Real Monday Morning Update
"So, do you think Marsupsniks is really retiring?"
I was having a nice coversation with some colleagues when all of a sudden one of them threw out that phrase. I don't know who Masrapstalnik is or why he would be being trade, when it dawns on me…
...Oh yeah, I'm in Canada. I sometimes forget, but then I'll be in a conversation where three office workers, one who is a manger and a male, and two who are in completely different departments and are female start a conversation about somebody with some strange foreign sounding last name and they all know who they are talking about. This is not my experience of all things sports.
For instance, I'm quite certain that had I gone to Sheryl Kerner, my former manager at another company I used to fork for in the U.S., and asked her, "Hey do you think Cal Ripken Jr. will retire?" Her response would be, "Who's that?"
For those of you who don't know, Cal Ripken Jr.. is probably one of the top 10 most significant baseball players of the last 20 years, if not all time. Most american sports fans remember vividly the moment that he broke the record for consecutive games played in 1995, the event which some think saved baseball after the 1994 players strike. You get the point. There isn't an American sports fan alive that doesn't know who Cal Ripken Jr is.
Even in light of that, I wouldn't be surprised that Sheryl didn't know who he was. Neither would I be surprised if a number of men and women in the office didn't know who he was. Some Americans just aren't interested in Sports. Likewise, a lot of Canadians aren't interested in sports, but that has nothing to do with hockey. In Canada, knowing about hockey is as central a daily concern as what one will eat, whether one will have a good day, or just the weather in general (which is a BIG daily concern here). Anyway you get the point. Somehow everyone who's Canadian is clued in. And I honestly don't know where they get their information. Maybe it's in the water. And maybe they drink special water that I don't drink. Either way, Canadians (even Canadians in "sunny" Vancouver) are crazy about hockey like…
...well like Canadians are crazy about hockey.
That was supposed to be my Monday Morning Update. Um. I also went on a retreat this weekend. That was pretty fun. You can get info on that here. The baby post is done, but since I put it off, new babies are being born every day (Congrats Kyle & Sarah). I need to get two more picures and hopefully it's up tomorrow.
DK
For whatever it's worth, the hockey player in question was named Trevor Linden
I was about to say that I am both Canadian and clueless about hockey. I do, however, know of the famed Trevor Linden. I know that he plays for the Canucks, and that a lot of people like him, and apparently, he’s quite good. Oh, and he might retire.