The Importance of Memory

This one of my recent LEAFSPACE blogs, and I thought it would be worth posting on HOCKEYFLUX.

Once upon a time there were two hockey fans. One was a Leaf fan and the other was a Habs fan. They were best friends, but would argue about which team was better. Both of them would watch these teams face each other in the early years of their childhood. Every Saturday night these two teams played they would go to each others house and share in the experience with their family members. They grew up together through high school until graduation. The Leaf fan didn't know what career he wanted to get into, so he decided he wanted to devout his time in the Canadian Forces. The Hab fan went to University to become a doctor, something his parents wanted for him since he was a small child. Although they went their separate ways, they still stayed in touch for a few years. They lost touch along the way with the Hab fan starting his own practice, and the Leaf fan serving his second term in Afghanistan. 

A few years later the Habs fan came to Toronto with his wife to visit some friends. He had gotten platinum tickets to that night's Leafs and Habs game through one of his friends in Toronto. When he sat in his seat he noticed that at centre ice there was a ceremony and presentation but he didn't know why because he was late. A picture came up on the video board as they started to mention the memories of a specific Colonel in the Forces that had recently died. The Leaf fan, his friend, was that Colonel who passed away. The Habs fan felt a lump forming in his throat as they described him as a Leaf fan and a father of two girls. Just as the word "father" protruded through the walls of the Air Canada Centre, a tear gently rolled down his left cheek.  

The Maple Leafs won that game, but the Habs fan did not see it as a bad thing that his team lost. More that his friends memory would be remembered by 19,000 people who were just as passionate about their favourite team as his friend was.