Wayne Gretzky: wayne gretzky says ‘let’s worry about the game’ while in Milan with family
Wayne Gretzky was in Milan as a fan and told a media outlet he is having a “great time” with his three sons, but he also addressed the fallout from his strained relationship with Canada and urged people to “worry about the game. ” The comments came ahead of the men’s semi-final between Canada and Finland and matter because he is publicly visible at a moment when Canada and the U. S. are set to meet for Olympic gold.
Messier and Gretzky watching the Canada–Finland semi-final
Mark Messier, left, and Wayne Gretzky, centre, were pictured watching the men’s semi-final between Canada and Finland. Gretzky appeared on a broadcast panel ahead of the game and was visible at the arena in Milan as a fan.
On-panel exchange with James Duthie over Canada–U. S. tensions
Host James Duthie framed the conversation by describing an “unsettling year for Canadians, ” saying tensions with the U. S. were at a level “that we’ve never seen in our lifetimes. ” Duthie asked Gretzky, “You have been pulled into this. ” Gretzky replied “Right, ” and, taking a two-handed grip on his microphone when he realized where the line of questioning was going, uttered “Ha ha ha. ”
When Duthie pressed, “What would be your message to Canadians today?” Gretzky answered, “Very simple. First of all, let’s worry about the game. That’s most important. ” He added a sporting reassurance—“I want Canada to win a gold medal. I’ve never wavered from that”—and finished with family imagery: “Canada and the USA are like brothers and sisters. They’re going to fight and argue, but eventually you come together, right? And that’s the way I see it. ”
In Milan with his three sons and a 1998 photo on the wall
At the arena in Milan, a photograph on the wall of Wayne Gretzky from the 1998 Nagano Olympics drew his attention and he signed it and left a message. Described in coverage as the NHL’s all-time points leader, he said, “Ya it’s unreal here, ” and was explicitly noted to be there with “my 3 boys, ” saying he was having a “great time. ” He was not there with a network or company; he had merely taken his kids to cheer on Canada.
Nerves, past Olympics and the looming Canada–U. S. gold-medal final
The Canadian team’s recent road to the final was laid out in contemporaneous play: Canada pulled through in overtime in the quarterfinal before winning the semifinal against Finland on a goal in the last minute on Friday. Observers said you could see the nervousness on both Gretzky and Mark Messier’s faces. “Wayne was so nervous he couldn’t sit any more and had to walk around, ” a friend said, as nerves mounted ahead of what was described as an expected, most-watched game on Sunday morning.
Gretzky’s Olympic résumé was also recalled: he fell short as a player at the 1998 Olympic Games but managed the 2002 team to gold in Salt Lake City. Despite past disappointment, he will be cheering on the red and white like millions of Canadian fans as the Canada–U. S. match-up approaches and the outcome could go either way.
Deflection, resentment and questions of loyalty
More than a year after Wayne Gretzky blew up his relationship with Canada, he decided to finally address it while swanning around Milan. One commentator noted that he has “always been a wonderful deflector of the puck, ” and suggested that his insistence this is about hockey either indicates he “doesn’t get much, ” or that he has accepted there is no way of explaining how he has carried on.
The same commentary conveyed a sense of resentment in Gretzky’s answers—mostly at having his loyalty put into doubt after he had deliberately put his own loyalty into doubt. “That’s what happens when you wear the colours of someone who is attacking your country, ” the piece argued. If there is a defense for him, it was that he “didn’t ask to be a representative” of Canada; that job, the writing said, was pushed on him. Yet the piece also noted he didn’t have to accept that role: “If he tired of it, he could have quit. Moved to Arizona, and never made a big deal about visiting home. ”
The writer framed the rift in stark terms: tell that to a Canadian who’s losing their job in the manufacturing sector, the piece suggested, and offered a metaphor: you sign contracts and then dad accuses you of drug dealing, tells you China is about to steal hockey and then decides that he’s throwing you out of the house. A separate column by Cathal Kelly was cited under the title How Canada’s nearly 50-year romance with Wayne Gretzky came to an end.
