It’s a Canadian Thing

Right now, we, as a nation are going through one of those defining Canadian moments. Yes, that’s right, it’s that time of year again, the time of year that most Canadians wait eagerly for all summer. No, it’s not back to school time, it’s pre-season hockey time.

The days get cooler and shorter and the trees begin to turn, the smell of winter creeps into the air and memories of an all-too-short summer grow more distant. What we have to look forward to now is 6 months of temperatures that spend more time below 0 than above it. Winter is a great time of year, and it’s a depressing time of year. It’s as long a season as the other three combined. I personally love the fall, I wish it were longer. Alas we’ve only just begun to feel the nip of Indian Summer, and I bet that in less than a month from now, we’ll see our first snowflake.

So how do many Canadian’s cope with winter? The answer is visceral.

Hockey.

Watching hockey, playing hockey, experiencing hockey. We join hockey pools, hockey fantasy leagues, recreational hockey leagues. We take our kids to the ice rink in the wee hours of the morning for hockey practice. We rent the local ice rink by the hour late in the evening for a game of shinny with friends followed by beer afterward. Sports bars fill with people to watch the game and have a pint with a couple of hundred of their closest friends. There is ice hockey, ball hockey, inline hockey, roller hockey, table hockey, pond Hockey, and tonsil hockey.

Hockey, hockey, hockey, Hockey, HOCKEY!

It may be hard to imagine for anyone else in the world, but in this country, hockey out-draws all of the other 3 major sports in North America (American Football, Baseball, Basketball). It also out-draws the most popular sport in the world, football (soccer to North Americans).

In Toronto, The Maple Leafs sellout out night after night. Even in the pre-season, and don’t think they lower their ticket prices just because the games don’t mean anything. Leaf tickets are the most expensive and hardest to get in Toronto and other Canadian cities too. You think you can go to Ottawa, or Montreal to watch the Leafs play? Think again.

This year, I might go to one game, and then only if I can get free tickets. This year too, the Leafs will probably miss the playoffs like they did last year, but don’t worry, they’ll still sell out, because that’s what they do…and that’s what we do.