Let's Get Back to The Rink

Tonight the Swift Current Broncos play an exhibition game against the Saskatoon Blades. It is the first signifigant exhibition game of the season. Players that excel tonight could move on to successful WHL careers. Players that don't leave it all on the ice could be getting their last taste of major junior hockey.

We know this has been a bad summer for hockey. Boogaard, Belak, Rypien, Demitra, McCrimmon, Lokomotiv. Household names for reasons that are tough to reconcile. Sid Crosby, hockey's poster boy himself put on a brave and smiley face to deliver news no one was happy to hear. Hockey's best draw remains on the sidelines.

Locally, the summer hasn't been spectacular either. The Broncos are coming off their most disappointing season in franchise history. Yes it was. Poor season ticket sales for the upcoming campaign have created worries at the i-Plex. 1200 season tickets. That's it. 1200 is a decent crowd for the Redneck Betties Roller Derby team, but for a WHL team to only get that kind of support for it's 36 home games...unacceptable.

Let's get back to the rink. It's what we do. The rink is where we watch hockey. It's where we eat rink burgers and fries with vinegar. It's where we catch up with friends and make new ones. It's where first dates happen and where many senior citizens have their last social outing. The rink is our past. It's our field of dreams. Does the kid who is attending his first game...watching Charlie Horse and eating a hot dog care about the Board of Directors? Does that kid care that our 1992 born forwards are underachieving?

The rink is more than what's happening on the ice. The sport of hockey is hurting. So what. If the hockey is good, that's just a bonus. It's the experience of the rink that matters. This is a small city. Buying a beer and telling stories at the intermission is just as fun as watching big plays and huge saves.

The days are getting shorter. There is a chill in the air. Snow will soon fall. Here's to another winter of warming ourselves by gathering around a sheet of ice.

Switz