Say it isn’t so, Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) without its traditional theme music.
Soon men, women and children across this land will be weeping openly into their favourite National Hockey League sweaters.
When HNIC signed off June 4, following the Stanley Cup win by the Detroit Red Wings (the swines), little did hockey fans realize they might have heard their beloved opening theme music for the final time on the show.
The same little ditty that has opened HNIC broadcasts since 1968.
Like many, I had my book of knowledge expanded recently when I read the Toronto Star story, revealing Dolores Claman as the composer of the HNIC theme.
Also enlightening was the fact the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) pays Copyright Music and Visuals $500 every time the theme is broadcast on game night.
The relationship between CBC and Copyright Music and Visuals has been a rocky one over the years.
According to The Star, in 2004 the company sued the CBC for $2.5 million in damages, claiming breach of copyright and breach of contract.
The company claimed the CBC used the hockey theme without their authorization.
The latest agreement between the two parties expired following the end of the final game of the 2008 Stanley Cup finals.
While Foster Hewitt was uttering the phrase “Hello Canada and hockey fans across the United States” long before the HNIC theme hit the airwaves, it’s just something we’ve all grown up and become comfortable.
Just like the flimsy hockey helmet Butch Goring wore for more than a decade in the NHL or the fedora worn by Punch Imlach behind the Toronto Maple Leaf bench, it’s familiar.
Just imagine Canadian icon Stompin’ Tom Connors not singing The Hockey Song, or not hearing the warbling of My Old Kentucky Home before the running of the Kentucky Derby.
English football fans would riot if the FA Cup final was played and Abide with Me wasn’t sung prior to the opening kickoff.
Or how about not listening to Back Home In Indiana before the running of the Indianapolis 500?
And of course the topper, not hearing Kate Smith blast out God Bless America during a do or die Philly Flyers playoff game. Anything else just doesn’t fit.
Removing traditions from sporting events tarnishes the magic and just leaves it as simply an event involving two teams.
And we all know how some of those battles don’t live up to the pre-game hype and media coverage.
It was my hope the CBC and the rights holders would reach an agreement on the theme song, but CTV stepped in with its cheque book.
Much like when Canadian rocker Kim Mitchell decided to rearrange the presentation of his summertime classic Patio Lanterns, (ultimately butchering it) nothing beats the original.
