The coach was so happy to see so many people still in his corner on his birthday.
He said he didn’t expect anybody to even remember.
“I was surprised with all the messages and cards I got,” said the legendary Don Cherry. “I got a stack of them and I appreciate it so much.”
Wednesday marked Cherry’s 91st birthday, and many friends dropped by or sent social media messages to wish him well and even sing Happy Birthday. He turned to X to return the favour.
“Want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes,” he tweeted in front of a birthday cake. “Thumbs Up!”
From Bobby Orr to his old Coach’s Corner sidekick Ron MacLean, the birthday wishes came in by the truck load.
“It’s hard to believe I made it to 91, but I feel pretty good.”
And he looks and sounds great, too – as you can see in the little Cherry’s Corner video that Toronto Sun photographer Ernest Doroszuk and I did with him.
“I’m not as sharp as I used to be,” he joked.
But Grapes is as sharp as he always was. We threw some zinger questions at him, too.
Starting with what he thought of hockey fans in Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver — and basketball fans at a recent Raptors game in Toronto — booing the American national anthem?
While it’s not something he ever did, he said, it was freedom in action.
“I could see why they boo, tariffs and all that stuff,” said Grapes. “I could see why they booed. ”
I admit I was surprised by his answer.
I thought he would admonish it. I took the position that it was wrong for fans to do that, but Cherry’s thinking was more nuanced. That is why he is who he is. You never know what he is going to say, but you do know he will not hold back on what he thinks, no matter who’s offended by his opinions.
In this case, Grapes defended the booing fans for expressing their right to express how they felt. It was something, he said, people needed to get off their chest. That said, he doesn’t think it’s something that will happen at the Four Nations Face Off, starting Saturday, or become a trend.
“I don’t know if they will keep it up, though,” he said.
Recommended video
But even with American players on the ice or floor, Grapes explained fans were not disrespecting them, the U.S. or the Star Spangled Banner.
“I think that was just showing disrespect towards the tariffs that are coming within a month,” he said.
Cherry said while he supports President Donald Trump and feels “he’s doing a good job,” he admitted, like the fans who were expressing themselves at the games, he didn’t much like the 47th president’s talk about making Canada America’s 51st state.
“It kind of ticked me off a little bit, I have to admit that — the 51st state and all that,” said Cherry. “I think it did tick me off a little.”
Having played and coached professional hockey in the United States for decades, Cherry said he has always loved America, and always will.
But as a separate country.
“Like most Canadians, it’s Canada all the way,” he said. “I am a Canuck, through and through.”
And although he didn’t like what Trump said, “I still think he was just kidding and just trying to bug people.”
Cherry, once voted Canada’s seventh-greatest Canadian, has done that a few times over the air waves himself.
When it comes to the Ontario election, Cherry said he’s still solidly behind Premier Doug Ford, who is a long time friend from before Doug was even in elected office.
“I have always liked Doug,” he said of the PC Party election sign in front of his house.
Nothing against the other candidates, he said. “I just don’t know them.”
As for the upcoming best-on-best hockey tournament, he said, while all the teams are great, the coach — who led Canada behind the bench in the 1981 World Championships and was part of the 1976 Canada Cup — believes Connor McDavid and the rest of the Canadian team will prevail.
He will have more to say on that when he records his Don Cherry Grapevine podcast with his son, Tim, and grandson, Del, this Sunday.
Millions miss Don on Coach’s Corner on Saturday nights, but the podcast is a great way to keep up with Grapes and his take on things.
“I just keep going,” he said, explaining his philosophy.
Happy birthday, Coach.