ON THE MARK.

ITS THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF PAUL HENDERSON'S GOAL AGAINST THE RUSSIANS.

Son--"Dad, tell me about that hockey game where that guy scored that goal"

Me--"Do you mean Paul Henderson in 1972?"

Son--"Yeah, we studied it in history class.  What was the big deal?"

Me: (taking a deep breath) "Well, let's see.  It was the 8th and final game of a monumental series between our democratic way of life and the Communist way of life in Russia."

Son--"What's Russia?  What's Communism?"

Me--"Ask your history teacher.  The reason the goal was important is that it not only won the series for Canada, it proved that passion, dedication and the sheer will to win are admirable Canadian traits that we should celebrate every chance we get".  It also proved to Canadians that our way of life is better, but we need to respect other cultures. 

Son- "So it was more than just a hockey game?"

Me-- "Are you kidding?  It was life and death, my boy. Us versus Them.  We had the greatest players in the world and we were told that the Russians were no match for NHL players.  Why, those 'Commies' would be lucky to win one of the eight games"

Son- "Who told you that?"

Me "All the writers and broadcasters.  They all predicted a Canadian victory.   They were absolutely certain. I mean, even the players were starting to believe their own press"

Son-  "So what happened?"

Me--"The first game was in Montreal and we took an early lead and the fans were laughing out loud. It was going to be a Canadian rout.   Then all of a sudden, bang, bang, bang, the Russians came back and beat us badly.   A day of National Mourning.  But in Game 2 in Toronto, Canada came back to even the series and we started to feel better.  But then the Russians came back to tie us in Winnipeg, and then in game 4 in Vancouver, we lost a terrible game and the fans booed the Canadians off the ice and Phil Esposito went on national TV to tell Canadians that the guys were trying their best and the fans should support them and not boo them. As a Canadian, I was ashamed. 

Son "So we only won one of the four games in Canada."

Me "Right, and then our team went off to Sweden for a week of exhibition games and conditioning.   Then we played the next 4 games in Moscow, and wouldn't you know it, we blew a 3 goal lead in game five, and lost.  Now we had to win the next 3 games to take the series.  Henderson scored the winner in game 6.  Then he scored the winner in game 7, and then, with 34 seconds left in the 8th game, he scored the most famous goal in Canadian hockey history, thereby restoring honour and glory to Canadians everywhere.  In a nutshell, that's what happened when Paul Henderson scored for Canada."

Son- "Wow!  Now I get it. 40 years ago, eh?  Dad, I can hardly wait for the NHL season to start."

Me--"Are you sure you don't want to hear about the 1987 Canada Cup?  We've got plenty of time"