In a few days, I will miss my first Montreal Canadiens game in over 13 years. And the reason for this absence couldn’t be better. You see, I work alongside an announcer who will be hosted by the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Indeed, Pierre Houde will officially receive the Foster Hewitt Prize on Monday in Toronto, awarded annually by the broadcasters’ association to a single member of an NHL game description team, radio or television, for his remarkable contribution to his profession and in sport during his career. He will become only the fourth French speaker to be awarded this honor after René Lecavalier (1984), Richard Garneau (1999) and Gilles Tremblay (2002).
The ultimate professional
Pierre is a workaholic. You see it in hockey, at Formula 1, at the Antichambre. He is there during special broadcasts, he is called upon by the variety shows of other networks. But it’s not that charge I’m talking about, I’m talking about the one he’s carrying out right now, less than a foot from me, to my right, on board the plane that’s taking us to Newark in the company of Canadians. This research work which does not receive any advertising where it validates, verifies and collates all the information and statistics which will allow it to greet you and wish you a good evening at RDS in complete peace around 7:08 p.m. Thursday evening.
He does it systematically, every flight for 3500 matches. Well, okay, there are home games, but often, he prepares them in the middle of the night on the same plane taking us back to Montreal. He is so immersed in this work that he does not even suspect that I am writing this text to highlight and salute his contribution to our sport, to our Quebec society. And make no mistake, whether it’s a match between Davos and Vitkovice at the Spengler Cup at 6 AM or the decisive game for the Habs’ season, the preparation is always up to par. He described winning goals at the Olympic Games, at the World Championships, for the Stanley Cup. He even described a match in English!
Behind the scenes
If he doesn’t fear effort, it’s because Pierre is passionate. Of several things. Communication first, TV of course, it’s his job and he loves it. He never hesitated to offer me his knowledge to help me master the “container” when I started at the Sports Network, an antenna about which he is just as passionate. He is passionate about sport of course: hockey, F1, football and “his” Green Bay Packers, it’s not funny, you shouldn’t even tell him the score if he can’t watch the weekly match live which he will catch up with later. What a “Cheese Head”!
He likes to talk about aviation, weather phenomena, about Michelle, his daughter, his pride. But all these years together have passed with respect, because he knows that we sometimes need our spaces to work separately, like at the moment, or just to unwind with a game of Wordscapes or patience. , his favorites.
Pierre has become much more than a colleague over the seasons; it is rare that we do not have dinner together abroad the day before a match. And this is where our biggest disagreements arise. Not on politics or religion or on the health or education system. We are polar opposites when it comes to choosing the red wine that will accompany our meal. Pierre likes wines that have body, that are full-bodied, an opaque red, you have to see him wring his hand at wrist height to explain everything to the waiter. I prefer Burgundy, Barolo, finesse and a beautiful almost translucent color. We often find common ground before trying to convince the other for the next time. Beautiful duo.
What I appreciate most about my “partner” is that although he takes his work and his responsibilities very seriously, he does not take himself seriously. It is obvious that I did not discover this facet from the first day. I was initially too overwhelmed stringing together words in perfect, even robotic grammar to realize with his help that we are here to accompany you in your winter evenings between dinner, homework, children and friends. I was also too impressed, almost intimidated, by the larger-than-life man, “THE” voice of Canadians and hockey, the national “And the BUUUUUUT”. But his self-deprecation is easy to trigger, it’s a matter of detecting the right moment, the right tone and that’s it. He is a good audience too, loving to laugh at the most trivial comments even when I remind him for the umpteenth time that I consider squash to be common hot, overcooked cucumbers on the plate.
The time had come
Several texts will be published on Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick, David Poile and other inductees during this weekend of celebrations, and with good reason. But as I am accompanying for a 14th season the one who has been intruding into your cottages since the very beginnings of RDS in 1989 several times a week, live without script, without screenplay, often without filter, I thought it would be relevant to share with you, but also for him, these little dear moments with a partner of true “RENAMED”.
Enjoy it partner!
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