“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. I felt fear myself more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Nelson Mandela from “Long Walk to Freedom” (1994)
During last night’s Carolina Hurricanes game, the broadcast lineup had a very noticeable change with Shane Willis doing the colour commentary in the booth with Mike Maniscalco.
A little digging on Twitter came across a tweet from Sara Civian which was a reaction to a pair of deleted tweets in which colour analyst Tripp Tracy (a *HUGE CANIAC*) had admitted to having a problem with alcohol prior to broadcast.
The first thought more than a few of us had was that Tripp’s account had gotten hacked by some nefarious person. God knows it happens often enough in this day and age.
Truth be told, if you’d asked me if Tripp had any unhealthy obsessions, I’d have pointed out his more than passing familiarity with the Taco Bell drive-through which he’d probably save boucoup buck$ buying his own franchised outlet and eating some of the profits! 😉
I wouldn’t have guessed alcohol being a problem for him.
Not in a million years.
After all, Tripp has grown from this awkward goalie turned into John Forslund’s broadcast partner into the very amusing goofball more than a few of us have come to love over the past 24 years on the broadcast.
But it was hard reconciling hacking with those deleted tweets and absence from the broadcast knowing how much Tripp loves the Hurricanes and hockey.
What follows is my open letter to Tripp…
First and foremost, I want to commend you for realising and accepting that you have a problem.
That is by far the hardest step of them all and one many people with that addiction never choose to take.
Rather than feeling disgusted with yourself, you should take heart from the fact that admitting that you do have a weakness with alcohol and then having the courage to share that publicly is bravery beyond belief.
The most important thing is knowing that you’re in a safe place and able to get the help and support you need to regain your sense of balance and hopefully kick the addiction for good.
This franchise already has one memorial award as a result of alcohol combined with driving and we for darned sure don’t need another one with your name on it. I have no doubt that wherever Steve Chiasson is, he would not want that for anyone else.
I had just gotten back from attending game 4 of the 1999 quarterfinals in Boston and then there was the brutal double-overtime loss at home followed by the shutout in Boston that finished off that series.
I remember seeing the news flash the next morning following Carolina’s elimination and stunned just didn’t do justice to the brutal feeling of knowing that someone who had skated 28 minutes of grueling defence the night before was suddenly gone. My stepfather was a trauma junkie (a nurse who worked ER in Fayetteville) and I’d been with him at enough MVAs to suspect what the investigation would later determine was death by DUI.
I know things must be chaotic as hell right now but it is my sincere hope that Bally and the Hurricanes will give you all the time and support you need to get back on your feet when the time is right for you.
Take that time and do what you need to do.
Just like someone who is recovering from what we always thought was your favourite injury to comment upon through the years (and what body part it looked like Antti Raanta tweaked when he came out of that game recently!), getting back to sobriety is something that you can’t rush just like you can’t really rush mending the groin.
Not if you want it to be something that lasts for the rest of your life!
I’ve had friends who I never would have suspected of drinking to excess do what you’re going through now and look at that long path to recovery and wonder if they’ll make it to the end intact.
Those friends celebrate every year they remain sober as an additional anniversary of their rebirth and have celebrated many of them along the way.
I’ve had relatives that I loved who were functional alcoholics.
My stepfather’s father (who I always called Uncle Walter because step-grandparent was just too much for a four year-old!) would visit the NCO Club on Fort Bragg for more than a few beers with his friends and his next door neighbour at the end of his working shift.
Then he’d somehow manage to navigate his vehicle from the NCO Club to his house off-post successfully…most of the time. He got nicked for DUI a couple of times but the vast majority of those trips made it to his driveway likely due to muscle memory and divine intervention more than actual consciousness of what he was doing.
His driving was harrowing at best when he was sober and everyone fought to be in the back seat (I usually lost!). I can only imagine how much worse it was when he was three sheets to the wind and behind the wheel.
And once home was when the drinking would continue…he’d park himself in the recliner in the living room with Mr Pete (the aforementioned friend) and one of my jobs was to navigate through the nicotine fog and keep bringing the Budweisers from under the kitchen counter until they were done for the night and Mr Pete would stagger next door to his house.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
After he retired and had a few health scares and a very stern lecture from his cardiologist, Uncle Walter finally gave up both smoking and drinking cold turkey and stayed that way for the couple of decades he remained alive.
It was unbelievable the 180 his personality did once he was sober for good.
I tell you these stories because I’m under no illusions that your journey will be quick and easy. It never is for anyone fighting alcohol to sobriety.
What’s important right now is that you know what needs to be done for you to be successful and I have no doubt in my mind that you will be successful.
The key will be finding yourself again and being that guy once more.
I remember your first couple of years in the booth with John Forslund.
I’m sure you do as well.
The best way I can describe what it seemed like is that you were going out of your way to this larger-than-life character that really wasn’t who you are at heart. And not only was it was painful…and painfully obvious…I can’t imagine you were having a whole lot of fun.
I don’t remember exactly when it happened but all of a sudden it was as if a switch had flipped and there was this colour analyst who would end up being a critical part of a broadcasting tandem that was judged to be one of the best in the business.
I might not agree with every take you had and if I’m honest I get scared whenever you’d say that a review for the War Room was a “no doubt about ‘er” because that was the harbinger of the Canes getting screwed but there was no denying that when you’re on your game…you’re one of the most prepared and knowledgeable colour analysts in the game and your takes generally come from a place of sincerity and thoughtfulness.
And that’s not even talking about your impact in the community whether it was getting shorn for St Baldrick’s or digging in and calling out special Caniacs in the broadcasts.
I suspect that if you apply that same sincerity and thoughtfulness to the journey ahead of you, I think you’ll find yourself in a good place sooner than later.
One thing that should help is that you’ve got a mighty army of people who want to see that wonderful guy who really grew on us over these many years back in the booth with the Big Rig when the time is right.
And perhaps once you are back on solid ground, your experience may serve to help others who also struggle with the bottle or other substances find their way to a better future.
Taking this negative and turning it into a positive should be more than enough motivation, eh?
All our thoughts are with you and best wishes for your success and return to the microphone when you’re ready. 🙂