***Update***
Gare Joyce has posted a reply on Switzer's blog regarding the article (see my links on the right). He also has his own blog at www.garejoycesgames.blogspot.com . I think people here should voice their views to him too. I hope he's read the comment section of this blog too. There are some powerful words.
The Broncos organization, the board of directors, the fans and the city are all not happy over this I guarantee you that.
------------
Well it's out, and I can't say I'm surprised or impressed at all.
The long awaited espn.com piece on the Broncos Bus Crash 20 years ago is now available online. The lengthy article was put together by Gare Joyce and it's more about Graham James than about the crash that claimed the lives of four players.
It has plenty of quotes from those involved with the team from then and now. I don't agree with it. Swift Current's hockey pride is being questioned - that's my take. I think it doesn't speak very highly of our loyal supporters.
Read it then leave your comment back here on the blog and tell me what you think. It's not very warm and fuzzy to put it mildly. I'm sure this is nothing new for the community. Some parts you'll read and just shake your head.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=swiftcurrent
**Update**
I just remembered that he'll be at the NHL draft in Columbus at the end of June. I'll be taking issue you can bet.
Jon
17 comments:
Thats a terrible piece. I can't believe he would write those things about Swift Current. It's embarrasing to read.
Thanks for posting the link.
This article is gross. Absolutely disgusting. I don't even know what to say right now, I'm so shocked. I've lived in Swift my entire life and it doesn't sound like the Bronco fans at all. I wasn't even alive when the bus crashed happened and know the events of that day like it happened yesterday. And Brady, that's so disappointing you would say that. There are a lot of people who didn't think you deserved to be back on this team, and maybe you're proving that not everyone deserves a second chance. You shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you.
I could not believe what I was reading. Do you think the writer likes Swift Current at all. I think not, not one good thing to say. Maybe there could have been more done on Dec 30 but to take it that far is unreal.
I don't know when he interviewed Brady but if it was after he came back from his temper tantrum then he just lost a lot of respect in my books. I'd like to hear his comments now.
It doesn't really surprise me, coming from a guy from Toronto trying to find a story to sell.
Yes, LC. I'm disapointed in Brady's comments too. I wonder if he felt that way after game five in Regina when Bronco fans gave the team the "rock-star treatment".
I know for a fact the out of town kids are treated like gold at the comp.
This may be the last we see of Leavold. Hello Oil Kings.
One thing though is that Brady may have been taken out of context. Reporters sometimes have a way of just using the piece of a clip that works best for their needs.
This article is awful!!!!
It really makes the people of Swift Current look like we don't care. And I know this just isn't true.....I have lived in a few different cities that have WHL teams and I have to say that Bronco fans are the best by far!!! Everyone in Swift knows who the players are and treat them so good. Walking down the mall in a place like Saskatoon, you might not recognize some of the Blades players. But that would never happen in Swift Current. The people of Swift Current should be proud of the way we have stood behind the team.
Perhaps something more could have been done to remember the 20th anniversary..... but decisions on how to acknowledge it where made and I am sure that the people that made these decisions made them for a reason. And they will stand behind these reasons. Who is to judge how a person or community is to remember a moment in history such as this? Even though I was only 10 years old at the time, I still remember where I was and how I felt when I heard as I am sure many other Swift Current residents do....and this article makes the residents of Swift Current look very cold hearted and that just isn't true. We all remember in our own way.
I have to agree with you Jon about how a reporter can take a comment and use only what they want to....I think this can also happen to a story. Maybe this is what happened with this article? The reporter wrote it in such a way that he thought would make a good story?
DMG
I talked to the reporter when he was down here, and right away felt uncomfortable around him. He is a SNAKE.
And his article strengthened my opinion. How gross! Completely untrue. COMPLETELY ridiculous.
Big Ern
I wonder how long and how many times was this asshole in Swift. I would dare him to come back! Yes everyone know The Graham james story and yes it is sick. But don't come down on a town where so much has happened, bothe good and moreso bad and talk like you have it all figured out. Someone should get Grapes' opinion on this I know he had a run in with this loser before. Keep your head held high in Swift.
Pat from Regina
Ernie, I know the feeling. I had a similiar impression. He was out of his element up here and it stuck out like a sore thumb.
I'll see him at the NHL draft in June. Don't think for a second I won't have anything to say.
Who told the reporter about Dean going to the board with ideas to do more in terms of a memorial or tribute this year? Nothing like hanging the board of directors out to dry...most boards work under the idea that what happens in the meetings is confidential.
Gare Joyce owes the people of Swift Current an apology!!!!
I can not believe his audacity to say we in Swift Current do nothing to remember these kids.
