Sunday, November 17, 2019

Hockey Night in London

Light from within
London, ON
November 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram
It's 6:19 on a Friday night, and I find myself on the outside looking in.

On the after-work walk back to the car, I find myself surrounded by throngs of London Knights fans, all scurrying around the Budweiser Gardens arena before the game.

Friday night matches at the Bud are a deep-rooted tradition for our minor league hockey team, and tonight the downtown core, under clear, cold, dark skies, is blanketed with a sea of green.

While debate over Don Cherry's firing continues to rage - my $0.02: He's a racist. He deserved to be fired years ago. End of story - the real story of Canadian hockey lore is playing out right here, in the shadows of century-plus-year-old buildings where this city first came to life.

The Covent Garden Market building you see here is barely 20 years-old, but the market's history stretches back to 1835, older than the city itself. And on this night, the showpiece facility buzzes with life, the bright, boisterous scenes inside spilling through the huge windows, casting their warmth onto the frozen courtyard.

I imagine this is what community should look and feel like, and rather deliberately close my eyes and drink it in before I continue my journey home.

As I hear and feel how the energy of a simple game can paint an otherwise frozen, harsh landscape with such vibrant color, I realize that this is what hockey means to Canadian towns like ours. It's not just a game. It's the glue that binds us together no matter what might surround us.

Well, if we let it.

I hope everyone on the other side of this window appreciates just how good we have it.

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