I am a proud Canadian at the best of times, but wow. There will never be a day like yesterday. I know it's not fair and it's not right, but the 13 gold medals we already had would not have shone as brightly had we not won the 14th in hockey. Did I phrase that correctly? Well, you know what I mean. I'm a little foggy this morning. Celebrating on a school night and what not. I know I'm not the only one. The final numbers aren't in yet, but they're saying 21 million people watched the game yesterday, at least in part. I can't help wondering what the other 10 million were doing. Maybe listening on the radio, or watching it online? Having a nap? Fixing a leaky tap or walking the dog or MY GOD PEOPLE HOW CAN YOU NOT WANT TO BE PART OF SOMETHING THIS BIG THAT CAN HAPPEN TO US ALL ONLY ONCE?
Okay, there was Paul Henderson's goal in the Russia Canada series in 1972. Oh, and the moon landing, let's not forget that. And maybe one day aliens that turn out to be nice will land on earth and we'll all tune in for that, but until then, this was our defining collective moment, and it was awesome. It was awe. some. There was some awe there, alright, and I for one will never forget where I was, and who I was with, and what it was like.
For the record? I was sitting in the car with Ronan. It came about because I had to go pick him up from ski camp - the bus, as luck would have it, arrives at 5:30, which is exactly when the Americans tied up the game (EST). The rest of the guys were watching it on television, but I had to tear out of the house and drive through the empty streets to get Ro, AND I also had to pick up the dog at the groomers before they shut at 6, and I was a mess. We had the game on the radio of course, and Ronan was afraid that if anyone scored I'd have an accident, but we made it home safe, and we just sat in the the car listening to the radio, just me and Ro and the dog, until Crosby scored, at which point we started screaming and yelling and honking the horn, then we jumped out of the car, and sort of pogo jumped our way into the house, then stopped. Because even though there wasn't a soul on the street, you could hear the yelling and cheering coming from all the houses around us, and the cars honking in the distance, and we realized that that was happening at that moment right across the country. That was the sound of excitement and happiness and pride. I will never forget that, and neither will Ronan. The dog maybe.
So where were you?