it feels insufficient to try to put this into words, but when you're a person that doesn't have a lot of hockey friends or have been through some really tough times, having constants are a blessing. the consistent through my life in the past twenty years, one of very few, has been tuning in to the broadcast regardless of how i was feeling that day. 82 games per season (0r perhaps 60-65 at some points in time. thanks fox) with maybe 3-4 games in person a year because i am not a huge fan of crowds. i can chart the events of my life by what was happening with the team at the time. tuning in to check out for a little while to hang out with john and tripp and watch hockey together. whether it was a competitive and exciting 4-3 OT win or a 5-0 afternoon game that was just an absolute grind to watch, the investment that these two had in the team made you feel like a part of it. their job was to invite you inside this place, isolated from the things that might trigger negative associations to whatever problems you were having in life at the time, and fully immerse in the beautiful game. always hearing john sign off with "keep america in your thoughts and prayers," and how the tenor of those words changed with the events of the moment. it felt like he was telling us to remember to be kind to each other, regardless of our differences, and realize that we can all meet here away from those heavy things and that he was wishing you well in a genuine way that never felt forced or cheesy. saying until we meet here next time, take care of yourself and others. it didn't feel inauthentic. because he knew that the people watching were his friends, his neighbors, the people he would run into at the grocery store. that made him one of us in the truest sense. how sanitary the broadcast was of the pettiness of things like partisan differences was a credit to them both. they would graciously host governor cooper without revealing any degree of bias. how amazing is that in this day and time that you can see a political figure on television without the broadcasters editorializing and critiquing his comments or policies even in coded language? it was just a really special sort of place they created. i don't think they ever made any single viewer feel unwelcome.
the levity that was the dynamic between john and tripp was always entertaining. hearing them take playful jabs at each other. tripp in his very overt and on the nose obliviousness matched so well with john's cantankerous dry wit. john made it feel like he was suffering a fool and tripp leaned into it and played the jester. but there was always a sense of professionalism where john would drag the broadcast back on track and get back to the game so it didn't devolve further. it was a part of the show, but it was also the result of the strength of their relationship off the ice. imagining them together at an elton john concert or hearing tripp explain in vivid detail what he ate the night prior while john riffed off the triviality of it. you were in on most of the inside jokes if you watched enough. that's the part that i will miss the most. i don't think you can get the best of tripp without john and as much as some would be loathe to admit it, it worked the same in reverse.
i think about the times that both john and tripp lost parents and the way they approached those matters on the broadcast. that the show must go on and like you, sometimes their hearts weren't 100% in the game but it was therapeutic for them to get back to work. to get back to hanging out with us and watching the game. to sort it out the same way many of us have to, entirely on the fly as life continues to press on even when we'd like to step off the ride for a bit.
if either of you (john or tripp) read this as we have long suspected you have, thank you. thank you for being there for me and many others as we have fought our own battles and spent our evening decompressing with you guys. the continuity and consistent quality of the broadcasts was never lost on us. the amount of work you both put in to preparation always showed up and you both did the same. thank you for teaching me a lot about the game and about friendship. it was a privilege to be invited.