Tickets For Troops – What A Great Idea

January 01, 2008

When I think of Rexall Place and an Edmonton Oilers game the colour that first comes to my mind is Oilers Blue, the colour of the jerseys worn by thousands of fans supporting the home team. There are perhaps no fans in any NHL city who are more passionate and more supportive of their team than the fans in Edmonton. It was a moving experience for me therefore when on a Saturday night in November I tuned in to Hockey Night in Canada and saw Rexall Place not coloured Oiler Blue, but rather a sea of green.

Military green, as 6,000 patriotic Oilers fans had given up their tickets for the game to allow soldiers and their families to be at the game and watch the Oilers play the Chicago Blackhawks. (That the Oilers won the game in a shootout was a bonus, but how could they not be inspired by all the energy in the stands?)

My colleague Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, joined Canada’s Defence Minister, the Honourable Peter Mackay, for the ceremonial puck drop at the start of the game. Minister Mackay, as Minister for all the Armed Forces was politically correct, wearing what looked to me like a Team Canada Jersey. I was pleased to see that Laurie Hawn, even though he has national duties as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, still wore his Oiler colours.

Those who gave up their tickets to allow the troops to attend the game can feel a sense of pride I am sure, that their small act brought pleasure to someone else. Yes, they received a tax receipt for the value of their donation, which seems fair to me, but I hope they were able to watch the game on television and see the delight on the faces of our soldiers and their families, many of whom had probably never been to an NHL game before.

The recognition being given to our armed forces seems to me to be long overdue. As a former serviceman I may be a bit prejudiced on the matter, but when you think about it, our servicemen and women have contributed a lot to sport in Canada over the years – and continue to do so today.

In 1942, for example, two Royal Canadian Air Force teams faced each other in football’s annual Grey Cup championship game.  And it was another air force team, the RCAF Flyers, that won the gold medal for Canada in Ice Hockey at the 1948 Olympic Games. When you think about it, the success of those military teams is no surprise. After all, there is probably no group of Canadians in better physical shape than those serving in the military – and one of the ways our soldiers keep in shape is through participation in sports. Go to any Canadian military base and look at all the sports facilities available for pretty much every sport imaginable, indoors and outdoors.

The thousands of Canadians serving in Afghanistan certainly haven’t left their love for hockey back in Canada. There are no arenas in the desert, so street hockey has become the rage, with more than 600 taking part in the ball hockey league. That came to the attention of Calgary’s Forzani Group, who recently donated jerseys, sticks and other gear to the troops. It’s nice to see an Alberta company showing such support, and I’m sure the gift delighted the recipients.

It is gratifying when a good idea catches on. After the success of the Oilers’ “Tickets For Troops” game, the Ottawa Senators announced their own version of the program, a January 17 game against the Carolina Hurricanes, which was already designated as the fourth annual Canadian Forces Appreciation Night. The Oilers organized their program before the season started, making it a little easier logistically perhaps, but I am sure the citizens of Ottawa will take the program to heart and donate their tickets to such a worthy cause.

I can see this program taking off, and I’m sure it won’t be long until the other Canadian NHL teams run similar programs to show their support for our troops. Edmonton has shown the way, Ottawa isn’t far behind, and now we’re waiting to hear from the others. Will the ownership and management of the teams in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto follow suit? I’m sure they will.