Part IV: Local Bar

I would like to share with you all a truly unique experience that took place this week. Tadoussac is a small town, I understand and sympathize, I am a small town girl. As many people know, during the playoffs I like to go for a little refreshment and genteel discussion about the finer points of the game of hockey.
I was told by my co-workers that the only bar in town, l'Auberge, carries the game and shows it on a projector. "Perfect," said I, "a chance to meet the locals and partake in the game."

I arrived at said bar at about 6:40, a perfect twenty minutes before the main event. I was sporting my team colours: a red Habs t-shirt, white tank top and blue shorts. A vision en bleu, blanc et rouge. As I approached the bar I heard an unusual sound wafting into the Tadoussac night. A guitar, violin and... was that a megaphone? Indeed it was. A local band was set up beside the door for pre-game entertainment, and they were good. Really good in fact. I lingered outside watching the show with about 15 other people before deciding to head in and scout some good seating.
To my surprise the moment I walked into the door I was in a boat. That's right, the bar was built into a boat. "Amazing!," said I. Staying true to the Quebecois roots I promptly ordered a 50 from the barmaid and had a look around at the clientele. Old men were scattered throughout the bar taking in loud voices about, "l'asti'd Gorges," and "les refs tabranac." Beauty.

The decor of the bar was quite interesting. Hung all around the walls were Nordiques jerseys. Now for those of you who don't know, the Nordiques were Quebec City's hockey team. Their shelf life wasn't long as they were only in the NHL from 1979-1995 and were the 'newest' arch-rivals of the Montreal Canadians. The rivalry was as much politics and language as it was sport however as the Habs represented the English liberal federalists and the Nordiques represented the French PQist seperatists. This bar was decked out in the blue and white colours of the Nordiques- a team that hasn't existed for 15 years. The only Habs jersey I saw was the one hanging right beside the big-screen, opposite a Philidelphia Flyers jersey.

Parked immediately in front of the big screen were movie theatre seats. Now I don't know if there was a local theatre that went out of business, they looted a theatre nearby or if these were slightly smoke-damaged, but damn they were comfy. I took one of these chairs, right in the front row, and waited for the magic to happen.
At this point I'd like to introduce one of my favourite locals. He was short, Quebecer to the core and sat right beside me. Everyone in the bar seemed to know this guy and imitate him. He would get so angry at the refs that he would jump up point and yell "crisse!" and everyone would do the same. Also a big Gill fan, #75 could do no wrong to this guy even he scored on our own net and took Halak down.
As the game progressed, I learned that every time a Hab scores, the entire bar gets free shots. 5-1 Habs, enough said.
A truely Tadoussacian experience.