Bottling a Bit of Hockey and a Lot of Hope

I am a big hockey fan, though this column is not about sports. So please, non-hockey readers, don’t change the channel yet.

If you were a fan in the 1970’s and 80’s, it was a different style of game from the one we see today. There were more tough guys, as the speed and finesse style that is predominant now had not been adopted yet. Chicago Blackhawks like Keith Magnuson and Al Secord were among my favorites, as was Terry O’Reilly from the Boston Bruins. I still enjoy watching their old highlights.

YouTube is a great website to find vintage clips from the past, so I often browse through hockey posts there.

Recently, I came across a video that I have seen many times that always hits home for me. It’s from the National Hockey League’s 1991 All Star game, played at the old Chicago Stadium.

If you are into hockey, you know that the NHL All Star game is not like a real game. If you’re not, it’s okay, that really isn’t the point.

The point is that this game, or more importantly, the climate of the game, gave us a sense of patriotism in the real-life world. And I would like to know how we can get it back again.

This event was played on January 19. Operation Desert Storm, the code name given to the effort for coalition forces to drive the Iraqi military out of Kuwait, began just a few days earlier.

Our country was at war.

There are names that will be recorded in history surrounding this conflict: George H.W. Bush, Saddam Hussein, Margaret Thatcher, and Dick Cheney. CNN made their name with what was to become riveting, 24/7 television. Wolf Blitzer and Arthur “the Scud Stud” Kent were welcomed in everyone’s front room.

But on this day, the name to be remembered was Wayne Messmer.

Wayne Messmer was the man who for years, sang the national anthem before Chicago Blackhawk games. His voice is strong and melodic, and easily recognizable. His task that day was the same as he had done hundreds of times before and since. But this one would be unique.

At the Chicago Stadium (now the United Center), it is a tradition to cheer during the singing/playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. This is done as a show of encouragement and backing. Not everyone may agree that this is the right way to do it, but the intent is honorable.

During this song something happened that transcended sports. The roughly 20,000 frenzied fans and all that were watching on national TV, got treated to much more than hockey’s best players. They got to witness what strength and unity looks, sounds, and feels like.

For me, this rendition lands between choking back tears and yearning for what we had at that time. The electrified people in the stands, drowning Wayne Messmer’s wonderful voice to the point where it could barely be heard, were sending a very clear message - unwavering support for our troops, for our flag, for our country.

It was spectacular.

In that moment, while the cameras scanned the crowd, shoulder to shoulder literally and figuratively, no one could tell the Democrats from the Republicans. Gender didn’t matter. Age didn’t matter. Color didn’t matter. What mattered was that everyone recognized that we were all Americans. That we needed to stand together. And that nothing else mattered.

Please, go to YouTube and get caught up in it. A few times. Pay attention to what you see, as well as what you don’t see. I’m not starry-eyed enough to suggest that all our problems were solved because a stadium full of people went crazy. But I do believe that the sentiment was obvious, and the result can be too.

That we are a stronger nation when united rather than divided is evident; however, we are also a better nation. Civility. Dignity. Cooperation. Trust. Compromise. A few concepts that should not be treated like a bag of old hockey pucks.

Why are catastrophic events such as war or terror needed to get us on the same page? Can our leaders, on both sides of the aisle, business, or in the home, set the example needed to filter to the masses while teaching our children that we can disagree while still showing respect towards each other?

I hope so. If not, we all get a black eye.

How sadly ironic that the galvanizing sentiment forged during that national anthem twenty-seven years ago at a hockey game now has become a lightning rod for division at football games today. That, for some, the American flag waved so proudly has somehow become a symbol of fear and oppression. How have we gotten to this point?

More importantly, how do we get that unified feeling back, without losing thousands of lives?

If only watching a video of Wayne Messmer singing before a game could do it. Maybe it could be a starting point?

Because it sure feels pretty darn good.

This column originally appeared in the Times, a Shaw publication.