Kukla's Korner Hockey
Cherry Takes The Stage
by Paul on 05/29/11 at 05:54 AM ET
Comments (3)
from Vinay Menon of the Toronto Star,
By the time Cherry pays for his large Colombian Supremo, which he triple-cups instead of using a cardboard sleeve, he has signed two autographs, mugged for another camera and given his phone number to an ashen stranger who unburdens himself with a tale of woe about his son not getting drafted.
It’s like this all the time.
Love him or hate him — after all these years, there is still no middle ground — Cherry occupies a rarefied place in the pantheon of Canadian celebrity. The Stanley Cup Final begins this week and, once again, he will be cast into the national spotlight. He will hurl thunderbolts from the bully pulpit known as Coach’s Corner, polarizing an audience that’s expected to break records as the Vancouver Canucks vie to become the first Canadian team since 1993 to win hockey’s ultimate prize.
Cherry made his debut in 1980. Roughly 1,750 segments, 31 years and a million public storms later, the titular corner now extends across Canada. But one thing that has not changed is the coach’s mistrust of the industry he conquered and the fame he refuses to embrace.
“Television is a jungle,” says Cherry, now 77. “I thought hockey was a tough business. But this is a tough business. You know why? I’m going to say it for the first time: Everybody hopes you fail.”
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, CBC HNIC | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Cherry,
Comments
Canada is lucky to have Mr Cherry. I wish we had someone down here in the states that had the courage to speak their mind and not be hung up in political correctness.
Posted by RogerNYLA on 05/29/11 at 12:05 PM ET
Mr. Cherry is a national embarrassment, barely contained by a time delay.
Posted by Da lil Guy from Ottawa on 05/29/11 at 09:26 PM ET
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Pretty good article.
He means what he says,and, says what he means. That is why I will always love Grapes. No apologies here.
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 05/29/11 at 07:59 AM ET