Happy Hockey Day in Canada

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Subject: Happy Hockey Day in Canada
  After years of watching CBC´s Hockey Day in Canada on TV and wondering what all these little communities are like all across the nation, we got our first firsthand experience of the excitement today. Our 6 year old got to participate in his first jamboree, held in the "city" with kids from all over the Fundy region.

We were up at 4:45 this morning to have him ready to hit the ice at 6:45. He got to participate in the opening ceremony with the singing of O Canada with all his hockey "mates", and let me tell you, it was quite a moment for us. So this is what it´s like, living in a tiny community in eastern Canada, Timmy´s in hand to fight off the morning blur and the smell of hockey in the air, celebrating with the rest of the country Canada´s official sport. Pretty cool indeed.


[21-02-2009,14:14]
[**.252.125.242]
wannabecananadian
(in reply to: Happy Hockey Day in Canada)
we had street hockey games around the Big City - one on Vancouver´s equivilent to 5th Avenue in New York. No doubt every rink was in use all day but the street events got the attention. Even the Mayor took some time out from his Olympic drama to do a little dance around the rink/street.
[21-02-2009,17:09]
[***.20.116.15]
Sharon
(in reply to: Happy Hockey Day in Canada)
tow players of Montreal Canadien are involved in a scandale cause they hang with bad boys..
carey price wont be the goal keeper, and they are playing against the senators...

[21-02-2009,17:46]
[**.221.18.11]
Mm
(in reply to: Happy Hockey Day in Canada)
This is the kind of experience many of us are looking for, and something one remembers all their lives. Pretty cool for sure.

Last week I saw Vancouver whip the pants off our mighty Blackhawks on cable TV. And the Blackhawks are a powerhouse this year, with more people attending home games than ever in the past 20 years. It must have been a fluke.

I wonder, wannabe, who your NB community tends to roots for in the NHL.

[21-02-2009,19:59]
[**.53.226.146]
Richard
(in reply to: Happy Hockey Day in Canada)
Wannabe did you bring your Tim Hortens coffee to the rink???
[21-02-2009,20:25]
[**.15.49.211]
Anonymous
(in reply to: Happy Hockey Day in Canada)
Tim Hortons sponsored the jamboree and provided unlimited coffee and tim bits to sleepy parents and excited, game worn kids (juice for the kids). They sponsor league hockey in Canada for kids age 5-8; about 3200 kids play "tim bit" hockey in NB alone, and Canada wide the numbers are staggering. I may never become a Timmys coffee convert (I AM an American after all, and some things just don´t come naturally! :) )but their amazing support of youth hockey in this country can´t be beat.

In this area, people tend to be either Maple Leaf or Canadien fans. We expected some interest in Boston (Boston being geographically much MUCH closer than any Canadian city) but that seems to be reserved for baseball.

Glad to hear your Blackhawks are doing well, Richard. Do you get to go to any games? Our Blue Jackets are having their first ever playoff run and Columbus is going crazy. Games are sold out and the arena sounds like it did the first year of the franchise--deafening. It is SO HARD to not be able to be there!! Thank goodness for cable hockey packages.

You are right Richard, it was the type of "moment" that many immigrants hope for. I feel it on a lesser scale every Wednesday afternoon when, no matter how tired I am after work, I get my little guy suited up for his weekday practice, and every Saturday morning when we get up at the crack of dawn and head out into the frigid morning to the rink. The drive to the rink is staggeringly beautiful, the surrounding hills white with snow and the frozen river gleaming like a ribbon. The parents sit together under blankets and sip half cold coffee and the kids beam with pride as they wave to us from the ice. For anyone who doesn´t understand hockey, I suggest attending a morning practice somewhere, in any community across the country. Soak in the joy of the kids, notice the camaraderie of the parents who will all willingly sacrifice a couple hours of sleep (and many hours of travel) for their kids to participate in this very awesome, very community building sport.

Long live the greatest sport on earth! :)

[22-02-2009,08:43]
[**.252.125.242]
wannabecananadian
(in reply to: Happy Hockey Day in Canada)
I know the adjustment has been extremely difficult and it pleases me no end to hear your hockey story. It sounds like a Timmy´s commercial!

I attended the 4 continents ice skating championships a few weeks back. It is a similar crowd - skating parents, former skaters... all beaming and cheering at every effort made (even the crash landings). Very inspiring.

Sad little side note. Timmy´s was bought out by Wendy´s about 2 years back but they have done a very good job of leaving it very Canadian. There is even a Timmy´s set up in Afghanistan for the troops. Got to love it.

BTW... the sun is shining, our heather is blooming and the crocuses are out. I hope this time next year when the Olympics are on that it is half as beautiful. I have been eyeing my garden all week and can´t wait to go digging.

[22-02-2009,15:58]
[***.20.116.15]
Sharon
(in reply to: Happy Hockey Day in Canada)
Wendy´s is headquartered in Columbus and I remember the buy out. We were concerned, but you´re right--they have managed to remain a Canadian icon. The buyout did bring Timmys to several American markets (including Columbus) but it´s been a tough sell against Dunkin´ Donuts in the east, Krispy Kreme in the south and midwest, and Starbucks everywhere. Nothing can touch them up here for sure; we have two in our tiny spot in the woods and the line ups are always many cars deep.

I watched a documentary about the Tim Hortons in Afghanistan. It was truly awesome. One of the employees there wasn´t in any way related to the troops and had no military background but had worked at a Timmys back home in Canada and volunteered to be part of the outlet on the base. What an experience for her, on so many levels. And what a saving grace for the soldiers, to have a little taste of home and sanity in such horrendous circumstances. Any immigrant can relate to the importance of the little something familiar when immersed in all new surroundings.

I was serious when I asked for a picture of your spring flowers, Sharon! :) I can´t even imagine that there are places out there that have thawed out, that don´t have snow piled up past their heads and where the driveways and sidewalks aren´t like ice skating rinks. We had a storm that dropped nearly a foot earlier in the week and another foot is expected in this next round tonight or tomorrow. I think this is the winter that is going to break me.

I´ll dream about your flowers and your sunshine, and I´ll try to keep the faith that someday we´ll see them here too. Enjoy it for the rest of us! :)

[22-02-2009,16:57]
[**.252.125.242]
wannabecananadian
(in reply to: Happy Hockey Day in Canada)
Mm
I will not say two players of Montreal Canadien hang with " bad boys "

I will say they hang with "Governaments competition"

[23-02-2009,16:06]
[***.226.94.111]
stavrimacoku
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