Mr. Smith isn't going to Washington, but he likes Obama

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Barry Smith, the head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, is a hockey lifer, which means he’a all hockey all the time.
Which also means he often doesn’t have time for politics.
However, the last few weeks, and especially this week, have been different.
Smith, who was born in Stambaugh, Mich., admits that he is excited about today’s events in Washington, D.C., where Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the first black president in the history of the United States of America.
“To me, it isn’t that big of an issue,” Smith said Monday of Obama becoming the first black president. “I never look at black or white . . . if someone is a (jerk) they’re a jerk.”
Smith, 47, is more concerned about having someone in office who can get his country turned around and headed in the right direction, especially in what are tough economic times.
While he has become an Obama fan over time, Smith admitted he wasn’t sure at first whether Obama was the guy.
“I went back and forth on Obama but I see the excitement around him and the more I see him the more I think he’s going to be great. I really do,” Smith said. “America had to change a little bit. He’s fresh . . . he’s younger, he’s got younger ideas . . . he’s more open to ideas. And I think that’s going to be great. I think it’s going to get the economy going just because he is there.
“The more I see him and what he does I think he’s going to be all right. I really do . . . I hope so. I like where it’s going. I’m excited about it. I wasn’t . . . but as time goes on and I delve into it and do a little bit more research I think he’s going to be good.
“I think so far he has made all the right decisions and I think he’s a guy who hasn’t said he has all the answers but I think he’s going to try to find them.”
There is one other thing about Obama that does have Smith excited.
“The one thing I like about it is that we can’t use the racial card for everything that goes wrong now,” he said. “There still is racism without a doubt and at all levels — black, white, Mexican — and I don’t think it ever goes away. But I don’t think that’s going to be able to be used to put the blame. . . everything doesn’t have to fall back on racism now.”
While he said he isn’t surprised that a black man is president-elect, Smith said he didn’t expect it to happen as quickly as it has.
“You would think you wold see a progression . . . a woman . . . something off the beaten track,” Smith said. “I thought it would take a couple of times where people had some success, didn’t quite get there and then it would happen.”
But now that it has happened, Smith feels that having Obama in charge means the rest of the world will look upon the U.S. a bit differently.
“It’s always hard to hear that about America. It’s a great country,” he said. “Some of it is a little bit of jealousy. But it’s a great country, like Canada is a great country.”
Before signing a three-year contract with the Blazers last summer, Smith had spent six seasons on the coaching staff of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. So he is hardly a stranger to Canada.
“I love it up here,” Smith stated. “I’ve been here so long that I don’t find it any hardship or anything like that. I do get pretty passionate about it and I have to defend everything that happens in the U.S. sometimes and half the time I don’t know about it.”
Then, with a chuckle, he added: “You feel like, ‘Oh my gawd, I’m defending stuff everytime something goes wrong.’ ”
At the same time, there is this one thing he has noticed.
“The thing I despise the most about Canada and U.S. relations is that we seem to bitch and piss and moan at each other far too much. We should be working together. It’s amazing . . . we should be working together.”
And, yes, he hears about his nationality late every year when the World Junior Championship is being played.
“Oh yeah . . . I never hear the end of it,” he said.
JUST NOTES: The Blazers, having won five of their last six road games, had Monday off and will practice today before leaving Wednesday morning for Kent, Wash., where they will play the Seattle Thunderbirds that night. Kamloops will leave for Vancouver right after the game. The Blazers are to meet the Giants there on Friday before returning home to face the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday night. . . . F Scott Wasden will be eligible to return to the Blazers’ lineup on Wednesday. His suspension for a kneeing major he took Friday was set at two games Monday and he already has sat out two games.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca