Ottawa is usually a very sleepy little bureaucratic town, with an inept city council and the shadow of the Parliament Buildings hanging over us at all times. But, for the last couple of weeks, Ottawa was a different place.
The city woke up in a way I’ve never seen. Hockey fans took over major streets, and an entire city that is usually very far from a community was united by one thing – the Stanley Cup. For once, we looked like a top-tier city… one running over with civic pride.
No, we didn’t win, but something good did come out of the experience, I hope. The Senators have a very interesting history, and like everything that is Ottawa, had to cut through a lot of red tape and indifference to get the team here in the first place.
I’ve had the good fortune of being taught by and working with Bruce Firestone, who was the man responsible for bringing the team to Ottawa. Today, the Ottawa Citizen published a piece by Dr. Firestone himself, telling the story of how the team got to be where it is today.
It’s definitely worth reading, whether you call Ottawa your hometown or not, because it’s a pretty good example of how a singular devotion to improving a community can reap great rewards. Even though this all took place years before the internet really took off, I think there might be some lessons for social media in that.
