I had the opportunity to watch Canada’s World Junior team play an exhibition pre-tournament game last week against Sweden. Friends with tickets are the friends to have. Or just nice friends are friends to have. Every time I am at the Brandt Centre in Regina, whether it be a game seven playoff Pats hockey game, or a Circus Gatti, or the Western Canadian Agribition, or the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the stadium is dead. The capacity is only like 7000 for sports events, but considering that 7000 Rider fans are louder than 100,000 Leafs fans, you would expect that the Brandt Centre would get loud every now and then. But it never does. Game seven, Regina vs. Saskatoon, silent.

So Pepsi thought they could change it. Canada’s Cheer, a spoonful of cough syrup down a child’s throat. Forced and distasteful. I’m not worried about Canada selling its soul to a major corporation, because I’m sure they’ve already done that, and the idea of borders creating nations and subscribing to nationalities is not a very progressive idea towards a united human race. But when a giant world corporation decides to hijack a favourite past time of many, trying to hide their newest ad campaign behind cheering for good hockey, is low, even for Pepsi. If Coke did it, then it would have been fully Canadian.

Boxing Day does little more than assist the division of the human race. Christmas is mind boggling enough of an idea, and when I witness the mayhem of Boxing Day from behind the cash register, I question the need of a week long sale to promote extreme consumption after the week of highest annual consumption.

But the sign says 50% off. Aren’t you going to honour your sign?
These mitts are only 30% off and not 50% off, well shit, I’m not going to buy them.
I guess I’m not going to buy this hoodie, I might as well just bundle it up in a ball and throw it on the ground. Oh and I might as well spit my gum out on the floor too.

I guess consideration, moderation and untainted past times have gone extinct along with sobriety, the unmarried, and independent thought.

Gotta love the holidays.