WRITTEN BY- Robertson Davies’ Beard
Earlier this week, we learned that Ian Mendes, sometimes referred to as a “national treasure,” is leaving TSN.
This means that one of the longest personal relationships of my life is about to dramatically change. Now, the fact that it has been entirely one-sided over the last 8 years is besides the point. My relationship status is about to change, and I need to unburden myself about it.
Like most readers and participants on the SensChirp platform, I have had my share of sports heroes. Ricky Vaive, Wendel Clark, Marian Hossa, Chris Neil, Mark Borowiecki, and Buck Shelford all fill that bill.
Oh, and Ian Mendes.
You may be asking yourself what is Mendes doing on a list with Leafs and Sens greats and Buck Shelford – possibly the most brazenly manly rugby player of all time? For me, at least, it comes down to the fact that the type of people that we admire changes as we grow and as our interests evolve in life. Sometimes, as with star players like Hossa, our heroes excel in full view of everyone for a short time. Other times, as with Buck Shelford…well… you better google his most incredible feat on your own.
Pissing In My Ears
And what of Mendes? This guy and his oddly comforting voice have been a constant in my ears and in my day-to-day life for the better part of a decade. Sometimes, delivering the straight goods about a player or the team failing, and sometimes pissing in my ears (fairly, mind you) about something stupid the owner had done or threatened to do. Even before the outset of his early days with Shawn “Simmer” Simpson, Mendes has always played the straight man on TSN. In fact, we have probably needed his voice there a lot more than we ever realized.
A professional journalist, Mendes fought the good fight for his profession on a sports talk station. Now, it goes without saying that he is not the only guy on TSN willing to ask tough questions but he was always asking the toughest ones. That’s because as often as not, he laid out positions which annoyed and antagonized the hell out of the owner. Speaking truth to power sounds great in principle but it’s tough to do when the livelihood of you and everyone else at your radio station relies on the existence of your local NHL team for a pay cheque.
For years, and like many SensChirp fans, I have listened to TSN 1200 all day long. That is literally thousands and thousands of hours. It’s fair to say I’m invested in the both the Sens and in TSN.
Google, Facebook and SensChirp MegaCorp
And throughout his time at TSN, Mendes has remained a true professional on the air. He did a fine job engaging with the team and bringing the stories that mattered to Sens fans. And his efforts to bring in outside voices, including those from the Sens blogosphere, have provided a unique opportunity to many people producing content about this team.
Meanwhile, over the past few years, Mendes has seemed to grow much more confident. Assertive, even. No doubt his voice has become more important. He is not just a leading sports media voice in Ottawa. He has also become a leading voice for journalism in this town. This at a time when newsroom budgets have been slashed and media companies not named Google, Facebook (or SensChirp MegaCorp LLC) are struggling to survive. Not a bad trick for a guy from the town sports talk radio station.
Wendel Clark = Ian Mendes?
So how did he find his voice?
I think a lot of it is owed to a solid moral compass – and perhaps an understanding boss in TSN’s John Rodenburg. And, without blowing too much sunshine up Bell’s ass, I am inclined to think that some of his success and accompanying fandom has come as a result of Bell’s annual Let’s Talk Day. Those days always seemed to show Mendes at his long-form best. Gently pulling stories out of people and finding a way to not only share some of the toughest stories out there and helping to normalize that type of storytelling has been one of his gifts to hockey fans. Importantly, the impact of those events always seems to extend well beyond the single day.
Whether discussing hockey games, trades, drafts or NHL scandals, platforms like TSN, SensChirp and The Athletic (where Mendes will ply his craft) and people like Chirp and Mendes who give voice to them are essential. On very rare occasions they might even seem heroic. Well, at least equally as much as Wendel Clark did when I was a kid. And like BoroCop does today. Man, I love that guy.
So, here’s to Ian Mendes who has told it like it is so many times and filled the air with so many interesting stories and so many interesting people over the years.
Thank you, Ian, for inspiring others to follow in your footsteps.
Like all regular readers here, I look forward to adding Mendes on The Athletic to my regular SensChirp subscription account.
