There are no greater enemies in nature than that between the Whale and the Boat. From ancient times there have been great tales about boats vs whales, like that one time that bible guy got eaten by a whale while he was on a boat and then hung out with Pinnochio and his friends in the whale’s tummy.

The modern iteration of this historical struggle takes place in the SMJHL, where the Vancouver Whalers and the Anchorage Armada do battle for divisional supremacy. In recent years, the Armada seem to have had the edge on the Whalers, where the Whale just couldn’t put together a full game against Anchorage. Instead of trying to simply come out ahead in regular season games, the Whalers harkened back to the old proverb The Whale and the Boat which goes as follows:

All year long the Boat kept burying acorns for winter while the Whale mooched off his girlfriend and watched TV. Then the winter came, and the Boat died, and the Whale ate all his acorns and also he got a racecar.

While the Boat put away regular season wins and won playoff series, they always eventually died without winning a cup. While the Whalers took their Ls and mooched off of the draft system to put together a championship team. And also they got a racecar.

This year seems to be very different, with the Whale regressing and the Boat once again a favorite to win the Cup. Will the Boat even the score in the FHM era? We will have to wait and see.