Concussions are just part of the Canadian way to play hockey

Editor: Time to follow the lead of the glorious Donald and make Canada great again.

A headline in the Globe and Mail’s sports section on June 24, 2016 declared “U.S. Senator Takes Bettman to Task Over Concussions.”

It is apparent the head of the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee is attacking our core values. He berates our beloved NHL commissioner Bettman for comments that “appear dismissive about the link between head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the game of hockey.”

Eh folks! Hockey is our national sport, right? You simply got to be tough to play the game. Bad enough the Swedes, now we have those ugly Americans trying to take over our sport and woosify it? Let’s wall the borders to such idiots.

We all know head bashing in various forms is part of our game. Brain damage? The brain’s a muscle, right? So you get a few bruises. Our guys are tough. The NHL pays big money for toughness. So why can’t tough guys be called upon to use their heads?

Our cultural guru Don Cherry tells it like it is. Head shots and fighting are just a fact of life. Conflict, to sort the weak from the strong, is a fundamental enjoyment in our great nation. Of course, it is reflected in our spectator sport. Don’t let those “pink shirts” tell you otherwise.

All that poppycock about talking out problems. Real men have real fights. Might makes right in any argument. Let’s weed out the sissies. In our Canadian North, only the tough can be allowed to survive.

Now we have American senators wanting to tell us what we should and shouldn’t do. Can you imagine. And to dare to suggest that “the prevalence and danger of concussions in the sport …” should be controlled or limited?

It’s something included in the price of a ticket. Just hear the fight cheers at the games. Foreign concern for the injuries of a few weaklings is beyond belief.

Why did God give us elbows, fists and hockey sticks if we weren’t meant to use them. Come on! A few good shots to the head are part of the game, and weed out those who just can’t take a hit. Those with weak brain muscle mass should take stronger steroids or stick to tiddly winks.

Should we allow more fighting at the peewee level and on up: Sells more tickets and builds character.

Smash ’em, bash ’em; enough broccoli, give us raw meat.

(Then again, I could stick to a more balanced diet and stop pulling your leg. Brain injury prevention is a very serious matter deserving more serious thought.) Ian R. Sisett, Kelowna