We have all heard the mantra “The show must go on, blah, blah, blah” after disastrous or at least tragic events. A very, very cynical person must have invented those words once upon a time.
However, I don’t really care who said it and when, and thank god that no such mantra was heard at all on the 7th September 2011 when breaking news over the whole world released with big flashing headlines that a plane had crashed by the Volga River bank quite near the city of Yaroslavl.
It was a very silent day, I remember, among the hockey fans around the world who had a vast majority of the players in Lokomotiv as favorites, some of them Olympic and World Champions, former NHL stars as Pavol Demitra, and upcoming prospects.
The shock when the news was publicized was, of course, immediate but that was nothing in comparison with that felt by the families of the players whose lives were demolished to ashes that day, as their beloved ones were brutally obviously gone and would never come back.
Six years have passed since that disastrous day for the organization of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the players who died, and their families who have to live with this fact that they are gone but will remain in the memories for the rest of their lives.
The KHL has decided that no games shall ever be played on this date, as it has been retired since the very tragic event.
Instead, it is a day of remembrance of the players and their families, which is a very decent and respectful move by the KHL organization, and of course by the organization of Yaroslavl as well.
I’d like though to add some more thoughts and reasons why I think it is a decent thing by the KHL to not have games on this particular day at all.
And, hopefully, a lot of hockey and sports fans, in general, will have a real think through about this as well, because it is apparently or actually too easy to spend days and nights complaining about a team’s performance and formations and at some certain players.
Waste of time I think to do that, much because it won’t help the team to perform better on the ice, even if it is gives something to talk with other fans about, a team and their future — at least a social connection.
The heartrending day when the Yaroslavl players were taken away from their families and from the hockey fans is a clear reminder to all of us that the “show” doesn’t always carry on.
Also, and the essential thing of all when we look closer at what this tragic event means, is that there are actually far more important things than hockey and sport in general. We have to realize sooner or later, no matter how much money there is, that at the end of the day it is only a game and amusement.
I realize how precious life is, probably because I’ve seen how it can be taken away.
-Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor born 1953.
Notable:
Here are the names of the players who perished in the crash in 2011 and the full story of the harrowing event. Click the link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lokomotiv_Yaroslavl_plane_crash
