Friday, April 15, 2011
Friday, April 08, 2011
"All human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.” ~ Socrates
I'm going to the Oilers final home game of the season tonight (YAY! and GOILERS!) where they will pay tribute to a gentleman named Paul Lorieau who has been the singer of our national anthem since 1981.
There is wonderful thread that connects a community when they gather en masse to sing their national anthem together (it's why they write anthems, I'm pretty sure...). I suppose it is important to note that I personally love the anthem singing at any game or event, and I go to A LOT of hockey games, heck I announce hockey for the Panda's 8 months of the year so I sing it twice a weekend. I even sing along when Garner Andrews plays Oh Canada every morning on Sonic 102.9 radio to start his broadcast. I also love our Canadian National anthem and know the lyrics in both English and French, mostly I sing it in French as I prefer that version, I just think it is so beautiful. "Des plus brillants exploits!!!" I suppose it is silly to call Mr. Lorieau an institution but he really is because every Oilers fan knows who he is and has sung with him at least once in their lives.
I think this will be a very emotional night for him and for long time fans of the Oilers. I have met Mr. Lorieau 3 times in my life, I gushed terribly the first time like he was a rock star or something, as he came to Clare Drake to sing the anthem at important University of Alberta Bears hockey games. I hold a special respect for Mr. Lorieau because I cherish him as a part of my earliest memories when I was young and learning about hockey from my adoptive father. Later, as we were all gathered at the Stanley Cup Finals at Rexall Place, (at the next game after the opposing teams fans had booed the Canadian National anthem in game 2) Mr. Lorieau stepped onto the ice and thousands of fans sang the American Anthem as loud as they possibly could, with encouragement from him. There would be NO booing in our rink. The rush of pride I felt was for this community...one that would not take the low road...instead we honoured the American anthem and showed our respect.
Then Mr. Lorieau did the most astounding thing. We were all on our feet cheering as he began to sing Oh Canada and we joined him as usual but the entire place, I mean every fan and seemingly even the concession workers, joined in. It was so beautiful and then, after a few lines, Mr. Lorieau simply raised his hand, with the microphone out to us and allowed us to sing the rest....Goosebump city!
It is a gesture I will never forget. Throughout the rest of that playoff run we continued to sing the anthems together in that fashion and something changed. The team took some of that momentum and built on it, the fans felt more connected than ever, and the community came together.
To Mr. Lorieau I would like to thank him for what he has meant to me and for the moments each night he sang for us and I hope we have given him the same level of respect he gave to us. Those moments are some of my favourite memories as an Oilers fan and an Edmontonian. I wonder if he knows how much he will be missed?
Song Du Jour: Close to Me by The Cure
There is wonderful thread that connects a community when they gather en masse to sing their national anthem together (it's why they write anthems, I'm pretty sure...). I suppose it is important to note that I personally love the anthem singing at any game or event, and I go to A LOT of hockey games, heck I announce hockey for the Panda's 8 months of the year so I sing it twice a weekend. I even sing along when Garner Andrews plays Oh Canada every morning on Sonic 102.9 radio to start his broadcast. I also love our Canadian National anthem and know the lyrics in both English and French, mostly I sing it in French as I prefer that version, I just think it is so beautiful. "Des plus brillants exploits!!!" I suppose it is silly to call Mr. Lorieau an institution but he really is because every Oilers fan knows who he is and has sung with him at least once in their lives.
I think this will be a very emotional night for him and for long time fans of the Oilers. I have met Mr. Lorieau 3 times in my life, I gushed terribly the first time like he was a rock star or something, as he came to Clare Drake to sing the anthem at important University of Alberta Bears hockey games. I hold a special respect for Mr. Lorieau because I cherish him as a part of my earliest memories when I was young and learning about hockey from my adoptive father. Later, as we were all gathered at the Stanley Cup Finals at Rexall Place, (at the next game after the opposing teams fans had booed the Canadian National anthem in game 2) Mr. Lorieau stepped onto the ice and thousands of fans sang the American Anthem as loud as they possibly could, with encouragement from him. There would be NO booing in our rink. The rush of pride I felt was for this community...one that would not take the low road...instead we honoured the American anthem and showed our respect.
Then Mr. Lorieau did the most astounding thing. We were all on our feet cheering as he began to sing Oh Canada and we joined him as usual but the entire place, I mean every fan and seemingly even the concession workers, joined in. It was so beautiful and then, after a few lines, Mr. Lorieau simply raised his hand, with the microphone out to us and allowed us to sing the rest....Goosebump city! It is a gesture I will never forget. Throughout the rest of that playoff run we continued to sing the anthems together in that fashion and something changed. The team took some of that momentum and built on it, the fans felt more connected than ever, and the community came together.
To Mr. Lorieau I would like to thank him for what he has meant to me and for the moments each night he sang for us and I hope we have given him the same level of respect he gave to us. Those moments are some of my favourite memories as an Oilers fan and an Edmontonian. I wonder if he knows how much he will be missed?
Song Du Jour: Close to Me by The Cure
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