I have trouble being a casual fan… of anything really.
I love music, live music in particular, and have now evolved into a life where I work for an amazing festival, have done merch sales for more than 200 acts, as well as several festivals, and have attended 4 out of the last five Junos in professional or semi-official capacities.
And.... I love sports. My two big ones are basketball and hockey. I started hitting b’ball camps at the age of 3. My Dad coached so it came naturally really – being involved, I mean. Sadly my skill at the sport was never much better than mediocre, although my free throw percentage was pretty good, and a blown out knee at 16 put an end to even that. But I loved it and I stayed involved by coaching, officiating, watching and managing every team from my high school through to my University team and entering many a Sweet 16 pool. I still love basketball although I watch less because I can’t seem to find anyone to share that with since moving out here. Maybe now that we have a pro team (admittedly IBL but beggars can’t be choosers) here in Edmonton I’ll be able to find some like-minded folks around.
My love for hockey has sort of ebbed and flowed during my life. I’ve had two NHL teams I’ve truly loved: Montreal and the Oilers. The Oilers came first with books on Gretzky and picture books of the Stanley cup winning years. It's strange really because anyone from the East Coast will tell you - you choose between Montreal and Toronto, that's just how it is. Edmonton? That was weird to most people but I loved Gretzky and Mike Krushelnyski (don't ask) and Andy Moog and Paul Coffey so there it was. Plus we had the Oilers farm team in Halifax/Cape Breton (where the fan in me fell for a Mullet-headed kid with a big heart but that's a story for another day) and that was fun too!
The Habs came later - a crush on a boy was involved but even then I had to delve deep into the fandom, soon a bigger Habs fan than he was in many ways. Oddly I also held a soft spot in my heart for the Nordiques – they were my first pro game (against the Rangers.)
I also watched all the small town and high school hockey. I think everyone knows how life revolves around the rink in small towns across the country. We were no different. But that’s where the one blow to my love of that game occurred and the reason I didn’t watch for a while. I’ll not go into the story in great detail but suffice it to say I am one of the unlucky few that lost a friend while he was playing hockey. He suffered a broken neck in a game and passed away a few days later. Accidents happen everywhere I suppose but my irrational teenage heart blamed the game for a long time.
But not forever and I came around and started watching again. Tentatively at first, cringing sometimes when things got messy in the corners or around the net. But the excitement and energy of it got the better of me again and I remembered. Then, for awhile, I lived in a city with a great QMJL team and I remembered even more.
Fast forward a few years and here I am, living in a city where my first love of hockey actually plays. You can’t live in Edmonton and not get caught up in it. And I have. To the point that my friends kind of make fun of me for knowing who we drafted in the fourth round and stats on how we play versus Calgary on Tuesdays as opposed to Saturdays.
But like I said… I have trouble being a casual fan.
Labels: basketball, fandom, hockey, Oilers, The Mullet
