By Dave Mader

For me, the VASHL functions as an enduring oasis of acceptance and alternative family. I have made lifelong friends and fulfilled dreams through this group of amazing, talented people. My only regret about this whole experience is that I wasn’t part of it sooner. But I’m absolutely glad that I am now and I wanted to use this blogging platform to tell my story on how I got here.

I am, and will always be, a huge fan of Kevin Smith. The movies are what made him famous but it’s his message that I’ve always really dug. My career is in marketing and I promote the philosophy to my clients that people don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it. What you do merely serves to prove why you do it. Essentially meaning that people will believe in you IF you believe in yourself first.

And that’s how I feel about Kevin. His movies are among my all-time favourites but they merely serve as vehicle to get his particular message across. What he liked and what spoke to him was very much the same for me. A few of those things included Degrassi, comic books and hockey but those were merely the tangible items. The morality tales themed around friendship and love is what has really made an impact and stuck with me.

Kevin (and his subject matter) has been described as having a filthy mind with a heart of gold. Like many other great figures, I think that he attracts a certain type of follower. In this case, someone who understands that a little dirty joke is inconsequential to standing up for ideals like friendship and equality. Why do you need to be vulgar to get that across? Well, it’s less fucking fun and not nearly as entertaining.

Since I was thirteen, I’ve been hooked on Kevin’s material. This included everything from movies, DVD interviews, comic books and more.  It started with Chasing Amy and Mallrats in
one night in Montreal when we rented them on VHS. To this day, most of my family has no clue who Kevin really is and when I try to explain it, I get a lot of glazed over looks –
particularly from my Dad. Then Kevin and Scott Mosier started SModcast and it was a game changer. After listening to hundreds of hours of hilarious content I realized this felt like the longest one-way conversation of my life. None of my friends listened to the show and I’m someone who really thrives on discussing content of my favourite things with people. How can I explain a joke about Malcolm Ingram if nobody I know even knows who he is? It was definitely a hole in my heart that I wanted to fill. I had signed up for Kevin’s online message board but found it difficult to assimilate with the crew so I didn’t stick with it.

In early 2009, I got laid off from my job and (to say the least), I was devastated. Luckily, I had received tickets to Kevin’s show at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto for Christmas. It was the first time I had ever seen him in the flesh. As he spoke, it quickly became clear that he was going through his own battle with depression. His recent film, Zack & Miri Make a Porno, had underperformed at the box office and it had really bummed him out. I loved the movie but couldn’t say that I was surprised with the results as I was literally the only person my theatre on opening night. Kevin began to speak about dealing with the blues, finding marijuana and embracing Wayne Gretzky and hockey. As a lifelong Calgary Flames fan, it’s hard to get excited about anything to do with the Oilers but as he spoke at Roy Thompson Hall that night, he described how he was coping with his problems. In a weird way, he helped me through mine – at least a bit. A few weeks later, I was lucky enough to see him do another Q&A at the Bloor Cinema after screenings of Dogma and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. He spoke to a lot of the same things that he did before but in a much more personal way. All of this had a profound effect on me.

Everything what Kevin had shared with us in Toronto eventually came up on SModcast. Then he dropped the news that he would be playing in the Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament in Brantford, Ontario – a place that is only a mere half hour from my home. I was thrilled by the idea of being part of it. Actually getting to play in a ball hockey game against one of my heroes? The
problem was, I had no idea where to start. Kevin mentioned recruiting message board members to some of the teams. I knew I wanted to play. In the meantime, I had found a new job where I was too busy to work out the logistics of getting there that week. If I could go back in time, I would have just forgotten work and gone by myself. I let that June weekend slip away but I swore that I’d find a way to participate in some way.

By the following year, Kevin had spoken at length about the incredible time he had at the 2009 tournament. He began his quest to break the Guinness record of most teams at tournament and I knew I couldn’t let anything get in my way. So I reached out to a faceless Twitter universe with a plea to find a team for the tournament. I found two people, Angela Robson and Gillian
Frederick. Together the three of us would form the team known as The Laffs. I recruited Steve Vasey and my brother, Jeff Mader. A few weeks later I got the opportunity to meet a crew of VASHL members for the first time at an outdoor practice. We didn’t compete in the VASHL division that year but I did get the chance to meet even more great VASHL people in Brantford during that weekend. I particularly remember a Saturday evening on Gavin’s balcony nearly passing out from all of the fun just to turn around and play our next hockey game. Kevin was also there, of course, and I wanted to continue to pursue the dream of playing a street hockey game with him.

A year later, I somehow managed to convince some of folks at the VASHL to take me and some of my friends into the league. I’ll always be
grateful to people like Darryl Clarke for making that happen. It was this year that I first met two of my best friends, Jim Edelston and Gerry McRae – who along with Jeff now consist of the leadership among our team. When it came time to finally play in my first tournament, to say that I was excited would be a monumental understatement. I felt incredibly proud to be donning the Red State Raiders jersey. I had finally made it to the league, at least formally, and after a two year journey I was there. I had been around other Kevin Smith fans at Q&A events and even the first time I attended the Brantford tournament. I think I found what I had been looking for since I was thirteen – a group of amazing and equally obsessed super-fans who thought very much as I did. It was in this community that I found a family where I was truly accepted and embraced – and that’s how I feel about the entire group.

I make no secret of the fact that I’m a competitive guy. That’s saying something considering I’m not much of a hockey player. It’s the way my brothers and I were raised. You go out and you do your absolute best no matter what the results are. I really relate with the character of Buddy in the song Hit Somebody – a guy who loves hockey but totally sucks at it. That’s one of the enduring thoughts that keeps me motivated each time I hit courts in the VASHL. I intend to bring my usual brand of intensity back this year. Losing in last year’s final was a bummer. Even so, I was and still am really happy for all members of that Leonardo Reapers team who did win. They sure earned it.

This will be the first time that I’ll be leading the Mallrats solo – without my mentor, Darryl Clarke. In fact, this will be the first year we’re actually going by the Eden Prairie Mallrats name. I thought it was fitting of our group and important to make sure that our team has an identity that speaks to Kevin Smith and how he brought us together in this View Askew Street Hockey League. I’m excited to lead this team to a championship.

More than that, I’m really excited to see all of you. What I was looking for all along wasn’t Kevin himself, but rather other like-minded people who subscribe to his philosophy as I do. I think that rings true for all of us who come back every year despite the celebrity factor now being absent.

People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it. What do you do merely serves to prove why you do it. With you good folks, I certainly know why I’m hooked. You’re all that I wanted all along.

Anyway, that’s enough strange metaphors for now. See you fuckers in a week!

Go Mallrats!