I intend no disrespect to Officer Ryan Russell. His death was one of those senseless killings that happen all too often in our communities. And any untimely death, whether a police officer or the corner grocer, deserves to be recognised in an appropriate and solemn manner.
But Hockey Night in Canada is neither the time nor the place.
In a fitting tribute to a hockey lover, Don Cherry paid homage to fallen Toronto Police officer Ryan Russell on Coach's corner Saturday night.
In a style only the Canadian hockey icon could get away with, his voice immediately cracking with emotion, Grapes described how a "whacko" ran down Sgt. Russell in a stolen snowplow early Wednesday
Don Cherry’s Chief Mourner shtick has become as tedious and banal as Coach’s Corner was before he started waving the flag. And every time I hear of him “choking up” I am reminded of the old pro bible salesman telling the young trainee, “100% of this job is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.”
I am a big fan of the CBC, but if cutting federal funding means that this old fool would lose his national soapbox, I’d be all for it.
11 comments:
ARe you kidding? If federal funding is cut to the CBC, Don Cherry and his grandma's upholstery suits would be the last to go. He's just a great Harper foot soldier.
But you're right, his bs comments about the war and such things have no place on Coach's Corner.
As far as I'm concerned, having a blowhard like Cherry 'memorialize' the slain officer debases the entire tragedy.
I agree. I sometimes wonder why we are not as saddened when a fireman dies in the line of duty.
As for Don Cherry and CBC, I'd guess they know what works for them.
KL
Lets start with the obvious point is that Russell's fellow officers and family wanted this tribute to happen.
I'd suggest that much of the main stream media has grown tired of reporting the deaths of military servicemen and women. There were howls of protest when they were denied full access to the bases when the bodies were sent home. Now it is barely a line or two unless a small local paper deals with a local hero.
Not the case with Cherry. Each and every one gets the same recognition.
Since we are on the subject of tedious shticks can we admit we are also tired of the Liberal shtick of insisting that only their values are the values of Canadians.
Many would argue that if getting rid of the voting subsidy would rid us of the Liberal party then they'd support it.
Most Libs will protest the talk of CBC cuts. I suspect that Cherry would survive any cuts at mothercorp anyways. He brings in too much money for them.
Could your view of Cherry have changed since his endorsement of Ford? It seems a lot of Liberals have changed their view of Cherry. Cherry has supported the troops and police officers and firefighters for years. No one said boo until he came out in favor of Ford. Amazing how one's political view can change one's mind about the kind of person he or she is.
I stopped watching Coach's Corner because less of Cherry's comments had to do with hockey. Even when he discussed hockey, he complained about those left wingers. You know?--those Finns and Swedes.
@Anon@10:54 - I was sick and tired of Cherry for a long time before he started chasing body bags. Back then he was just against "Frenchies" and those hated "Europeans". He's been tiresomely irrelevent for decades.
@Anon@10:26 - I'd go a step further. What about the construction worker who dies on the job building homes to protect us from the elements? Or the farmer who dies while in the process of feeding us? Or the civilian killed in a police chase gone awry? What about them? They are every bit as tragic and as deserving of public recognition IMO.
But Coach's Corner is not the time ot the place.
Regardless of the source, I applaud any tributes made to those who put themselves in harms way for the rest of us. If I thought for a moment that Don Cherry's recognition of our fallen soldiers or police was some kind of "schtick" I would be the first to criticize him. To imply that he is less than 100% sincere is harsh and unwarranted, in my opinion.
Furthermore, to inject politics into the mix is simply a red herring , in this case.
If Sgt Ryan Russell or any of our fallen soldiers was one of my family members, I would be proud to have the "tiresomely irrelevent "(sic) Don Cherry take a mere minute or two of his most widely watched TV show to recognize the supreme sacrifice made for me and.....you.
I find it interesting, too, that critics of Don Cherry say Coaches Corner is not the time or place for this. I wholeheartedly disagree. If you want to talk about wrong time and wrong place, I respectfully suggest that this criticism of Don Cherry and your headline "Who Made Don Cherry Mourner-in-Chief?" is just that.
And finally, with respect to the construction worker, farmer, and civilian in a police chase, none of them have deliberately put themselves in harms way except maybe for the civilian in the police chase (make that criminal) so that analogy is seriously flawed.
Sadly, I think you're very wrong on this one, Canajun.
Celebrities injecting politics into their shows when their shows aren't about politics is irritating.
Someone should tell him he's too old for the Senate.
Gary - I have no doubt that Don Cherry feels strongly about supporting the men and women in uniform, those who we put in harm’s way as you say. Most of us do, but in our own way, and usually without making a spectacle of it. Don Cherry is a showman. He’s a human caricature. If he thought there was a constituency of hockey fans that would cheer him on while he petted homeless kittens, the HNIC studios would be knee deep in kitty litter. So, “harsh and unwarranted”? Maybe. But if I was grieving a friend or relative who had been killed on duty, the last thing I’d want to see is some ego-the-size-of-T’ronna TV guy, dressed in my grandmother’s old sofa fabric, carrying on like he’d just lost his best friend, before launching into a tirade against “Europeans and French guys” for wearing safety equipment or calling some player a coward because he wouldn’t drop his gloves.
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