Carter Stenberg
By: #BrattKing
Go watch this hockey game.
Get out of bed.
I know you can do it.
I beg you, even if you have little interest in the results of a hockey game, please at least hear me out for these next few paragraphs.
In the age of streaming there are so few moments of collective experience. A moment in time where you, your community, and in some cases the world, react in real time simultaneously. We used to have this with TV all the time with new episodes of shows like Seinfeld or massive global events like the funeral for Lady Diana. The way media is consumed today, these sorts of experiences have become fractured. Technology has made it possible to experience things on your time and in 4K. I’m not going to argue that these experiences are completely absent from today, but that leads me to my next point.
The Olympics always have a knack getting narratives tied to real world affairs of the time. Jesse Owens beating the Nazis, Tomme Smith and John Carlos victory in the Civil Rights Era, the Miracle on Ice happening near the height of Cold War tensions; it is almost inevitable that these geopolitics come into play. Now we have the SECOND gold medal hockey game between two nations caught up in a conflict that the average person can do nothing about and have no say in. Tension and anxiety between these neighbors has never been this high in the era of the modern games…
BUT
When you get a collective shared experience – millions of Canadians and millions of Americans – it becomes a reminder that this is about the PEOPLE within those nations and not the will of this elite class. It is the athletes, the coaches, and the families we all route for as our neighbors, friends, and heroes. Now more than ever, a collective consciousness of two nations – tens of millions of people’s imaginations and hopes tied together for one moment is the rare kind of phenomenon our fractured media landscape has lost.
And that happens in real time. You see it, feel it, and experience it exactly as others do. There’s nothing like it. I implore you to see this game especially if you have children. My memories of seeing Crosby score “The Golden Goal” are burnt into my mind as though I experienced it yesterday. It’s formative and inspiring for generations – win or lose.
Yes, it’s early. Yes, for most people Sunday is the one day they get a week to sleep in and relax. But I feel it’s worth it – and I hope I’ve made the case that makes the feeling even STRONGER. Finally having to go out of our way for the experience, and not the other way around. If you go to a bar or restaurant or host the event, take solace in the dozens of people with you, thousands of people in your city, and millions nationwide that made the same choice to share that experience with you.
I’ll see you bright and early Sunday morning.
Bradon Kelliher-Lisson
