Go Leafs, Go

Last evening, amid preparing our teenager for the principal's dance at school, a raucous game of superheros with the five-year old and catching up on a growing pile of projects, came news that 21 year old Brendan Burke died tragically in a car accident. At the time, perhaps due to all of the distractions of the day, I hadn't put two and two together to realize that Brendan was the son of the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke.

Brian Burke has always had a reputation of being a tough, hard-nosed, no-bull kind of manager. His hockey business savvy has few rivals in the league. Many who know him, including the well spoken hockey-mind Pierre McGuire, know that most of what we see on screen is an act. Brian Burke the man, as we have been told, is a sincere, dedicated friend and in particular, a proud father.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Brian Burke, we must acknowledge that this day his world is one of deep sorrow and loss.

I won't pretend to know his feelings, but I am not unfamiliar with his pain. It is the same pain that I witnessed in the eyes of my own parents when my brother was lost in similar circumstances at the young age of 23. As a parent, I can barely fathom the depths of despair that invariably accompanies such an unthinkable tragedy. It will never leave him, this profound hurt, but over time he will come to accept it and continue to live his life knowing a significant part of himself is gone forever.

No parent should have to live through such an event, but sadly for many people around the world, most recently in Haiti, the loss of a child is a far too familiar and heartbreaking reality.

That it should happen to a high-profile personality doesn't make it any more tragic or less sobering. It is only to remind us of the fragility of life and how each moment we spend with those we love is beyond human measure.

Today I let go of trivial and childish rivalries and stand with the Maple Leafs organization, and with Leafs nation, in mourning the devastating loss of Brendan Burke. I am a Leafs fan, if only for one day, in hopes that whatever the outcome on the ice, Brian and his family can have even the smallest moment of respite from a virtual sea of sorrow. I have to go hug my son now. Go Leafs Go.