Poor Martin St-Louis.
His famous phrase “We vomited on ourselves” is everywhere on the web this morning, because it was used by pro-Trump supporters in Quebec.
Strangely, this strong and direct image, uttered by St. Louis to illustrate a humiliating defeat of his team against Washington last week, is now used to describe the performance of American Vice President Kamala Harris, who suffered a bitter setback against to Donald Trump.
Pro-Trump people jumped at the opportunity to mock the defeat of the Democratic candidate.
We bet St. Louis isn’t too keen on seeing him associated with politics this morning. But in the meantime, the coach was devastated by the loss against the Calgary Flames, when he really thought his team had done enough to get the victory.
At least he can console himself. Today, everyone is only talking about Donald Trump’s victory. For once in a long time, no one will talk about his dismissal.
Criticism of those in charge, whether on the ice or in the political sphere, is often merciless.
But today, St. Louis can say that it is not in the shoes of Kamala Harris, who failed her campaign across the board.
Unlike St-Louis, it does not have carte blanche to rebuild itself.
The fact remains that Martin St-Louis quickly became the Turkish head of Montreal, a bit like Kamala Harris in the United States.
Each contested decision, each bitter defeat or clumsy comment seems to be a new opportunity for criticism to fall on him.
Like the losing candidate, often criticized for her incompetence and perceived as an isolated figure who has lost all her support, St-Louis faces constant and overwhelming pressure, without any moment of respite.
The current situation of the Montreal Canadiens, with its multiple defeats and repeated defensive errors, highlights the vulnerability of St-Louis in the public eye.
For every missed match, every failed strategy, it is the coach who seems to be targeted. Like Harris, he finds himself the main culprit of the fall, condemned to justify his choices and his errors in a press conference, where he is no longer simply a coach in training, but the target of the frustrations of an entire city.
Expectations for the Canadian, despite their reconstruction, remain high. And as with Harris in the United States, his — whether founded or not — is placed on his shoulders, often to the exclusion of the larger context.
For St. Louis, the shadow of constant criticism weighs heavily on his decisions, and it seems clear that he will get no break in this demanding role.
The coach appeared affected like never before at a press conference Tuesday evening, visibly affected by his team’s heartbreaking defeat in overtime against the Calgary Flames.
The coach, who is starting to feel all the pressure around him, even hinted at enormous discomfort, describing the defeat with words that recall his famous expression…
“We vomited on each other. »
This time he tried to add nuance, but the pain shone through.
“We didn’t vomit on ourselves tonight, but it hurts a little in the heart”he admitted, his eyes downcast, unable to hide his disappointment.
The Montreal Canadian, although having shown a better defensive structure and a dangerous attack in the first period, once again failed to materialize its chances and maintain the advantage at the end of the match.
Individual errors and lack of finishing were costly, despite the effort made.
St. Louis tried to maintain a positive note:
“Did we have enough chances to win the match? Yes. Especially the way we played, the way we defended. As for what we’re talking about right now, I’m happy with our actions on the ice. »
The emotional fatigue in his words and the repetition of the same mistakes during matches show that the message seems to be struggling to get across.
The scene of this press conference reveals to what extent the coach is affected by the series of defeats and the lack of consistency of his team.
St-Louis, despite his optimistic speech, seems exhausted by the situation and, according to some observers, is starting to lose patience.
The road to a return to competitiveness is still long, and the Canadians will need mental steel to get there.
At least this time her team didn’t do like Kamala.
They didn’t vomit on each other…
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