TUESDAY COMMENTARY – WE ARE ALL #HUMBOLDTSTRONG

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary at 9:50 am and 5:20 pm on Cat Country 98 FM)

IT’S THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DARKEST DAY IN SASKATCHEWAN HISTORY.

IT’S PRUDENT THAT WE PAUSE FOR SOME TIME TO OBSERVE THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE HUMBOLDT BRONCOS BUS CRASH WHICH TOOK 16 LIVES AND INJURED 13 OTHERS.

BUT THE HURTING WAS NOT LIMITED TO JUST THEIR FAMILIES.

A COMMUNITY WAS TORN APART AND A FRANCHISE CHANGED FOREVER.

HONESTLY WITH WHAT WE’VE GONE THROUGH OVER THE PAST YEAR – ESPECIALLY WITH WHAT THE SJHL’S BEEN THROUGH – MY MIND KEEPS GOING BACK TO APRIL 6, 2018 AND THINKING, “WE’VE BEEN THROUGH WORSE.”

THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT.

I’M NOT SURE.

BUT TODAY IS A DAY TO THINK ABOUT THOSE INVOLVED OR AFFECTED BY THAT CRASH. IT’S CRITICAL THAT THEY DID NOT DIE IN VAIN, AND ALSO FOR THEIR LOVED ONES TO KNOW THEY’RE NOT ALONE.

IF IT REMINDS YOU TO BUCKLE UP, STOP AT A STOP SIGN, CHASE YOUR DREAMS, OR JUST WHY YOU LOVE HOCKEY AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE FIRST PLACE, THAT’S A WIN.

IN CASE YOU’RE WONDERING, MOST INVOLVED WITH THAT SITUATION HAVE NOT HEALED. THEY CONTINUE TO GRIEVE IN THEIR OWN WAY, AND WILL GO AT THEIR OWN PACE WITH THAT PROCESS. AT BEST, MOST CAN ONLY HOPE TO LIVE WITH THE PAINFUL MEMORY. YOU DON’T “GET OVER” THESE THINGS.

THE FRANCHISE ITSELF EXPERIENCED A REBIRTH AND THE FACT THEY PLAYED THE FOLLOWING SEPTEMBER WAS MIRACULOUS. THEY ARE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE HANDS WITH HEAD COACH & GM SCOTT BARNEY, WHO’S KEPT THE CLUB TOGETHER DESPITE SOME VERY TROUBLING TIMES.

IT NEVER SEEMS TO BE EASY FOR US DOES IT? BUT WE MAKE IT THROUGH AND TODAY’S A REMINDER THAT WE ARE ALL #HUMBOLDTSTRONG.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY ON CAT COUNTRY 98.