WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY: BITE IT!
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98, Rock 98.5 FM & LTD Radio)
Do you ever have to bite your tongue?
It can hurt, but a lot of times it’ll save you a lot more pain down the line.
People think I’m outspoken but I bite my tongue a heckuva lot more than you’d think. Like yesterday, when famed Sportsnet broadcaster Tim Micallef was on the RP Show discussing whether or not Auston Matthews will sign a contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
To paraphrase, the host of Sportsnet Central wondered why wouldn’t Matthews sign long-term in Toronto as opposed to, say, his hometown Arizona Coyotes? After all they’re a junk franchise and play in a 5-thousand seat arena which they can’t even fill.
Inside I was shaking my head and rolling my eyes. I love Tim, as we go back years, both working at The Score and in the CFL in past lives, so I just let him give his thoughts without argument. But I was thinking, “He’s just like all the rest! They think everybody wants to play in Toronto!”
How many times do star athletes need to leave Toronto at their first chance before sports fans there start to get it? Kawhi Leonard and Robbie Ray come to mind immediately, but it’s a long list.
And it’s not just a Toronto thing. It’s a people thing. Flames fans can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to play for Calgary. Rider fans feel the same way about Saskatchewan.
Just a reminder: Johnny Gaudreau took less money and went to the worst team in the NHL just to get away from the glare of Cowtown last summer. Matthew Tkachuk? A similar story.
Leafs Nation and Rider Nation are more alike than you know. Perhaps Auston Matthews is tired of not being able to leave his condo? In Arizona he could go anywhere unnoticed, and that’s even his hometown. Perhaps he’d like to be part of the Coyotes’ perennial rebuild?
Hey, I get it. You know how many times somebody called me in the evening – a lot of times it was family – to ask why the Riders punted on 3rd-and-2 from the opposition 40-yard line last game?
I had to remind them my job was to call the plays, not analyze them, and if they’d please excuse me, Keith Morrison is on Dateline and I don’t want to miss it.
These are all great places to play, but not necessarily for everybody.
The inability of sports fans and media to look at any other perspective – to put themselves in other peoples’ shoes – is stunning. This isn’t about Tim Micallef or what he said. It’s about a regional mentality.
But to not even know you should consider someone else’s perspective …
Wow! … You’re setting yourself up for some major disappointments.
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV, WQEE, Podcast & YouTube Live)
Playing in Phoenix sounds a lot better than playing in Toronto. Of course anywhere would be better than Toronto.
As for the Saskatchewan Roughriders Football team, if anyone has really noticed, their management team vastly over pays old players on their last legs needing that last hurrah contract. Regina is not the number one destination in the CFL to play by a country mile. In the NHL, If Austin Mathews currently of the Toronto Maple Leafs feels comfortable playing in Arizona than it shall be by his own choice, damn the small arena crowds that support the Coyotes.