Affectionately known by Canadians as The May 2-4 Weekend, today is Victoria Day, a statutory holiday in this country. On a weekend when many head North to the cottage or camping and others look forward to fireworks it once again rained cats and dogs. It always rains cats and dogs on The May 2-4 holiday Monday.
Last year I wrote an entry on Victoria Day questioning why we're celebrating the birth of some Queen of Britain who's been dead for over a hundred years. I suggested we re-brand this holiday Terry Fox day, or Wayne Gretzky day or John Candy day or even Don Cherry Day. We should Canadianize it and stop being "Britain's bitch".
I've given this a lot of thought since then and I've decided we should celebrate a different Canadian legend each year on this date. In fact, I don't think we should know which Canadian we're celebrating until the Friday before the long weekend. A proclamation could be made by the Prime Minister on that day letting us know who we can thank for the day off of work.
Today, I stayed away from work but not in honour of the birth of Queen Victoria. I stayed home in honour of Dave Andreychuk. Andreychuk, born in Hamilton, Ontario, waited 22 seasons to reach the Stanley Cup finals, which begin Tuesday night. He had played in 154 playoff games, more than any other player had ever played without reaching the finals. He played an integral role in my Maple Leafs' back-to-back Conference final appearances a decade ago becoming only the third Leaf to score 50 goals in a season, following Rick Vaive and Gary Leeman. Dave Andreychuk is now a grizzled veteran at the age of 40 and looking to go out on top.
Enjoy Dave Andreychuk Day.
