Sometimes I genuinely dislike my work, if that’s what this is.
Sometimes, in an effort to be as completely true to yourself and to your values, you have to say things, even do things that may come across as distasteful but, at the end of the day, are recognized as the proper thing to do. To satisfy your conscience.
To witness the pillorying of Canadian hockey great Wayne Gretzky in his own country was, at first, something that didn’t bother me at all. It was more with a sense of schadenfreude that I observed the pummelling The Great One was taking from his Canadian compatriots, that this was something he deserved, that he had brought it upon himself. Serves him right kind of thing.
I don’t know exactly why I dislike him so much, but I know the feeling is real, and I’ve had it for a while now, at least a decade. Maybe it was when he moved to Hollywood that I pegged him as being more American than Canadian. Maybe that was the start.
I don’t like him being the face of gambling in the sport that he dominated. I think that cheapens him, and all the others currently playing, to be shilling for something so socially controversial and potentially damaging to the integrity of the game. Like, do these guys not have enough money already where they can pick and choose the endorsements they accept?
Were the cigarette companies not calling? Or any other ventures that are either based upon or legitimate threats for addiction?
I don’t like how chummy he is with the current U.S. president, including the wearing of the obligatory red cap, being at Mar-A-Lago on election night, a guest at the inauguration. And basking in the glow of being named Trump’s preferred choice as governor of Canada.
All without saying a peep while his country of birth was being peppered with existential threats from his pal, the Big Buffoon, who would rather see us as the fifty-first state in the union, albeit a state bigger than the rest of the union combined.
Not a peep.
No Mike Myers here. Not a single sound from The Great One, other than to hear that he’s grievously wounded at the criticism he’s taken since that ceremonial face-off in Boston for the final game of the Four Nations tournament. And this we hear from his wife, Janet, not from Gretz himself. Evidently he’s too emotionally pole-axed to offer comment.
And maybe he even pictures himself as governor.
However, about that ceremonial face-off.
Gretzky and former Miracle on Ice Olympian Mike Eruzione were named as honorary captains for Team Canada and Team USA respectively.
Gretzky showed up in a suit and tie, while Eruzione showed up like it was Spirit Day at your local high school. I can sort of understand Eruzione, because this was Boston, and the American anthem had been booed by the Montreal crowd less than a week before. It would be a truly extraordinary thing for Americans not to respond to that, and after all, look what it did to the Tkachuk brothers, who lost their minds. One of them’s now gone for the season as a partial result.
So Eruzione showing up in a Team USA jersey and whooping up the crowd ought to be expected. Were we, as Canadians, really thinking that we could expect Wayne Gretzky to do the same?
No, Gretzky did precisely what he should have done. Shake hands, drop the puck, shake some more hands, then get the hell off the ice. Eruzione, instead, took on the role of cheerleader.
Gretzky was appropriate. Eruzione was a mascot.
It’s been reported that Gretzky offered the American bench a thumbs-up on his way off the ice. No mention is made of the thumbs-up he gave to the Canadian bench as well. I guess we tend to be selective when it comes to choosing which thumbs-up we’re going to talk about and which one we’re going to ignore.
In any sport that I can think of, especially those that begin with a face-off or jump-ball or any meeting between captains and officials prior to the game, offering your opponents a wish of good luck is a sign of good sportsmanship. Even the two team captains, Matthews and Crosby shook hands after exchanging banners, just like at the Olympics or other major international tournaments. So why would it be any different for the teams’ ambassadors?
As much as I hate to say this, Eruzione was a clown. Gretzky, on the other hand, was not.
This, as much as anything, highlights the stereotypical difference between Americans and Canadians. The Americans are up and down, in your face, loud and proud, even obnoxious. The Canadians, on the other hand, unless otherwise provoked, are usually none of that, are more reserved, perhaps a little more dignified.
One could argue we were provoked, and I wouldn’t disagree. But that’s a fight we need to win on the ice, where it really matters.
So, as much as I don’t like it, on this one thing and this one thing only, I’m going to back up Wayne Gretzky.
But as hockey guys, he, and that other MAGA bobblehead Bobby Orr are dead to me. They were terrific as players, and I witnessed both, but their politics are nothing short of self-serving, narcissistic, and pandering.
I would have no problem not hearing either name ever again.
When it comes to Canada, give me Phil Esposito any day, all day.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 