Starting on the journey to learn hockey, I expected (and wanted) to learn what it means to love the sport, to understand what it means to be a fan. What I didn’t anticipate is that in process of learning about the National Hockey League, the players, the teams, and the tradition, I would also begin to develop a love for the country that is considered the birthplace of hockey, Canada.
It is true! No longer can I look at Canada and make jokes about the U.S. invading it for silly reasons, it’s perpetually cold temperature or the funny accent. As part of living hockey over the last month, I have started to not just be thankful of Canada for giving us hockey but wishing I was Canadian so it could be a bigger part of my life.
I will never stop loving my country and it’s amazing heritage, as hockey becomes a part of who I am so will a small part of the country it comes from. Trust me there is room.
My developing Canadian side is most evident by:
- Wanting to visit certain Canadian cities solely because NHLers are from there including Winnipeg (Jonathan Toews), Cole Harbour (Sidney Crosby), Thunder Bay (Eric Staal), Brampton (Rick Nash), Mississauga (John Tavares) and Sicamous (Shea Weber)
- Watching local shows like The Bomber Show that chronicles the Flin Flon Bombers from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League to stay current on scores, players, etc. from the Junior Hockey League
- Liking Chris Pronger
- Wishing that Americans would celebrate a hockey victory the way Canada did after winning the Olympic Gold Medal
- Looking for a way to live stream Hockey Night in Canada to experience it in real-time
- Working in ways to ask people if they have ever seen the movie Strange Brew and quoting lines from it whenever possible
- Randomly humming O Canada
- Rooting for the Montreal Canadians against the Flyers solely to give Canada a team in the Stanley Cup Finals
- Starting to obsessively plan my Don Cherry Halloween costume only to realize no one in New York would “get it”
