Red sea expected to flow into JLC

By DEBORA VAN BRENK, FREE PRESS REPORTER
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Blanket the seats with scarlet and wrap the house in red.
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That’s what London Knights fans are being urged to do tomorrow as the hockey team expects a 9,090-strong show of support for Canada’s military.
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The Knights will wear red jerseys for their pre-game warmup at the John Labatt Centre, said marketing director Stefanie Turnbull.
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After the game, players will sign the sweaters and place them on the team website for auction to fans.
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“All the money will go to the (London) Military Family Resource Centre,” Turnbull said.
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Knights fans have become used to wearing team green to support the Knights and Turnbull is confident they’ll be as enthusiastic to wear Canadian red tomorrow.
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The sea of red will be captured on video and included in a video to be sent to Canadian troops in Afghanistan in time for Christmas.
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“It’s going to be amazing,” said Sheila Lupson, executive director of the resource centre, located at Wolseley Barracks.
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The game will be full of tributes to troops and their families, including:
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– An original song, Very Proud of You, to be sung by Lori Holden.
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– A military colour guard as Westfield public school pupils sing O Canada.
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– The ceremonial dropping of the puck by Capt. Glenn Counsell who, with 43 years of service, is Canada’s longest active serviceman; and Sarah Reynolds and her infant son Benjamin, whose husband and father Matt Reynolds first urged the city to wear red on Fridays.
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Three two-minute videos of the troops to be shown before the game and during intermissions. Included will be clips of poppies interspersed with photos of the 43 Canadian casualties in Afghanistan.
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The videos encourage fans to go to their local cenotaphs on Remembrance Day, said Lupson.
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Tomorrow’s event is important also for military families, who will fill 250 seats.
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“The families get a little catch in their throats when they see the community supporting them and they’re fiercely proud of their loved ones,” Lupson said.
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Turnbull knows Londoners have been looking for a way to pay tribute.
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“We wanted to do it right,” she said. “We wanted everybody to get it and feel it.”
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Planning for the event began in September, before last month’s death in Afghanistan of Trooper Mark Wilson of London.
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Wilson’s family has been invited to the game.
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The resource centre will sell yellow ribbons and Support Our Troops mementoes at the game, which starts at 7 p.m.
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Turnbull said the team will also hold its traditional Remembrance Day tribute to war veterans at the Nov. 10 game and veterans from Parkwood Hospital will attend.
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