Bingo and Beaker (my brothers) and I grew up watching the CBC. From our various homes in the Pacific Northwest (if we were lucky enough to watch cable television) we would have the opportunity to see a new culture without ever having to travel. Different commercials. Different spellings, accents and pronunciations. The coup de grace: Hockey Night In Canada. I have alway been drawn to the event--especially the sporting event. The sporting event is a cultural study in popular liturgy and what fuels a social gathering, especially around men. Strategy. Competition. Bragging rights. Diminished pressure to be on top of social conversation, but available if you need it in small doses. Cathartic enthusiasm stemming from the thrill of victory. What really lifted Hockey Night In Canada to event status for me, and to some degree for my brothers was the nationalistic/patriotic eboullience. Don Cherry is now driving that bus that is Hockey Night In Canada. The CBC would be moronic to lose him. Unless they wanted to break into the retro Don Cherry market...
While at Beaker's bachelor party in Calgary a few years ago, some of his new family members and I talked about Don Cherry for what seemed to be 30 minutes over a few "Canadians (that's a Molson for you underprivileged)" He is an icon and my soul cousin. I know little about Don Cherry other than his public personna. But he has instinct for the event and the boldness to say what is on his mind and what is important for him. I would also love to meet his haberdasher.
If I could somehow work Don Cherry into a sermon...
Rev. Elihu
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