Jonathan's Retirement Blog

I was chastised by my son on Friday night. He had his shoulder dislocated, being checked into the boards at the hockey rink where he was playing a "friendly" game. As he waited in a hospital waiting room I commented that at least his day hadn't been a total loss because the Canada Men's Hockey team had won their game. He was upset because he had recorded the game on his PVR.

I believe that sporting events are much better viewed live in real time. There is nothing like the feel of desperation I felt when the Canadian's were playing much too cautiously in final moments of last Sunday's game and the feeling of inevitability that the Americans were going to even the score. There is nothing like the elated feeling that I felt when Sidney Crosby scored. I know where I was and what I was doing, as I do when Maelie Ricker won the snowboard cross gold medal. Both events are memorable but even more so because as they will inevitably be played over and over again by the media they will remind me of something meaningful in my own life. My own Gold Medal Moment. I don't think that you can experience that if you go home, pour yourself a beer and watch history unfold on your schedule.