season.
The Golden Hawks football team broke their two-year playoff drought and hosted their first home playoff game in four years this past season, in large part due to their defense. Leading the country in both interceptions and fumbles, the opportunistic Laurier defense relied on a mix of veterans and fresh faces in order to propel their team to a 3-3 record and a second-place finish in the OUA West division.
Christian Hutter-Coppin was a pivotal piece of Laurier’s success this year having a career season in his final year in the purple and gold. After consecutive 4-4 seasons just barley missing out on the playoffs, the 5’10, 195-pound, Barrie native returned to the Golden Hawks this year and picked up exactly where he left off following the cancellation of the OUA football season in 2020. Hutter-Coppin entered his fifth season with Laurier and recorded a career-high three interceptions this year – second in the OUA.
“It was a dawg mentality, everybody wanted to be the best that they could be, and we had that mindset since training camp,” Hutter-Coppin said.
“From the scout team to the starters, everybody wanted to do what they could to win, so just coming back and seeing everybody in that mindset was really incredible,” he continued.
Hutter-Coppin was one of three other Laurier players who finished their university football career exhausting all five years of eligibility with the program. Having finished his academic studies two terms ago, Hutter-Coppin opted to return to Laurier to play his final season this past year.
As the team hosted Guelph in the OUA quarter-finals last month, Hutter-Coppin was one of the few players with prior playoff experience under Coach Michael Faulds and the Golden Hawks.
The talented defensive back has come a long way since being named rookie of the year in the memorable Yates Cup winning 2016 season. Playing in all 11 games that season, including three playoff games, Hutter-Coppin recorded his first career interception in his fourth game with the team and remained a crucial part of defensive coordinator Ron VanMoerkerke’s secondary, playing in over 40 games throughout his Laurier career.
Hutter-Coppin missed only one game in his time with Laurier and finished his career with over 50 tackles, four interceptions and 1.5 sacks – which he recorded this past season. As a team, the Golden Hawks led the country, recording 25 takeaways (13 interceptions and 12 forced fumbles) through just six games this year. Hutter-Coppin had an interception in the opener against York, week three against the Western Mustangs and in the week six senior’s day contest against Windsor. He also recovered a fumble forced by star linebacker Tommy Bringi in that senior’s day matchup against the Lancers.
“I want to thank the senior’s and say how proud I am of them. Their senior year was taken away and they decided to come back and work hard to become leaders on the team,” Coach Faulds said of Hutter-Coppin, Will Amoah, Ente Eguavoen and Cal Taylor, who stayed five seasons within the program.
While Coach Faulds spotlighted the veterans throughout the year this season, Hutter-Coppin has a great deal of respect towards his coach and defensive coordinator as well. “They were super important during my time here. I told them thank you for coaching and everything, but more importantly thank you for grooming me into the man I am today,” Hutter-Coppin said of his coaches.
“Whether they know it or not, there’s little things that they did, that I’m definitely going to carry throughout my everyday life… regardless of football, they obviously taught me great lessons because they’re both elite coaches, but off the field, they taught me more lessons and I’ll forever be grateful for that,” Hutter-Coppin said.
The Golden Hawks defense opened the season with a bang, recording eight takeaways in their first game against York. Led by Amoah, Ayo Ajyai and Hutter-Coppin in the secondary, Laurier was a top five scoring defense in the OUA, while holding opponents to a 55 per cent completion rate through the air – third in the OUA.
Laurier went on a dominant three-game stretch in which their defense held the Vanier Cup finalist Western Mustangs to no points in the entire first half, shutout the nationally ranked McMaster Marauder in a 22-0 victory and held the Windsor Lancers off the scoreboard until the final minute of the game, in their convincing 33-8 senior’s day triumph.
“It’s definitely one of my more favourable years of playing football,” Hutter-Coppin said.
“The bye week was a turning point, but even before the bye week there was a different mindset going into training camp… winning and being the best, we can was the goal always but after the bye, we realized that this is some of our last times playing together.”
Hutter-Coppin believed that the key to his success this season was formed through the mindset that he and the team carried throughout the year. Instead of stressing about plays or mistakes made during the game, the defensive back focused on having fun and being the best that he could be.
“We didn’s stress ourselves and focused on the next play,” Hutter-Coppin said. “In my past years of playing, I’ll make a bad play in a game and I just stress on that and it’ll effect my next play, the next play and the next game… this year, everybody had the mindset of let’s just have fun and it really helped on the field.”
Despite the loss to Guelph in the playoffs, Hutter-Coppin viewed the season and Laurier’s eturn to the gridiron as a successful one, having always believed the team was one of the most talented across the OUA.