Is he a parent of a 5 year old hockey player on a first time visit the the Civic Center , were the stop at the wall is made before hitting the dressing room for their very first practice and the story is told. Not only the story of the crash, but the story of the triumph of the city that came back from it. Is he the man who is just standing by the wall ,who tells the story to a stranger from another city who just happens to ask the question what happened?
As I understand he was at the Civic Center that day for the moment of silence, But was he in the Fairview Arena when both rinks stopped play and had a moment of silence. was he in our homes or in our businesses or on our streets, when the radio station announced a moment of silence, did he see how many people stopped what they were doing to experience that moment of silence. Did he experience that grief that we as Swift Current citizens felt in that moment.
No
We know the story and yes we might quietly pass it on, but trust me it is passed on ,on a daily bases to our children and now to their children....they are remembered.they are celebrated they are Swift Current . We were stopped in our tracks 20years ago on the day we lost Scott, Brent, Trent and Chris. I feel it was very fitting we stopped 20 years later to remember.
As for Graham James and the abuse he subjected not only Sheldon to but the rest of his team. We in Swift Current need to stop being embarrassed by media personal like Gare Joyce. Abuse was a little known issue in the early eighties. The education level of the average Canadian Citizens on this matter was nil. We certainly need to feel empathy for what happened to these wonderful young men, and we certianly need to never forget, But Swift Current as well needs to realize out of this situation we Triumphed once again. The Safe guards put in place by our Swift Current Bronco's and our Minor Hockey Association are top quality and a lot people worked hard thousands of hours to make sure this would not only never happen again in Swift Current, but has been passed on and implemented in hundreds of communities throughout Canada.
The story Gare Joyce should have wrote if he truly investigated Swift Current, interviewed all the players,parents, coaches , staff, billets , school teachers, young hockey players, business owners, seniors ,who have been around for the 20 years after the accident. His head line would have read
After Tragedy comes Triumph
You should be ashamed of yourself Gare!
Well said. Solid post.
Thank you for that.
What can I say, kids make fun of kids in school, and the memorial was a sham. He almost hit the nail on the head. It seams as if he got the oppinions from a lot of people affiliated with Swift Current in some way. It was harsh, but maybe a wake up call. Two thumbs up to Keener for his 13 min. memorial clip, good stuff Jon. Some old people in this city are scared of bringing back old deamons, not Keener.
Keener, you're the best. Nice work on everything you've done! You should win many awards for your efforts!
You're really in love with yourself, aren't you?
If I keep feeding you BS lines about how good you are, will you keep posting them?
If so, I'll do my best to keep inflating that ego of yours!
(I wonder if this will make the comments section)
There you are. Posted. Wonder no more.
I'm sorry that so many people took offence. I certainly didn't mean to kick those who live in Swift Current. But the fact remains, I didn't say that the team didn't do enough to honour Kruger, Ruff, Manteyka and Kresse--Fanner and Tisdale did. And when I tell people not from Swift Current that the four were honoured basically with a moment of silence--and that the board of directors just brushed off the idea of more of a ceremony or raising a banner--they are appalled. Fact is, it should have been an anniversary that the WHL marked--they first dropped the ball, then the team ownership. And fact is, Dean C wanted something more--the right thing--and it didn't happen. Too bad for Fanner, the families of the others, Tisdale and other team-mates.
As I said on the other blog, Brady said what others said, almost no dissent in the ranks of the team. Kids are cruel in high school and for the locals the best way to cut the Broncos down to size is take their swings. It can't be pleasant but I don't believe that it's uniques. It's almost certainly more true of small towns than cities--I went to school with Marlies (a Marlie captain sat beside me in class) and everyone gave him respect and space.
I think Dean's instincts were right about getting a banner and the rest. I wish he had pushed the board harder. I think he did a good job with his team and I'm glad to see that he got a vote of confidence. If the directors went into brain lock and gassed him, he'd get another job.
Fact is, many people in Swift want to live in the present because the past is so awful. The view in Swift Current isn't the view from elsewhere. When the McBains say that Graham James did a good job with the team in the wake of the crash--well, there's no saying that he did a job in one aspect with the team but just happened to molest players.
You know Mr Keen, you can attack the story but when you attack me--I don't fit in, I'm a snake, whatever--you're not helping your case. What exactly do I have wrong? Fanner feels like the team could have done more over the years, Bob Wilkie says that someone had to know about James, Sheldon Kennedy says the same, Tim Tisdale once coached in the arena on an anniversary that went unmarked--and I stood out like a sore thumb. What a joke. And you say you're going to get in my face--I'll drop you where you stand. Don Cherry took issue for me--yeah, he defended Phil Esposito when he told a woman reporter to fellate him. I've been doing this since you had your baby teeth.
Post a Comment