How the Wheat Kings Inspire Westman

Story Courtesy of the Brandon Sun, written by Tyler Glen

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” — Nelson Mandela

While Brandon is far from “despair,” 2016 did not start out as a great year. The sharp collapse in oil prices, the softening real estate market, the tightening market for jobs and a handful of other bad news stories made for a slow — some might say depressing — start to 2016.

Oilpatch companies once in growth mode started to cut costs, then cut jobs. Add to that a collapse in the Canadian dollar to start the year, and some folks were in trouble.

While some Westman companies saw growth early on thanks to the low dollar — simply because making goods here essentially put them “on sale” — for others, buying American-made equipment or supplies, or importing goods, meant getting hammered, thanks to the strong U.S. greenback.

A handful of popular businesses close. Empty stores stay empty, and WestJet says two flights a day to Calgary are no longer sustainable. They drop to one.

Pork prices return to normal after record highs. Beef also started to come back to earth after a big year in 2015. And to start the year, executives from grocery chains warn of no relief from high food costs thanks to that weak loonie.

And while down the road, Winnipeg spent the first part of the year planning a huge downtown revitalization project, clearing the way for an amazing rebirth of the city’s downtown, the start of the year in Brandon felt a little like the Wheat City was “stuck in a muddy snowbank.”

Now don’t get me wrong — the sky didn’t fall, and we’re not all on the street looking for work and food. But numbers at the food bank and soup kitchen are up. And so was anxiety. From agriculture to oil, the start of the year brought a lot of worry.

And while Westman does as it always does — puts its head down, gets back to work and remembers that it can’t control everything — what was needed was a distraction. What was needed was some “pick-me-up.”

What was needed was to believe again — not just believe in ourselves, but believe in Brandon, believe in Westman. We needed to believe we could win again. To stand and cheer. High-five the strangers next to us, grinning ear to ear. And just cheer.

What else can bring all of Westman together like our Brandon Wheat Kings? What else can make a farmer from Gladstone scream at the top of his lungs next to an oil rigger from Virden? It was not only the right time for the Wheat Kings to help Westman’s mojo by winning, but it was also Westman’s time to leave the trials and tribulations of day to day at the entry way to Westman Place.

And after leaving the baggage of the day at the door, we enter the hallowed hall of hockey, where dozens of NHL players over the decades came to play and came to win.

But much like the start of Westman’s year economically, the start of the playoffs was also bumpy for Brandon. Two losses at home to Edmonton had some feeling like maybe this was just another thing we could add to our growing list of disappointments.

But our Wheat Kings would have none of that. As if to show us all that they, too, can lean into hard work and show they’ve got what it takes to ride a bumpy road, they ousted Edmonton. Then it was Moose Jaw. And now it’s Red Deer.

Will they go further? Could they win it all? Is this really their year? Is the “gold rush” real? Nobody can answer those questions, but rest assured they will be answered eventually.

But what I do know is Nelson Mandela’s words ring true: “Sport has the power to inspire and unite people in a way that little else does.” And the Brandon Wheat Kings are uniting Brandon and Westman like nothing we’ve seen before.

And that’s why I love cheering for the Wheat Kings — “Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” It creates hope for the athletes, the coaches, the office staff, the city, all of Westman, and it creates hope for Wheat King fans from St John’s, N.L., to Victoria, B.C. (Thanks to Facebook, you know they are scattered right across this land.)

Because when things seem dark, and the road seems rough, and we have challenges in front of us, there’s nothing like a local sports team to remind us we’re all on the same team. We all live here. We all want to win. And the Wheat Kings show us that not only can they win, but they inspire us to win, too.

I’m not the world’s biggest hockey fan and have never claimed to be. I would be hard pressed to name more than half a dozen guys on the team without help. But I wear my gold rush shirt with pride, my jersey with pride, and when I scream “Go, Wheat Kings, go!” my heart is screaming “Go, Westman, go!”

Thanks, Wheaties. Thanks for leading the way. And the players know that all of Westman is behind you. Consider us an extra player on the ice.

And wouldn’t you know it? Just as round two began, the housing market started to heat up again, oil prices are starting to come back, the dollar is back to 80 cents from 65 at the start of the year, and we have direct flights to Toronto starting in June.

Are we turning a corner? Only time will tell. But it sure feels good to have a winning team leading the way.