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One of the very first assignments I covered as a full-time journalist was a “Save The Jets” rally being held at The Forks way back in May 1995.
I was just 20 years old, finishing up my studies in the two-year Creative Communications Program at Red River College and had just been hired by the Winnipeg Sun after doing a two-week work placement with them.
The assignment hit close to home. Not only was I born and raised in Winnipeg, my father was a season ticket holder since the early 1980s and I had already attended hundreds of games in my life.
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History shows that big fundraising event — reportedly attended by more than 35,000 people — ultimately went for naught. The 1.0 Jets would play one more year as essentially a lame duck franchise before moving to the desert.
Fast forward to the present, and I’ve officially hit the 30-year anniversary mark of my career debut. Time really does fly when you’re having fun, and I must admit the last few weeks have been an absolute blast.
The playoff run of the 2.0 Jets was one of the most memorable events I’ve ever covered, a reminder that fact is often better than fiction and sports truly is the ultimate reality show.
From the incredible Game 7 “Manitoba Miracle” against the St. Louis Blues to the emotional roller-coaster of Game 6 last Saturday against the Dallas Stars, there’s been no shortage of compelling storylines and human-interest developments.
I also got to witness first-hand just how tight the connection between the hockey club and the community is, with seven raucous Whiteout parties and literally hundreds of emails and private messages from readers/social media followers who were captivated by everything going on.
It made all those long nights (I’ll be happy if I never see another 8:50 p.m. puck drop in my lifetime) and early mornings (the travel back and forth to St. Louis and Dallas was anything but smooth or easy) worth it.
Knowing how much this was all resonating with people and being able to document it up close and personal was an honour and a privilege, something I never have and never will take for granted.
I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it again: My fan days are long over. I turned in that card back in 2016 when, after 21 years on the crime and justice beat, I moved into the sports department at the Free Press, which hired me away from the Sun back in 1997.
I no longer have a rooting interest in the outcomes of games, other than hoping they move as quickly as possible to give me maximum time to hit my print deadline. Fortunately, the emergence of online journalism — something that certainly didn’t exist when I first started in this business — has given us all a lot more flexibility in that department.
But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a major source of civic pride to see how everyone came together for a common cause during this past month.
That even extended to the hockey club I cover, where the events surrounding the tragic death of Mark Scheifele’s father reinforced something I’d long ago realized about this current group: They aren’t just good hockey players, but good human beings too.
Perhaps because I lived through, and wrote about, the loss of the Jets here in Winnipeg, I’ve always had a particular interest in the business side of the sport. It’s why, in recent years, I’ve delved into attendance and season-ticket issues with the 2.0 version of the team.
I’ve called out the organization in the past for what I felt was, at times, a laissez fare attitude toward the fan base — something they’ve eventually come to admit publicly — but I’ve also spilled some ink in the past couple years documenting how they are taking multiple steps to now address that.
It’s why this past year, in my eyes, was so important. Not just because the team reached new on-ice heights in the regular season, then racked up six more playoff victories, which represents the second-longest run they’ve ever gone on.
But also because their overall attendance jumped by nearly 1,000 per game, they finished the year with 15 consecutive sellouts and — perhaps most importantly — they seemed to remember there is no “I” in team.
As some have pointed out, there appears to now be a less corporate, more community-minded way of speaking to the fan-base, which was once again shown on Thursday as co-owner and chairman Mark Chipman released a year-end message to the masses on the same day he had chartered a plane to take the majority of Jets players to Ontario to attend Brad Scheifele’s funeral.
The team took Mark Chipman’s chartered plane to attend the funeral for Mark Scheifele’s father, Brad. Mark Scheifele played Game 6 last week shortly after learning of his father’s death. (Gareth Patterson / The Associated Press files)
“The past few weeks of playoff hockey created a wide range of emotions for all of us. We witnessed the remarkable resilience of our team and an unparalleled display of courage by Mark Scheifele. As I reflected on it all, including the success of the 2024-25 regular season and our first Presidents’ Trophy, I was struck by an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the support, passion and class of our incredible fans,” Chipman said.
“Once again, the Whiteout was in display and we could feel the energy at Canada Life Centre on Donald St. and from living rooms across the province and around the world like never before. Every team in professional sports lays claim to having the best fans. I believe from the bottom of my heart that we actually do.
So, on behalf of everyone at True North and the Winnipeg Jets, thank you for standing with us every step of the way. Please know our commitment to bringing a Stanley Cup to our city has never been stronger. Your support means everything, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.”
It feels like this is a year the Jets shored up the foundation in many ways, both on and off the ice. I have no idea if this will ultimately end up in a championship parade down Portage and Main that I’ll get to cover one day — now 50 years old, the runway is getting shorter with every passing spring — but hopefully it means never having to cover an event like the one I did at The Forks exactly three decades ago.
With this season now in the rearview mirror and the chance to take a bit of a breather here, let me take a page out of Chipman’s playbook and issue my own thank you.
To my employer, for still recognizing the importance and value of in-depth Jets coverage that includes covering road games in person, and not from the couch thousands of miles away.
To my teammate, Ken Wiebe, who is the best job-share partner I could have. We have way too much fun doing this, and we are truly doing what we love and love what we are doing. I feel like we just had our best season yet in terms of the quality of stories and features we produced.
To my family, for their love and support on a beat that can be tough on everyone. It’s not a 9-5, Monday to Friday job at all, with countless nights and weekends and stretches of working 24 out of 25 days, like the one I just wrapped up.
And to you, the readers, for supporting the unique, local journalism we proudly produce and for all your feedback throughout the year. It truly means the world.
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