A Small Ode to Hockey

My Dear Great Ones,
A Canadian icon died this week.  Gordie Howe, who I remember watching on an old black white TV in the early 70's,  passed on at the ripe old age of 88.   He was nicknamed Mr. Hockey because of his excellence in the sport and his longevity.  Over 30 years as a pro!  Ironically Gordie Howe spent most of his life in the United States playing for an American hockey team and he was married to an American.  Yet, the fact he came from Saskatchewan and learned to play hockey on frozen sloughs and outdoor rinks on the prairies in the Great Depression and then became a hero in the NHL is a great all Canadian story.  I am sure many Canadians who love hockey as I do took a few moments reminiscing about Gordie and their own journey with the sport of hockey.  I thought of all those cold winter days playing road hockey with the guys in the neighborhood, taking a million shots in the backyard, and watching hockey night in Canada on Saturday nights.  Being in Hong Kong has emphatically confirmed how huge hockey is in Canada.  It is not just sport, it is culture and for many a big part of their identity.  I play floor hockey with Canadian guys of all ages and sizes once a week on an iceless hockey rink here in Hong Kong.  There are a few foreigners who join us, Americans and an odd German, (not me) but the majority come from all over the great country of Canada, including Quebec! ha ha wink.   And after chasing a ball around for an hour and a half armed with REAL hockey sticks we always end up talking about our favourite teams and players.  And for a few moments we are back in Canada.  Most of the guys who I play with were not even born when Gordie Howe retired from hockey for the second time, but his mythological story is well known by even the youngsters.  It has been handed down by the generations who did see Howe play.  It is this attachment to hockey lore and the fact it is really a fun game that makes hockey so special for so many Canadians.  It is a blast, builds community, and its history becomes a part of your identity.  And that is a great thing.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk