Canucks: Spare a thought for Murph

Breadcrumb Trail Links

The final acts are the hardest. Take Dan Murphy’s efforts for the late John Garrett.

Get the latest from Patrick Johnston straight to your inbox Sign Up

Published May 02, 2026 • 4 minute read

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

Former Vancouver Canucks goaltender and Sportsnet broadcaster John Garrett is honoured by the City of Vancouver on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Pictured are John Shorthouse, Mike Bradley, Garrett and Dan Murphy. Photo by Dan Murphy/SubmittedArticle content

Since we learned of John Garrett’s passing this week I’ve been thinking a lot about the burden his wonderful friend Dan Murphy has had to carry.

Advertisement 2

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.

SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.

THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account

Article content

Without getting into details, just imagine how intense it must be to be the person to make arrangements to get someone sent home, to be the person who has to pack up the suitcase and deliver it back.

Article content

It’s an honour, I suppose; the toughest, most upsetting honour you could have to deal with.

Anyway, Murph is home now. Duties of the moment done, life carrying on, but in the end he’s the guy who had to do that job and boy do I ever feel for him.

It’s the ultimate moment of friendship, truly.

The other thing I’ve been thinking about how everyone responded to the tragic news. There were nothing but fond memories, nothing but kind stories, nothing but laughs.

We should all be so lucky to be remembered this way.

The passion of the fans

The Save the Caps protest outside the Vancouver Convention Centre may not have been big, but it clearly drew notice. The Whitecaps fans who gathered outside the FIFA Congress venue got smiles from the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and a thumbs up from Arsene Wenger.

The idea that such famed football coaches caught wind of the fan movement to stand up for Vancouver’s biggest soccer side definitely caused a least few hearts to swell.

Canucks Report

Thanks for signing up!

Article content

Advertisement 3

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

I spoke with a trio of young men who ventured downtown to speak up for their favourite team: Nehemiah Kusopila, Anthony and Nicolas Hondier. All three are friends from their high school days at École Jules Verne in Vancouver.

They all saw their first Whitecaps games were with their families when they were five or six years old; in other words, they’ve only ever known the Whitecaps at B.C. Place.

These are exactly the kinds of fans Major League Soccer and the Whitecaps want: Second generation fans. Fans who have only known an MLS club.

Anthony Hondier, Nicolas Hondier and Nehemiah Kusopila outside Canada Place following Thursday’s Save the Caps protest near the FIFA Congress. Photo by Patrick Johnston /Postmedia

“Just days with my my father, just going to games, finding ways to get tickets to the games, just cherishing moments together as a father and son, and just growing into that football culture,” is what Kusopila said the Whitecaps mean to him.

“It’s become a routine for us,” he added. He said it was thrilling to know a global star like Thomas Müller would come here, ramping up the passion he and his friends have for the team.

“It’s a different culture when it comes to football, like the pre-game, the walks, the chants,” he said of what has most captured him about being a Whitecaps fan compared to perhaps a Canucks or Lions fan. “It’s something. It’s almost unexplainable.”

Advertisement 4

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

A surreal scene

First there was Gianni Infantino’s bizarre idea to try to make an Israeli-Palestinian handshake happen. Why did he think ever thought Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub, a longtime opponent of Israel, would agree to shake the hand of Israeli Football Association vice-president Basim Sheikh Suliman at Thursday’s FIFA Congress?

In his younger years, he was in and out of Israeli prisons. He played a role in the First Intifada and was exiled to Lebanon. In the 1990s he became a key lieutenant to Yasser Arafat. He’s been a longtime opponent of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; on Thursday he called Netanyahu “a criminal.”

And yet, he still actually had some praise for Infantino’s idea, even if it was on its face a ludicrous one.

“Gianni has the right to try to bridge gaps. He has the right to try to bring people together,” Rajoub said. “But he does not know the deep suffering of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian sport family.”

And he lashed out at Suliman.

“The guy who spoke on behalf of Israel, he did not even pay attention to the suffering, to what’s going on. He is trying to whitewash the ugly face of this Israeli government’s genocide, ethnical cleansing,” he said. “They’re destroying homes. The killing of hundreds of Palestinians for years, I think that is justified in imposing sanctions. It’s now the time to make justice.”

Advertisement 5

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub leaves the Vancouver Convention Centre Thursday, April 30, 2026 for the FIFA Congress. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

But that wasn’t the end of the surreal scene involving Rajoub, who spoke with reporters for more than 30 minutes. As he exited the Vancouver Convention Centre, which had played host to the congress, he was heckled by a group of Iranian protesters. The Iranian group were royalists raising awareness for their cause; Iran was the only FIFA member nation to not be represented at the congress, after at least one member of their delegation was prevented from entering Canada earlier in the week, reportedly for ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which is listed as a terrorist organization in Canada.

As royalists, the group was there to denounce the current leadership of Iran and speak up in favour of a return to power of the country’s former royal family. That makes them opponents of anyone or any group with ties to the current regime, like Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist organization that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007.

The reason for the heckling seemed to be because they thought Rajoub was involved with Hamas, which he decidedly isn’t: He was a longtime member of Fatah, which was for many years the leading secular Palestinian group. Indeed, he had denounced Hamas many times in the past.

It was all just very head-spinning, and, one supposes, fitting to the madness that is FIFA.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

John Garrett: A broadcasting legend and a legendary human

‘He was the best of us’: Fans, colleagues mourn John Garrett’s passing

Article content

Share this article in your social network

Tags: