Hello Out There, We're on the Air, It's Hockey Night Tonight

As a kid, most of my Saturday nights were spent watching Hockey Night in Canada with my dad. Besides being one of the only shows ol' Cam wouldn't flip through compulsively, HNIC always appealed to me because of its massive following and the tradition it exuded. Hearing the first few notes of the Hockey Night theme song gives me this indescribable sense of security. I'm not Canadian, but knowing that so many people are watching this show at the same time as I am and that they're completely enraptured with the sport of ice hockey makes me so, so happy.

America has baseball, basketball, and football, but I don't see the same bond between Americans and those sports as I see between Canadians and hockey. Let's face it, the country owns hockey. It's a defining part of their culture, certainly more than any particular sport here. Every year, CBC has a contest and picks a "Hockeyville", Canada, and Hockey Day is celebrated annually. Each Hockey Night broadcast involves a segment called Think Hockey that's specifically aimed at youth hockey development, during which pro coaches demonstrate various skills and strategies with local amateur teams. Canadians clearly care about the exposure and advancement of their game.

I lost to almost every Canadian team I played in 10 years of hockey. Unlike countless American travel hockey players, these girls were not motivated by college scholarships, the USA National Development Program or the prospect of playing out East at some fancy prep school. They played for the love of the game they'd been raised on, and they kicked our asses as a result.

The fact that a single television show featuring hockey games and commentary occupies an enormous chunk of prime time air space, is the highest-rated show in the country and has been doing it for over 40 years pretty much seals the deal. I mean, Hockey Night even has its own board game! At my dad's, we get a HNIC catalog. Even if the US stops broadcasting the NHL altogether (which, with American ratings as they are, isn't far off), I know that I'll always be able to flip on channel 99 and watch hours of ice hockey on a Saturday night with my father and his Labatt's.

Can we expect the same results from "Football Night in America"? I think not.

Playoff hockey is looming and I can't watch it in Albion because we don't get FSN, OLN or CBC. I'm thinking of investing in a crowbar and breaking into one of the fraternities with digital cable, anyone want to be my lookout?!