Q&A with Don Cherry
As We sat with the old Boston Coach, he seemed to smile more than usual. After all, he knew he was at the center of attention today. He was wearing a bright red suit polka dotted with the face of Carolina Hurricanes Captain Justin Williams and matched with a black tie and on his head was a white paper hat with the word “Jerk” inscribed on its side in marker.
We each made the rounds asking him a specific question to the occasion that will most certainly happen on Thursday following the final home game of the season against the New Jersey Devils. I opened the line of questioning for the one time critic of the Storm Surge:
“So, what do you and Justin Williams have in mind for the Storm Surge on Thursday if the Carolina Hurricanes win?”
"DC: “Oh, you know I can’t tell you that, why would you ask a bone-headed question like that? Do you think I can’t keep a secret? You listen to me young man, when I was with the Boston Bruins, I was forced to keep all sorts of secrets. Who was going to be traded, who was going to be resigned. I kept the secrets then, and I am definitely going to keep them now.”"
Bryan Walsh, quickly pointed to his interesting choice of headgear and quickly asked “What made you want to be a jerk?”
"DC: “I think I’m a good Canadian, but I’m not the greatest Canadian. I think the people, the working-man people here in Carolina, made a statement here, that you don’t have to be a non-jerk to be a good Canadian. Anyhow, I finally understand the Storm Surges and am very proud to finally be a part of one so I can be the greatest Canadian. A jerk.”"
Austin Blum, one of our newer writers stepped up at this point and asked “Which storm surge got you to change your mind about them and why?”
"DC: “No storm surge changed my mind, I changed my mind. I realized that when Carolina was winning, it didn’t matter. When I was with the Boston Bruins and we were winning, we would always have some fun. It’s always been a part of the game. The fans love fun. The players don’t mind. The coaches like it. What’s the big deal?” “I can’t tell you how many people said, ‘I’ll never watch hockey again, I’m done with it,’ once the Celebrations began, … I just laughed. I knew it wasn’t possible. It’s a religion here, a way of life. We love the game too much. People were starving for it. When the postseason starts, they will all be back. They can’t help themselves.”"
Matt Nidiffer, another late addition to our writing team and our resident Carolina Hurricane prospect expert felt that the coach wasn’t giving us enough and asked “What is your favorite part of the storm surge?”
"DC: “My favorite part is all the fun the players are having. Anybody who says they don’t like having fun in the NHL have to be out of their minds. Anyhow, I think every team should start doing it. Every team in the National Hockey League should celebrate with the fans that paid so much money to be in the seats. This is for them and not the people upstairs who get in for free."
We were stunned. Could it be that Don Cherry was in conflict with himself from the very beginning? Was he always a fan of the celebrations and just didn’t allow himself to truly be a jerk like us? We had so many more questions to ask him.