A Little Ditty

Dear Ron MacLean.Dear Coach’s Corner.I’m writing in orderfor someone to explainto my niece the distinctionbetween these mandatory pre-game group rites of submissionand the rallies at Nuremburg.Specifically the functionthe ritual serves in conjunctionwith what everybody knowsis in the end a kid’s game.I’m just appealing to your sense of fair playwhen I say she’s puzzled bythe incessant pressure for her to not defythe collective will,and yellow ribboned lapels,as the soldiers inexplicably rappeldown from the arena rafters(which, if not so insane, would be grounds for screaming laughter).Dear Ron MacLean,I wouldn’t bother with these questionsif I didn’t sense some spiritual connection.We may not be the samebut it’s not like we’re from different planets:we both love this game so much we can hardly ******* stand it.Alberta-born and prairie-raised.Seems like there ain’t a sheet of ice north of Fargo I ain’t played.From Penhold to the Gatineau,every fond memory of childhood that I knowis s...