Never Forget

I came across this article in the province by Tony Gallagher - It's so true !!



IT'S JUST A GAME

This edition of the Vancouver Canucks is providing genuinely new ground even for long-time fans and observers of the franchise. This is perhaps the best defensive Canucks team in history while being one of the most frustrating to watch, all at the same time. It would be easy to conclude they were just a poor hockey team if they weren't so solid defensively and didn't consistently outplay opponents. Sadly, actually putting the puck into the goal is still a requirement for success, and all the chances in the world for this group so far don't seem to be getting the job done, at least well enough to be considered a playoff team. It's around this time of year though that fans of this team should make sure they get a grip. They need to understand the one essential aspect of everything Canuck and everything in this section of the paper. It's a game, and needs to be treated that way. Some people get so frustrated they let it seep into their real world and affect their attitude and deportment. Its all right to let it affect your mood in a positive way when things are going well. That can be uplifting and a real vitamin to help people through these long, dark West Coast winters. But when your team is on a downer, the light must flash - THIS IS A GAME, put it aside. If you think you have it bad, imagined the players. For these guys its their proffession. THere is nothing they would like more than to win and in the bargain succeed personally so as to get that next contract. The frustrations they feel are many more times magnified because of the genuine financial impact on their families, immediate and extended, and no matter how fat and overpaid you think these guys might be, not winning hits them much harder. Yet even these people continually acquire perspective. When they head to Canucks Place of Children's Hospital or in the case of some real brave BC Lions players over the past few years out to places liek Purdy Pavillion at UBC to visit with older people struggling with Parkinson's and Alzheimers, they realize just how lucky they are. Sure that next goal or next tackle is their living, but its' a game. IF they couldn't play most are young enough and fit enough and many smarty enough to do any number of other jobs contributing enormously to their communities. Going out to these places helps them realize it. About five years ago Lions players started to visit Purdy and my father in law who will be spending his first Christmas with our Lord this year, was one of the residents lucky enough to be on the receiving end. He couldn't remember who of course, no matter how much I pressed him, his short term memory was such that he once burned himself three times on the same cup of coffee before we finally got a grip as to how far gone his short term memory was. But he never forgot "a lion player" came to see him. Whoever that player was, his work was outstanding and just as surely, Purdy's work on him would have been just as effective. It would have reminded him he played a 'game' for aliving, that he could walk away from his profession and still be infinitely ahead of every patient-resident in that building and that there are bigger hits in life than on any football field. If the players can get it, surely we media and fans can also come to grips with it. If the Canucks are driving you nuts, make sure that frustration doesn't get through to reality. If your NFL team loses a playoff game, stop the mourning immediate for your family and for yourself. After all, IT'S JUST A GAME