TBC: Before The Lights Go Out

It's been a few months since I cracked a book at HBIC Headquarters, and that's partly due to a lot of my weekend hours being eaten up by those pesky renovations. With them being done, I needed to get back into some sort of routine again, so I went to the bookcase to find myself a tome in which I could get immersed. Knowing that hockey is somewhat broken in Canada right now, I went for a book that had been recommended to me before for its intimate look at one hockey club's plight. In saying that, Teebz's Book Club is proud to review Before the Lights Go Out: A Season Inside a Game on the Brink, written by Sean Fitz-Gerald and published by Penguin Random House Canada. Fitz-Gerald's look at the Peterborough Petes and the many difficulties they face as a junior hockey franchise shows that hockey isn't this invincible machine propped up by the love of Canadians everywhere as he illustrates that the Petes have a wide-range of issues they're forced to address which, in turn, are some of the same issues that hockey across this great nation is facing.

You may know Sean Fitz-Gerald from his Twitter account where he often makes very prescient comments on events. You may know him from his work as a writer for the Toronto Star or as a senior national writer for The Athletic. As per his Penguin Random House bio, "He has worked for the National Post, The Canadian Press and the Toronto Star, and taught at Ryerson University. In 2015, Sports Media Canada named him Canadian sportswriter of the year. Before the Lights Go Out is his first book." Among the various events he's covered in his illustrious career, Sean has reported on and from the Olympics, Pan American Games, Super Bowl, Grey Cup, NHL playoffs and the NBA playoffs. Sean's reporting with The Athletic can be found here if you'd like to read more of his excellent work and story-telling.

Before the Lights Go Out examines the situation of the OHL's Peterborough Petes, a once-proud franchise who produced waves of NHL talent both on the ice and behind the bench that had fallen on harder times when it came to attracting talent, shrinking attendance, and a bleeding bottom line. This isn't any different than a number of major junior hockey franchises in smaller cities, but this is also a growing concern for hockey organizations across Canada.

Fitz-Gerald identifies some of the major issues that plagued the Petes in Before the Lights Go Out during the 2017-18 season where it was expected that Petes would build on a deep OHL playoff run in the spring of 2017. Injuries slowed them, inconsistent play was seen more often than wanted, and a lack of defensive cohesion seemed to thwart the team through the first half of the season. It was the bigger problems, though, that I found interesting as Fitz-Gerald spoke to many people of all walks of life for this story, and they all identified major socioeconomic issues that needed to be fixed or improved by the Petes for that team to succeed locally that also apply to virtually all teams and organizations across this nation.

I am, by no means, a writer as talented as Fitz-Gerald, evidenced by the way he eloquently weaves the story of "Canada's game", its history, its successes, its failures, and everything in between in a such a way that you're learning about the game in new ways while sympathizing with the plight of the Petes in that 2017-18 season while turning the pages of Before the Lights Go Out. Fitz-Gerald interviews immigrants, lifelong fans, coaches, volunteers, Hockey Canada executives, and many more people about the game and the Petes, and the journey he takes you on will make you realize that the sport has some major issues to solve before it can truly be "for everyone".

Fitz-Gerald spoke to Scott Carlow and Ryan Hurley who were travelling across Canada as part of the Try Hockey program run by Hockey Canada. Hurley told minor hockey executives about a frightening statistic if you're worried about the growth of hockey, but I think it's one that needs to be heard. Fitz-Gerald writes,

"Out of every 100 children they met, though, only six played hockey. Many more raised their hands for ball hockey (about 36 per cent), but he more familiar version was entirely foreign to the majority. And only about half (54.5 per cent) said they watched hockey."

Fitz-Gerald expertly cites all the reasons why this may be, but barriers likecosts, a lack of fluency for the sport, and hockey highlights glorifying violence have prompted immgrant families to have their kids consider and enroll into other sports instead of hockey. The result has been a shrinking number for registered players at the grassroots level, and Fitz-Gerald illustrates all of this beautifully on the pages of Before the Lights Go Out.

As for the Peterborough Petes, I won't ruin what happens to them in Before the Lights Go Out. There were changes that happened over the course of the season that affected their fortunes, but it would be forgotten by the following September when hope emerged from the season before once again.

Overall, Before the Lights Go Out was an easy read with Fitz-Gerald's writing style, but the problems experienced in Peterborough and other communities across Canada outlined in the book are still being experienced today. The Petes, meanwhile, play an entire season with all sorts of drama and intrigue as Fitz-Gerald chronicles their successes and failures in contrast to those with the game on a macro-socioeconomic level. I often say that hockey is a microcosm of society, and this is beautifully illustrated by Fitz-Gerald in Before the Lights Go Out. Because of his excellent writing and the examination of the game both in Peterborough and in Canada, Before the Lights Go Out absolutely deserves the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

There are instances of colourful language used on the pages of Before the Lights Go Out as the people Fitz-Gerald interviews occasionally drop a swear into their comments, so I would recommend this book to be PG-rated for teenagers and older based on the subject matter and if parents are ok with that language being used. Hockey fans concerned with the growth of the game will likely enjoy the examination of the game at a micro level in Peterborough in comparison to the examination at a macro level in Canada featured in Before the Lights Go Out, so look for it at your local bookstore or library if you need a good read about the game!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!