IMOJ
At the end of Home Game, Dryden and MacGregor finally tie it all together. They've written this big book about hockey and Canada, from a number of topics, and finally they have to explain why this whole thing was worth writing in the first place, why it actually means anything.
If I had the book here, I could quote the relevant parts properly. Unfortunately, all I have is the following, but it's enough to get the basic point across.
Playing mini-stick hockey in his and our basements when we were really young, playing hockey in Grandpa's basement when we were a bit older, which we did for hours at just about every family holiday there. Road hockey at any relatives gathering. Playing hockey on my dad's 50th birthday party when Jeff put the pads back on and started playing net again.
One of my strongest memories was from Christmas 2004. We were in Burlington, and I suggested to my cousins and uncles that everyone bring their skates and sticks along and we'd find an outdoor rink somewhere. We ended up finding the worst rink I've ever played on, it was as though someone had thrown a hose down in a parking lot and left it at that. I remember our skates would spark as they hit gravel left in the ice or went right through. Jeff kept wiping out because his goalie skates were even worse at gripping the ice than ours were, I was surprised that he was even able to skate at all.
I was disappointed because I felt like I should have more memories of him than just hockey related things, he's my cousin, we're supposed to share more than just that.
But at the funeral home, I realized just how big a role hockey played in his life. Former teammates from all age levels showed up and signed his goalie stick. The picture book was full of hockey pictures. One of the flower baskets had a ministick in it. A family friend brought some things Jeff had given him, one was a wooden ministick from a time I'd long forgotten about, making them with my cousins so we could design and draw on them ourselves.
And I realised at some point, that without hockey, what memories might I have had? We were six years apart in age, and I spent four of my years growing up on another continent. Without hockey, would there have been as much for me to remember in the first place? Would there have been something else in place of those links created by hockey? I can't answer that obviously, but I'm not sure what else might have had the same effect.
These links/bonds/connections of hockey are evident throughout my extended family. Every single one of my male cousins on both sides have played organized hockey at some point, and the majority of us still do play in some form or another. I'm pretty sure it's the same with all the uncles. We've made it a habit in the last couple years to schedule our Christmas dinner around the opening game of the World Junior Championships. We need this as a connection, as a way of keeping track of each other and connecting outside the usual family occasions. And it helps us understand each other in some small way.
So here's to common experiences and common memories and relationships and hockey. And here's to Jeff, staring down Rocket Richard and Valerie Kharlamov on a two on none.
If I had the book here, I could quote the relevant parts properly. Unfortunately, all I have is the following, but it's enough to get the basic point across.
“Why should this game matter? Why does it matter? It matters because communities matter. ... Dreams, hopes, passions; common stories, common experiences, common memories; myths and legends; ... links, bonds, connections - young-old, past-present, East-West, French-English, men-women, able-disabled ... they matter. And that is why hockey matters.”
Playing mini-stick hockey in his and our basements when we were really young, playing hockey in Grandpa's basement when we were a bit older, which we did for hours at just about every family holiday there. Road hockey at any relatives gathering. Playing hockey on my dad's 50th birthday party when Jeff put the pads back on and started playing net again.
One of my strongest memories was from Christmas 2004. We were in Burlington, and I suggested to my cousins and uncles that everyone bring their skates and sticks along and we'd find an outdoor rink somewhere. We ended up finding the worst rink I've ever played on, it was as though someone had thrown a hose down in a parking lot and left it at that. I remember our skates would spark as they hit gravel left in the ice or went right through. Jeff kept wiping out because his goalie skates were even worse at gripping the ice than ours were, I was surprised that he was even able to skate at all.
I was disappointed because I felt like I should have more memories of him than just hockey related things, he's my cousin, we're supposed to share more than just that.
But at the funeral home, I realized just how big a role hockey played in his life. Former teammates from all age levels showed up and signed his goalie stick. The picture book was full of hockey pictures. One of the flower baskets had a ministick in it. A family friend brought some things Jeff had given him, one was a wooden ministick from a time I'd long forgotten about, making them with my cousins so we could design and draw on them ourselves.
And I realised at some point, that without hockey, what memories might I have had? We were six years apart in age, and I spent four of my years growing up on another continent. Without hockey, would there have been as much for me to remember in the first place? Would there have been something else in place of those links created by hockey? I can't answer that obviously, but I'm not sure what else might have had the same effect.
These links/bonds/connections of hockey are evident throughout my extended family. Every single one of my male cousins on both sides have played organized hockey at some point, and the majority of us still do play in some form or another. I'm pretty sure it's the same with all the uncles. We've made it a habit in the last couple years to schedule our Christmas dinner around the opening game of the World Junior Championships. We need this as a connection, as a way of keeping track of each other and connecting outside the usual family occasions. And it helps us understand each other in some small way.
So here's to common experiences and common memories and relationships and hockey. And here's to Jeff, staring down Rocket Richard and Valerie Kharlamov on a two on none.
posted by Julian at 5:05 a.m.
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