As we enter day four of the National Hockey League lockout the wailing of the masses is loud enough to drown out a Nickleback song.
Apparently the thought of being deprived of a season of hockey is tantamount to getting off of heroin for some fans. Well, we say, it's time to kick the habit if you can't imagine life in Canada without hockey.
It's a game, for heaven's sake, not a life-sustaining food supply. A game that makes millions of dollars for its players and owners. The only folks who merit our sympathy in this whole dispute are the people who make minimum wage cleaning the stadium washrooms, pitching hotdogs and beer to fans, and small businesses such as pizza joints and pubs who get some of the trickledown benefits.
One hockey player was quoted as saying that 75 per cent of hockey fans are behind the hockey players demands for more money. Really? We doubt it. What we do think is that 75 per cent of hockey fans think hockey team owners get too much money as do hockey players. And probably 95 per cent of hockey fans think they pay too much for seats - if they can even afford to go to a game.
Compare the chest-beating surrounding the potential loss of hockey to the silence surrounding the Liberals decision to not have the legislature sit until 2013. There is simply no comparison.
There is no outcry for the loss of an integral part of the democratic process. In fact, some citizens will no doubt suggest that the legislature is best left empty.
Unfortunately when the legislature doesn't sit and debate or pass and amend important legislation, there is an impact on the province. No, it's not as obvious as a cavernous empty ice rink, but it's a hole in our democracy. And let's not forget, when the hockey players haven't signed a new deal, they're not getting paid. But when our politicians aren't representing us in the legislature, they're still getting paid.
