There was little to say about the charity hockey game that Edmonton Oilers star (just about the only one left on the team) Ryan Smyth has put together. Apparently, Ryan isn't that big of a name or Canadians are so apathetic that they just didn't show up. SLAM! Sports Columnist seems to think that everybody in Canada is freaked. In a 6,000 seat arena in Red Deer, only 800 showed up.. and it was estimated that 100 of them was friends and family. One Metroboards member had this to say "And now, with the turnstile equivalent of the middle finger...."
It throws a cold bucket of water on the NHL and NHLPA who seem to think that they can get by on star power. Ryan Smyth, apparently loved in his home province is not quite the star he should be in the States. Don't bother clicking on the link. Ryan's not that famous to have a website anymore.
Perhaps this is a "vote with your wallet" kind of thing, but Ryan offered excuses such as "we didn't get enough of the word out". I would have to agree with that because I'm usually up on a lot of hockey news. I had to do some serious web sleuthing to find an article about Ryan's charity tournament.
I often fantasize about participating in organizing charity hockey tournaments. I'd want to get sponsors for the teams and call them "Team Molson" team "Team Labatts". They're jersey's would be red and blue respectively. But since Coors merged with Molson, I'd get Guinness or Corona (with lime) to sponsor teams. Then other labels will pick up on it and truly then would you have a "beer league".
I've always been trying to write that eloquent and perfect essay on why I believe that hockey is a great sport. Personally, I guess it's just in my blood now, I love this game. Sure enough, a young lady in Canada was able to put the idealistic words into print From 2/20/05 Ottawa Sun Column. So, I leave you with these excerpt thoughts from her to the mainstream citizens of her country and to those who have been embittered by the cancellation of the NHL season:
Hockey will always be viable in this country. It's what we do better than anyone else on the planet. It's our responsibility to nurture the game in its purest form, to ensure the sport's survival and maintain what is, in fact, a large part of our identity.
Hockey is what makes Canada special. It's about the sport itself, and not the biggest league that chooses to play it. Hockey is who we are. It's part of our identity. And no one, not even Bettman and Goodenow, can rip that from us.
1 comment:
Hey, my first blog quote -- that's pretty stellar! Actually, to be fair, that bit never appeared in my column, due to the Easter Sunday act the NHL tried to pull after the cancellation. I was forced to re-write at the last minute, and that's why you'll see a different piece listed under 2/20 if you go to my blog. However, I did expose those thoughts to the American masses that Thursday, on a popular U.S. sports radio show.
Ryan Smyth isn't the only one attempting to do something for charity. Dominik Hasek is in the Ottawa valley today, taking shots from 75 lucky children to benefit the Canadian Cancer Society. I do believe it's free to go and watch, but I wonder how many actually will?
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