pseudorandom

Last night was Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. I usually only find hockey interesting in person, but even on television, this was a game for the ages: Edmonton went up 3-0, then Carolina scored four unanswered goals to make it 4-3, then Edmonton tied it at 4-4, and finally Carolina went up 5-4 with just 30 seconds left. it was tremendous fun to watch.

My favorite moment, however, was at the start of the game. Since a Canadian team was playing, the first anthem sung was "O Canada". A few weeks ago, San Jose fans booed "O Canada" at a home game, also against Edmonton -- an awful gesture against a country that happens to be one of our closest allies. In contrast, last night, to my great delight, not only was there no booing, but one could see and hear Carolina fans singing along with it. At the conclusion, there was plenty of cheering.

I'm not a true North Carolinian -- I'm not a native, and I won't stay here forever -- but I was proud of the people in attendance last night. They made their state and their country look good. We need more of that sort of thing these days.