October

I am a Vancouver Canucks fan, in case I have not made that obvious enough already.  I have been a fan since I was a child, having been born in Vancouver.  My favourite players growing up were Trevor Linden, Alex Mogilny and Pavel Bure.  If you know anything about Canucks history, you know that these three are pretty much the ones who led Vancouver to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994.  Heartbreak ensued, and our city has never forgotten it. 

This past year, 17 years later, things have changed considerably.  Mogilny, Bure and Linden have moved on.  New young stars emerged, and new leaders took up the role of bringing Vancouver to their second in history Round Four Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.  I am sure I don’t even need to mention it, because the events of that night were all over the news.  People all around, Canucks fans and otherwise, heard what happened.  Yes, Vancouver fell short.  Again.  But it was more than that.  Rioters took to the streets and set fire to the beautiful city that I have always known and loved.  I, along with thousands of others, was appalled, devastated and even afraid.  I couldn’t believe that people would take things so far.  You see, in 1994, I was only 7 years old, and I didn’t watch any news coverage about the riots that occurred that year.  I was only interested in the hockey aspect, overwhelmed by the fact that my team had lost.  This year was different.  I didn’t have my parents to shelter me from the destruction being shown on television.  I was right there in the same city as it all went down.  I fled the city via taxi cab, but my fear took a while to be quelled.  I sat in a nice restaurant in an adjacent city, safe from the danger, and ate my food while watching the news.

The next day on my way to work, I was still high strung emotionally.  I was nearly brought to tears just at the mention of the rioting on the radio.  I have been a diehard Canucks fan for as long as I can remember, but I honestly didn’t care one bit that Vancouver didn’t win the cup.  First of all, it’s nothing new, so I have come to expect it, even though I hope for the best.  Second of all, the loss of a city – a home is far worse than losing an athletic competition. 

As I kept listening to the radio, I heard reports of Vancouverites going downtown to help clean up what the rioters had left behind.  This too got me very emotional.  I love Vancouver.  I am proud to be from there.  There is a lot of pride that goes along with being a Vancouverite.  Pride in our city.  Pride in our team.  We can’t dwell on the loss.  We just have to get back up, dust ourselves off and look toward the future.  The city has been restored to its former glory, and the Vancouver Canucks are already at it building up their ranks.  They lost yes, but the loss is not permanent.  With October comes a new beginning.  Players were injured.  Egos were bruised.  But healing comes with time. 

It’s just like anything in life really.  We can’t look at the losses as final.  We have to get back up, dust ourselves off and look toward the future.  Anything bad that comes your way in life is only permanent if you let it be.   Even if you have a crippling injury or disease, life is more than just your body.  Your soul is what makes you who you are.  Your soul holds your passion and your determination to push through the trials and look forward to the future.

Here’s to new beginnings.  Here’s to October. 

Thanks for "listening."