About more than a game of hockey

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/06/2021 (1371 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I first met Kevin Martin back in 2008, just days after the Winnipeg paramedic attended the scene of a mass shooting that left three people dead and three others critically injured. You wouldn’t wish the things he saw that night on your worst enemy.

We’ve kept in touch ever since. I profiled Martin in these pages in 2016, when he took a leave to deal with ongoing post-traumatic stress disorder. A “bad call” — that’s how he referred to it — just months earlier was the breaking point. He was haunted by the sight of a body that had been charred in a house fire after being brutally beaten.

Martin eventually returned to work, and recent duties have included travelling to remote northern communities to assist with health services being strained by the pandemic. I’ve always admired his courage and bravery, including sharing his experiences and helping others.

True to form, he was at it again Wednesday night.

Martin was one of approximately 6,000 front-line workers who entered a draw for tickets to Game 1 of the North Division final between the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens. And he was one of the 500 lucky ones who had their name drawn, which brought a smile to my face. Knowing all he’s been through, I can’t think of anyone more deserving than one of the biggest hockey fans I know.

“We get here through following public health guidance and vaccination. Do your part and help society get back,” Martin wrote on his social media platforms, which included a shot of his masked self at Bell MTS Place. In addition to that very important public message, he shared a more personal one with me: “Been a long time. Damn I love this place.”

I know Martin didn’t love the end result, a 5-3 loss to the Canadiens that put his beloved Jets down 1-0 in the best-of-seven series. But this night was about so much more than a game.

It was about honouring the efforts of people such as Martin and 499 other everyday heroes in attendance, who have endured more than we’ll ever know over these last 15 months. One of them, Trish Farkas, burst into happy tears when she found out three hours before puck drop she was going to the game. She’s a palliative care nurse and mother of two young children who has been putting in long, difficult hours.

It was about acknowledging our country’s horrific history when it comes to residential schools, back in the headlines once again after the unmarked graves of 215 children were found last week in Kamloops by Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation. In a pre-game ceremony, the Jets used their platform to pledge action when it comes to truth and reconciliation, held a moment of silence for the lost souls and had local singer-songwriter Don Amero perform an emotionally stirring, sombre rendition of O Canada.

And it was about a very small but important step in our eventual return to normal, or something at least resembling what that used to be.

Tuesday marked the 31st time I’ve been inside Bell MTS Place this year. That includes 28 regular-season games, and a pair of first-round games against Edmonton. It was the first time the downtown building didn’t feel completely sad and lonely.

There was a buzz in the air that’s been sorely missed, a sense of excitement and optimism and hope. And it had nothing to do with the hockey team itself.

People decked out in white lined up on Donald Street waiting for the doors to open. Heavier traffic than normal on a game night, where usually tumbleweeds could be blowing trough the deserted streets. The hustle and bustle of bodies in the concourse, passing by as I made my way to the press box elevator. Folks filtering into their seats, waving to friends and colleagues.

Surreal sights and sounds. The first of their kind around here since way back on March 9, 2020, a regular-season win over the Arizona Coyotes that none of the 15,000-plus in the building had any idea would mark the end of sports fandom as we knew it.

I’ll never take that for granted again.

“You know, it was awesome. I hope more and more are allowed to come in and wave those white flags. This is playoffs; you only get this vibe once a year, and you don’t know how many games you’re going to get out of it. I would definitely be more excited to see more fans,” Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck told us in his post-game Zoom conference,

In a perfect world, the entire building would have been packed, and thousands would have been enjoying a street party outdoors under the sizzling sun. But that’s not our current reality.

Our world remains broken and flawed and unfair, and even opening the doors for 500 fully vaccinated front-line workers was the source of some controversy. Terms such as “public relations stunt” and “mixed messaging” were being tossed around, and I know some in the health care field who declined to enter their names in the ticket draw for that very reason.

Heck, even the innocent escapism of a night out at a hockey game took an ugly late turn for those in attendance. No doubt people like Martin and Farkas who’ve witnessed far too much pain and suffering were left reeling at the site of a badly injured Jake Evans being stretchered off the ice after taking a massive, high hit from a frustrated Mark Scheifele just as the game was put out of reach.

There’s no place in the sport for such a play, and Scheifele faces a potential suspension. As bad as that was, it was refreshing to see teammate Nikolaj Ehlers using his own body to shield a seemingly unconscious Evans as he lay prone on the ice while Canadiens players went after Scheifele, and justifiably so.

Progress doesn’t always happen in a straight line, and that goes for everything from hockey games to all-too-harsh realities of life. We were reminded of that in many different ways on a Wednesday night we won’t soon forget around here.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg