‘We stand with Humboldt’
In Victoria and across Canada, Jersey Day message spreads like wildfire
You noticed the signs first.
The electronic billboards at both entrances to CFB Esquimalt carried the same message, “We Are All Humboldt Broncos” above the hashtags #jerseysforhumboldt and #CFBroncos.
Then you spotted the hockey sticks leaning beside the doors to buildings, more signs proclaiming “We Stand with Humboldt,” and, of course, the jerseys.
For a few hours Thursday, the people who run the country’s Pacific naval base changed its name to CFBroncos and ditched camouflage and sailor blue in favour of the colours of professional sports teams.
Everywhere you went — the base commander’s office, military police headquarters, coffee shops, on ships — sailors and civilians sported the jerseys of the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens.
It was a scene repeated in schools, businesses and government offices across the country, a show of support for the friends and families who lost loved ones in last week’s bus crash that killed 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team in Saskatchewan.
Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance authorized members of the Canadian Armed Forces to wear sports jerseys, noting that many people in uniform have experienced the same emotional burden that such tragedies inflict.
Capt. Jason Boyd, base commander at CFB Esquimalt, relayed a similar message in an online video, while wearing the green and white of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Boyd, who grew up just a few hundred kilometres from Humboldt in Rosetown, Sask., held up a sign with the hashtag #CFBroncos and urged people to take part.
“The hockey community has always shown its tremendous support for the Canadian Armed Forces and it’s now our turn to give back,” he said.
The message resonated on the base with people of all ranks, many of whom recognized themselves among the grieving families two provinces away.
Olivia Wade, a 39-year-old administrative assistant in the commander’s office, pulled on an L.A. Kings jersey that she’s had since she was 12.
“I’m a mom and I think that says it all,” she said, fighting back tears. “My child’s very involved in all sports — not hockey — but it could just be anyone’s child.”
In a nearby coffee shop, Lt.-Cmdr. Colleen O’Brien, who grew up in Saint John, N.B., had a similar reaction. She wore the colours of the Montreal Canadiens to show her support for the people of Humboldt.
“I have a sister with three children who all play hockey and she has sent me pictures this year of her on a bus with one of her children’s hockey teams,” she said. “So you just can’t help but think it could happen to anybody.”
On board HMCS Ottawa, a hockey stick rested against a life preserver bearing the frigate’s name.
“We have a big family atmosphere on the ship, so that if anything bad happens, we all support each other,” said Master Seaman Jen Lawrence, who grew up in southern Ontario and sported a camouflage jersey emblazoned with a Maple Leafs logo.
“This is something that has happened to us as a country, so it’s time to stand up and support each other and know that they’re not alone in this terrible situation.”
“We get it,” added Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class David Lowther, who wore a Blue Jays jersey. “The loss of life is something that happens when you’re part of the military.”
Leading Seaman Tom Eustace, who grew up playing hockey in Victoria, said the crash hit close to home for him. He wore a jersey from his stint with HMCS Vancouver’s hockey team, he said, to let the people of Humboldt know that they have support across the country.
“I played hockey for 14 years, so I’ve done the bus trips, I’ve done those kind of things. So I get it,” he said. “That easily could have been us at any point.”
The crew of HMCS Vancouver posted its own message from sea, with a picture of two hockey sticks leaning next to the ship’s life preserver.
“From #HMCSVancouver, operating in the Pacific, to the families of Humboldt, you are in our thoughts,” the note said.
It was one message among a flood of online posts that drew this response from the official Twitter account of the Humboldt Broncos:
“#JerseysForHumboldt. We see you. We hear you. We love you.
“We are all #HumboldtStrong.”
HUMBOLDT, Sask. — Hundreds of mourners, many wearing the Humboldt Broncos colours of green and gold, attended the funeral Thursday for the team’s play-by-play announcer who also coached in the community.
Tyler Bieber, 29, was one of 16 people — including 10 players — who died after the team’s bus and a transport truck collided last Friday at a rural intersection north of Tisdale, Sask.
Bieber, who coached high school football and basketball, was in his first year doing playby-play for the team.
Keegan Adair, 14, was one of the honorary pallbearers and was wearing the jersey of the Humboldt high school football team over his suit.
He said the loss of “Coach Bieber” has hurt him and his teammates, but they will focus on happier memories.
“He gave us a pep talk before one game and I had come off the field and my glasses were sideways in my helmet. He found it pretty funny and I just remember afterward him telling me how proud he was of how hard I played,” said Adair.
“It’s difficult to say the least. Everyone’s torn by the whole ordeal. We need to push on and keep going with our everyday lives, but hold on to a lot of the dear things.”
Boyd Henderson and his wife, Irene, said they are longtime Broncos season-ticket holders and wanted to show support for the family and the community.
“We know the family. We know a lot of the players and a lot of players who have played for the Broncos over the years, so we came to support them,” said Henderson, who was wearing a green Saskatchewan Roughriders jersey.
He said the city will survive, although the tragedy “will never go away. We’ll live with it forever. You just don’t get over it.”
His wife said the service was “very emotional … very touching.”
“It’s amazing how the community has pulled together and it’s so close. We’ll get through it.”
A display inside the arena’s lobby featured photos of Bieber, high school coaching playbooks and an homage to his favourite sports teams — most notably the National Football League’s New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady.
Many of those attending wore ribbons of green and gold.
Bieber is survived by his mother, father, sister and two brothers. The service was held on the ice at the Elgar Petersen Arena where the Broncos play their home games.
Services for home-town boy Jacob Leicht, who played left wing, and defenceman Adam Herold of Montmartre, Sask., are scheduled for today.
On Thursday, more than 125 people who arrived on more than 70 snowmobiles marked what would have been Herold’s 17th birthday at the family farm.
“We still have snow and he loved snowmobiling,” his dad, Russell Herold, told the Canadian Press. “He’d want to go snowmobiling.”