Don Cherry, 91, signs off from Grapevine podcast for final time?
The podcast had 6.5 million downloads over its run
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“Thanks everybody for listening and toodaloo.”
With those six words, one of the most famous, combative and, yes, popular Canadian sportscasters signed off for what sure sounded like the final time.
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Don Cherry, 91, signs off from Grapevine podcast for final time? Back to video
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A frail-sounding Don Cherry, the now 91-year-old long-time icon of Hockey Night In Canada icon, ended the final episode of Don Cherry’s Grapevine Podcast, which dropped this week.
The show, done with his son Tim, included 313 episodes, giving Grapes a forum since he was bounced from Hockey Night back in 2019 after comments in which he used “you people” in talking about newcomers to the country marking Remembrance Day.
The podcast, which Tim Cherry noted had 6.5 million downloads over its run, was an opportunity for Grapes to stay in touch with the hockey world and for his loyal fan base to get a regular fix.
During the final episode, which lasted just 15 minutes, Tim asked his father questions submitted by listeners before the quick Grapes sign off.
“We’ve been listened to all around the world,” Tim Cherry said, in the closing minute. “It’s just amazing how many different countries people download and listen to it.”
Though nowhere near as verbose as he was in his heyday, Grapes weighed in on some topics presented to him by his son.
On the Panthers winning the Stanley Cup final: “They were the better team. But there’s no way I was going to go against Edmonton.”
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On the Leafs being seen as the second-best team because they took the Panthers seven games: “You have to if they went seven games. But it looked awful that seventh game.”
On whether Brad Marchand should have won the Conn Smythe trophy as the post-season MVP: “I thought Marchand was pretty good. They should have given it to both of them. Marchand should have won it.”
Though Cherry had his detractors, many would say that Hockey Night In Canada has never been the same since his departure, a broadcast that has lacked a strong identity through a number of personnel changes.
The other side of the debate, of course, is that it was time for Cherry to go and the controversial comment was the final straw for the Rogers executives who sent him packing.
Though the podcast had its followers, obviously it had nowhere near the impact of Cherry’s words delivered from the Hockey Night In Canada pulpit, must-see viewing for hockey fans every Saturday night for decades.
It’s undeniable, then, that the fact Cherry will no longer utilize a forum for his thoughts on the hockey world will mark the end of one of the longest and most successful runs in Canadian sports broadcasting.
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