IF3 Ovation for McConkey

An eerie and very strong shiver ran up my spine as I physically reacted to the start of 'Bro Hymn', by Pennywise, at the Imperial Theater in Montreal this weekend. The song blared out during the curtains segment, of the final movie of the three day, IF3 film festival. This final segment was fittingly reserved for fallen comrade Shane McConkey, in the new MSP movie "In Deep."   While I feel that 'In Deep' as a movie, had great shots but lacked cohesion, the biggest adjustment that I would have wished for was to the end of Shane's segment. The segment was sick and conjured up emotion big time, but it felt like a missed opportunity as the credit roll started right away after and interrupted the crowd's reaction of standing, hollering, clapping and cheering.
IF3 2009 Imperial Theater
Who am I to talk about what MSP should and shouldn't have done, especially for one of their best friend's final segment? Maybe it was an artistic statement. I've learned first hand, how much blood sweat and tears goes into making a movie and I try to appreciate the subtleties involved. All I know however, is that if only they had faded to black and left some silence after the segment ended, or maybe a just a picture and silence up for at least 25 seconds that full and resounding standing ovation would have occurred. As it happens there still was a standing ovation, which is something I have never experienced at a ski movie, or any movie if I think about it. But it wasn't quite as full as it could have been. When I think about a wave of standing ovations occurring in all the theaters, bars, and community centers as 'In Deep' finishes, it feels like a fitting tribute the 'most influential skier ever.' It almost would be an event that you would remember for years to come.

Oh well, it so hard to get things perfect these days and everyone's a critic. The last thing I want to do is bring negativity to a ski blog.

A day later I found myself at an industry gathering by the Origin designs group about marketing and skiing. I love these events because I get a great deal out of them. There were deep thoughts being passed around by smart minds about some of the problems of our industry, like how do we get more people into skiing and what role should athletes play as ambassadors of our sport. There was healthy discussion and cerebral debate but nagging in the back of my head was a thought about what Shane McConkey would do if he was in that meeting. I suspect at the moment of deepest thought he would have broken the moment with a funny injection and reminded us all that skiing is first and foremost about fun.