A picture of me with Wayne Gretzky taken during his book signing tour promoting "99: Stories of the Game" in New York City, October 19, 2016
Remember the days when Canadians considered "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky a national treasure? He was a Canadian who came to be such a legendary hockey player, that most still consider him the single greatest hockey player in history. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers and helped them to win four of their five Stanley Cup championships in the 1980's and early 1990's.
Then, of course, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Yet, Canadian hockey fans still loved him and felt that he deserved to be treated as a national treasure.
However, that appears to have changed very recently. It is clear that the dominant political figure in the United States over the past decade or so has been Donald Trump. And Trump not only is not particularly friendly when it comes to Canada - as well as many other countries which he seems to go out of his way to deliberately (and unnecessarily) provoke - but he seems never to fail to try and add some serious measure of disrespect in their direction. After all, what is this whole business of "51st state" if not taking a shot at Canada's own legitimacy as an independent nation?
So when a Canadian like Gretzky suddenly has ties to Trump, and seems to support him with surprising - and I might add, alarming - levels of enthusiasm, it will hardly go unnoticed.
Now I will admit to not actually having watched the tournament live. So I ran into this bit of information well after the fact.
That said, apparently Gretzky wore not a lick of red anywhere on him, even though he was supposed to represent Canada (who's main color is, of course, red). Gretzky also evidently greeted and encouraged the American side, wishing them well, but apparently hardly diverted his glance in the direction of the Canadian team. Supposedly, he was scrambling behind the scene to obtain a Canadian jersey, which is something which, frankly, he should have thought of before actually arriving for the game. All of these things, combined with his apparent ties to Trump, are making Canadians feel - with some reason - that Gretzky has abandoned them. That in fact, he apparently is a traitor, willing to show visible support to the American leader who relentlessly insists that Canada is not a real country, and should become the "51st state." And that the apparent interest in the American team, and seemingly ignoring the Canadian one (which again, he was supposed to represent) was the last straw for many Canadians.
Frankly, I believe that they have a point. Gretzky used to seem like a friendly figure to me, as well. Back in the 1980's and early 1990's, he was as iconic (and seemingly friendly) symbol of his sport in the same way that, say, Michael Jordan was for basketball, or Joe Montana was for football. Since then, however, something has really changed. It feels like a lack of respect for his roots might have something to do with it. In this case, Gretzky may apparently be that figure who made it big and left for greener pastures (literally, in his case) and departed his old country for a new life as a wealthy and powerful big shot in the United States. A wife who was a model, and making a ton of money, and a high profile on hockey pregame and postgame sports shows focusing on hockey.
Apparently, he might indeed qualify as somebody who may just have forgotten the "little people" who helped elevate his status in the first place, long before he was a big shot. Long before he had come to be regarded as "the Great One." Somebody who largely seems to have forgotten his roots by severing them, in favor of his new life and status as a big shot south of the border.
Right now, Canadians feel increasingly nervous from the level of blatant disrespect that they are getting from Americans, particularly from the elected leader in the White House, and his administration. Canadians have clearly expressed their growing displeasure with this disrespect. It is not unreasonable of them to assume - at least to hope - that "the Great One" would show some sympathy.
By acting in the manner which he did in the recent tournament, however, it feels like Canadians have a point in no longer viewing Gretzky in such a glowing manner, as they once clearly did. At the most critical point in his former nation's history, Gretzky's apparent surface indifference to their plight is more than a little disappointing. I am not Canadian, but I feel that his once elevated, even reverential status has diminished significantly - one might suggest hugely, to borrow from the man Gretzky now supports politically - to the point where he perhaps does deserve to be regarded with increased skepticism.
Such a shame!
Note: I went to see Wayne Gretzky while he was doing a book signing tour a few years back. Well, this was back in 2016, which is the better part of a decade ago now). I made no secret of my diminishing interest in hockey. This was particularly true of the NHL, which feels like it was the first institution which seemed to make a point of disrespecting and pissing off Canadians. Still, I then held Gretzky in high regard, and felt it was an honor meeting him. Now, I am not so sure. But I noticed that I had not, as previously thought, actually done a blog entry about this particular book signing, although I cannot say precisely why. So it seemed like a good idea to root these pictures out from obscurity (for a while, it seemed like they were simply lost) and to post them here. Again, though, while it felt like a privilege back then, now it feels...well, considerably less like that. Still, it felt like this was as good a time as any to actually publish these.
Canadians call Wayne Gretzky a ‘traitor’ after tense 4 Nations hockey final By Michelle Butterfield Global News Posted February 21, 2025:
https://globalnews.ca/news/11029101/wayne-gretzky-4-nations-face-off-criticism-traitor/
Canadian fans irked by Wayne Gretzky's affiliations with Trump amid tensions Canadian Press February 22, 2025:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/canadian-fans-irked-by-wayne-gretzkys-affiliations-with-trump-amid-tensions/
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