No More Hockey, No More Theme. Bwah.

The song you're hearing is the Hockey Night in Canada theme, composed by Dolores Claman and used every Saturday night for the last forty years. Its license has expired; negotiations are ongoing to renew, but as of now it doesn't look good.

The theme is often called "Canada's second national anthem". Anecdotes abound of Canadians humming the tune in public places from Tokyo to Johannesburg, whereupon a chorus of previously unrecognized Canadians join in.

It sounds ridiculous, but I'm actually peeved that we may have heard the last of this theme. Pretty much every Saturday for as long as I can remember, it's been my cue to get my ass into the living room. It never fails to kick my adrenaline up a notch, which is why it's the first song in my iPod workout playlist. It's also one of the most downloaded ringtones in Canada. It's even been used as a wedding processional.

I gotta give Ms. Claman a lot of credit for catchy jingles.



Here's another of her tunes, probably almost as well known among Ontarians of a certain age (a certain age being my age and older). The lyrics are cheesy as hell, but I bet you'll find yourself humming this thing not long after you first hear it.

CBC says if negotiations between it and the composer fail--and it looks like they will--there will likely be a national contest for a new Hockey Night theme. A new theme? How the hell do you replace something this iconic?

I'm sure I'll get used to whatever the new piece is...but I really doubt it'll elicit the same "hockey game's on!" reaction in me.
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Reflections on the NHL season that was:

As usual, I predicted a whole bunch of things and got most of 'em wrong. I did correctly predict the Penguins would be in the Cup finals, but I suggested their opponent would be the San Jose Sharks. I fiddled and faddled over the Red Wings, but decided their recent history of playoff chokery would continue. Bzzt.
I had Sidney Crosby down as top scorer--I figured Ovechkin lacked the supporting cast. Bzzt.
The Leafs missed the playoffs...that was an easy one. They will again next year.

Top finishing Canadian team: I said Ottawa, with Vancouver very close behind; the lowest-finishing team, I suggested, would be Montreal. So what happens? Ottawa finishes middle-of-the-pack and Montreal third overall. Bzzt, bzzt, double-bzzt.

I did get in on a playoff pool, a first for me, and finished second overall. If I had predicted Detroit would win the Cup (even at the outset of the playoffs, I remained convinced they'd choke), I would have finished first. I'll try this again next year.

Next: four months of blistering humid stank-weather without so much as a dream of hockey to alleviate the sweaty torpor. And when hockey finally makes its return, I won't recognize its battle song.

*sigh*