Preville on Politics

A better reception than Stephen Harper would get

Posted on November 21, 2007 by Philip Preville

So there I was yesterday at city council, sitting at the back of the press gallery, caught up in conversation with councillor Adam Vaughan, when suddenly everyone around us stands up. The room goes quiet as council suspends its activities, but we continue our discussion—at least until the dulcet tones of the bagpipe start squealing in our ears. Must be serious. “I guess we better stand,” I say. Once on our feet, we realize there’s a bunch of burly guys in military fatigues. Vaughan gets annoyed. “What’s with the military presence in council chambers?” he asks. Then I spot the reason. “Oh, it’s the Grey Cup,” I say. Vaughan gets more annoyed. “Why are we standing?” he asks. “Why the bagpipes? And what’s with the military guys?” Why, because a football trophy has entered the room! Silly Adam! He just doesn’t get it, does he? Former Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington, paraphrasing his hero Karl Marx, put it best: “Religion is not the opiate of the masses. Sports is.”

Comments

Neither the author nor Toronto Life necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Editors will not correct spelling or grammar. Toronto Life reserves the right to edit or delete comments entirely. Read our full policy

Will November 26, 2007 at 12:09 p.m.

Reading this post Grey Cup: I've never seen so much military and government at a Grey Cup game before. I guess the new CFL comimssioner is into that sort of thing.


Author Bio Pic

Philip Preville

Veteran freelance writer Philip Preville lived much of his life in Montreal and Edmonton before he was lured, like so many Torontonians before him, by the promise of more work and a better living. A National Magazine Award winner and former Canadian Journalism Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Massey College, Preville writes Toronto Life’s politics column. He lives with his wife and one-year-old son in Riverdale, just close enough to the Don Valley Parkway that he can hear it when he steps outside his house—but just far enough away that it doesn’t keep him awake at night. On his office wall hangs a 1938–39 press pass belonging to his grandfather, Elias Gannon, who wrote for the Montreal Star.


Preville on Politics RSS Feed