I have officially appointed P.K. Subban the (un)official representative for all black Canadians.
Not just black hockey players, or athletes, or men, but all blacks irrespective of race, class or gender.
No disrespect to Lincoln Alexander, Viola Desmond, Dudley Laws and the many black Canadian pioneers that have and continue to make vital contributions to Canadian society, but Subban has the potential to be the most important and influential black in Canadian history.
Ever.
Period.
And to boot, he can do it during Black History Month.
You're probably wondering if Subban twilights as a mad scientist on the brink of discovering a way to eliminate winter, all the while Canadians across the country can still enjoy a nice February evening playing shinny on a frozen pond.
Or you're probably wondering if Subban has secretly solved the crisis of world hunger. You know, something that can change the lives of billions of people in the world.
No, he's doing something that's even more important (to Canadians at least):
He can be the man that scores the winning goal to make Canada win the gold medal in men's hockey at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
At the Olympics, Subban has the (very real) potential of being the next Paul Henderson from 1972, Sidney Crosby from 2010, and a whole lot less like black (Jamaican-Canadian) Ben Johnson from 1988.
In recent Canadian sporting memory, both Donovan Bailey and Perdita Felicien captured the hearts of Canadians with their performances on the international stage.
The problem was, and is, that they did it in a sport that Canadians only care about for two weeks every four years, historically dominated by blacks and tainted by drug scandals.
Canadians are still trying to get over how black (Jamaican-Canadian) Johnson broke their hearts and their international image of peaceful integrity, in 1988.
Subban can remove those scars and change how everyday Canadians see, and treat, black people.
Hockey in this country is a religion. If Subban can do what Crosby did in Vancouver, he will rise to the status of a black Canadian demi-god. The most popular baby name in 2014 in this country will either be Pernell or Karl. For boys and girls.
More importantly, his recognition as an eternal Canadian hero will force mainstream Canadian society to re-evaluate how much black people can contribute, and have contributed, to this country's national identity.
Blacks will no longer be on the margins. And I, for one, would like to thank Subban for working hard to get to a place that can make more change than any black academic or activist could.
Pernell Karl Subban, we're right behind you.