In his five seasons with the team, Hutter-Coppin had been a part of several memorable moments with the team while also receiving an invite to the 2020 CFL regional combine. He recounts the Yates Cup victory in his rookie season as one of his favourite memories with the team as well as the enjoyment he had this past year given the uncertainty that surrounded the start of this past OUA season.
“Waiting a whole year, not really knowing what was going to happen, the season wasn’t guaranteed. Just coming back and being with all of the guys was great, I think everybody was on the same page,” Hutter-Coppin said.
With his career in the purple and gold coming to an end, the fifth-year sociology major has his sights set on keeping his football career going. Having just applied for graduation at the conclusion of this past season, he has intentions of looking at the CFL, USFL and even Europe as options for him to continue playing football in the near future.
Outside of football, the defensive back is hoping to continue his academics and study law. “I want to go to law school and study criminal law,” Hutter-Coppin said. “I would like to go to a HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in the states and take law,” he said.
Whether he continues his onfield career playing in a professional league or chooses to focus on his post-grad law aspirations, Hutter-Coppin undoubtedly made a lasting impact over his five seasons with the Golden Hawks football program.
DARIEN FUNK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
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TIM HARRISON/PHOTO EDITOR Men’s basketball 2021 recap
MARK CASCAGNETTE
SPORTS EDITOR
“We need to focus on getting healthy, both mentally and physically.”
Coach Justin Serresse and the Golden Hawks men’s basketball team finished their calendar year, splitting two games against the Windsor Lancers this past week.
After starting the season 0-2, with two lopsided losses against the undefeated, fifth ranked Brock Badgers, the Golden Hawks have played much better basketball over the past two weekends. Laurier used an all-around performance last weekend against Lakehead to win the first game by 26 points before losing the second night of a back-to-back. Similarly, the purple and gold dominated Windsor this past week, winning their first game on the road by 37 points before losing the home matchup against the Lancers this past Saturday.
The Golden Hawks will enter the holidays with a 2-4 record, sitting in seventh place in the nine team OUA West division – two points back of their previous opponents, Windsor and Lakehead.
All-Canadian and two-time OUA All-star, Ali Sow has started the season on fire, averaging 27.3 points, two steals and nearly five assists per game. The President’s award winner ranks second in USPORTS in scoring and is top ten in the country in nearly all offensive categories, while also averaging 36 minutes per game – first in the OUA.
The fourth-year superstar guard from Ottawa has made 19 three pointers in six games and has scored over 25 points in five of the team’s six games this year. Following two 30-point games in the past week against Windsor, Sow was recognized as the OUA player of the week as well as being named Laurier player of the week for the 13th time in his career.
Sow was the driving force last Wednesday leading the Golden Hawks to a 110-73 victory over the Lancers in Windsor. Laurier recorded a season high in points, putting forth an incredible offensive performance, draining 17 shots from beyond the arc that night – the highest total in the OUA this year.
Laurier had seven players in double-digits that night as a sixpoint lead at halftime turned into a 19-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Rookies, Kareem Elliot and Ethan Passley scored career highs in the purple and gold with 18 and 12 points respectively.
Ali Sow led the way, making six three pointers, dropping 31 points with 8 rebounds and 10 assists. The 10 assists, a career-high for Sow, while recording his third career double-double.
As was the case the previous week, the opposing team adjusted on the second night of the back-toback, as Windsor was able to defeat Laurier 90-84 in Waterloo on Saturday. While Laurier was able to win the first game of the series handily, the reduced 16-game OUA schedule, featuring back-to-back games against their eight division opponents has led to competitive results across the province.
Coaches have made adjustments throughout the season as the intensity has picked up and the players have responded after playing the same team in two consecutive games.
Laurier fell behind by 21 points after halftime this past Saturday in what was their final game before the Christmas break. Kitchener native, Telloy Simon made seven three pointers, while scoring a game-high 30 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in front of his friends and family who were in attendance at the athletic complex. Star forward, Thomas Kennedy recorded 26 points on a highly efficient 75% shooting, as both players improved on their performances from the first game and led the Lancers to their third victory on the season.
“He’s a tough shot maker and we knew that his pull up three in rhythm and off the bounce was what he loves,” Coach Serresse said of Simon. Serresse has known both Simon and Kennedy for several years and was proud of their success, despite his team losing the game.
“I love them as kids, they’re both exceptional players and it’s always a pleasure to coach against them, even when they play that well,” Serresse said. “I’m happy for them, it’s beyond the game,” he continued.
Laurier was able to cut into the lead in the third and had the game within three points in the fourth quarter, while ultimately losing by six points. Coach Serresse was proud of his team’s battle and “selfishly” excited in the final frame, while knowing that his group needs to come out of the gate with better energy.
“We shouldn’t put ourselves that deep and down in the hole in the first place” Coach Serresse said. “Selfishly I kind of love those moments because it’s really where you get to be strategic in your coaching and be a better tactical and technical coach,” he continued. Recounting some of the pivotal timeout calls, fouls and other moments down the stretch that he says the team and coaching staff will look back on and improve on throughout the season.
Balanced scoring remained a problem for the Golden Hawks in their final game of the year, as Sow, Taylor and Elliot were the only Laurier players in double-digits. KJ Massela after suffering an injury in the Lakehead series, joined Ismael Sow, and a few other newcomers on the bench as they continue to recover from injuries, as a result, limiting the depth of the Coach Serresse’s team.
Sow has scored more then double of any other players on the Golden Hawks team. Laurier’s offense however has been a positive sign as they lead the country in shots from beyond the arc, making ten three pointers per game, and in the top half of the OUA, averaging 88 points per game.
“When we play well, we play with pace, but we don’t rush offensively and take what the defense is giving us,” Coach Serresse said.
Oppositely, Laurier is bottom ten in the country, allowing 87 points per game, something that Coach Serresse will surely be focusing on during the break. “Defensively, we just have a lot of work to do, to be honest, there is just too many mistakes on a lot of different situations,” he said.
After splitting their past two series, Laurier will enter the new year with a 2-4 record as they get set to face the nationally ranked Western Mustangs for their first two games of 2022. Laurier will face the Mustangs for the first time since losing in the OUA Semi-finals in London in heartbreaking fashion two years ago.
“We need to stay in shape or get even stronger. I told the guys to get stronger, faster and better during the break,” Coach Serresse said.
“School, mental health, and physical health is most important and us as coaches are going to use this time to digest what went well and what didn’t go well, focusing on how to get better,” he said.
HOCKEY
Golden Hawks hoping to bounce back after 3 losses
ETHAN CAPLAN
LEAD SPORTS REPORTER
With six games down in the 202122 OUA hockey season, the Laurier Golden Hawks men’s hockey team sits in last place in the OUA far west division following three straight losses – two of them to Western.
While that may sound like a negative, there is a lot of optimism and room for improvement on the ice with a large chunk of the season left to be played this year (14 games).
“It’s the idea that they’re able to play games with a lot of enthusiasm,” said Coach Greg Puhalski following a 5-4 loss to Windsor on November 13th. The Golden Hawks had a tough loss that night after managing to put 47 shots on net that game. Laurier led 3-1 in the second and held a lead into the third period, before conceding three goals in the third, including the game-winner by Sean Olson with a minute to play.
Star goaltender, Noah Giesbrecht stopped 43 of 47 shots, while the Golden Hawks true Achilles heel was their discipline - recording 10 minutes of penalties and allowing two power-play goals in the third period.
Even though there were a lot of penalty minutes, the shots were there and that is a great deal of positive progress going forward for this hockey team. The offence has been hitting on all cylinders this year, with Laurier averaging 3.1 goals per game through six contests this year.
“It’s great to get scoring from a lot of different people and when you do that, you’re kind of tough to defend as a club, because teams can’t really match up with you.” said Puhalski on the creation of shots.
The Golden Hawks started their season 2-1, with the defense also becoming a big part of the team’s identity. Allowing your goalie to have a boring night on the ice and not making the opposing team work as hard as the others can be key in winning at the OUA level.
“We didn’t give up a ton of grade A scoring chances, so, in the end that’s what your goal is,” said coach Puhalski after their effort against Western later that week – a 3-2 loss.
Optimism is something that Puhalski is looking for in the team as they try to overcome their struggles and work their way back into a top spot in their division. Following their home loss to Western, the Golden Hawks lost their last game to the Mustangs 4-1.
Coach Puhalski has continued to stress putting the puck on net and creating opportunities as that will be crucial to the scheme and style of play that the Golden Hawks are trying to accomplish this season.
Shooting on net, however, is not the only thing that is going to make the Golden Hawks win multiple games consistently.
“I thought we lost our battles for a lot of pucks 1 on 1. We had some spurts where we were okay, but generally, we didn’t want to get our nose dirty tonight,” said Puhalski on the team’s 3-2 loss to Western two weekends ago.
In order for the Golden Hawks to get better and to move forward together as a team they need to work collective as a group and play consistent to win games. Three goaltenders have played in six games for the Golden Hawks this season, which is area that they will continue to look for some consistency.
“For me I’m more concerned about the effort level and playing together as a team,” said coach Puhalski on the team’s chemistry after the loss to Western.
Puhalski has been happy about the team’s effort throughout the first four games of the season, before the setback in their last two games against the nationally ranked Mustangs.
In their first two wins, Laurier’s success was largely a part of the team coming together as a group and having balance, not relying on one person to carry the team. The Golden Hawks will finish the calendar year with a game this Thursday against the Guelph Gryphons.
