Tuesday, July 20, 2010

THDNSFH Goes Curmudgeon



See that nice autograph in the picture to the left? I don't have to tell you whose name that is, because you can read it. I can take out my signed photo of Jean Beliveau and show it off to Habs fans and they admire not only the picture of Le Gros Bill with the Cup, but the beautiful, legible signature as well. My kid can look at that and say, "Mom, who's Jean Beliveau?" (okay, my grandkid, because my kids know who Beliveau is...) and I will be able to tell him that's one of the finest men to ever wear a Montreal Canadiens' sweater. Similarly, the names of Yvan Cournoyer, Maurice Richard, Bernie Geoffrion, Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey and Jacques Lemaire will live on in their autographs because they signed with beautiful, legible penmanship a fan can cherish forever.

Then we have the modern player. I don't know if it's because the education system is failing abysmally to provide adequate instruction in cursive writing, or if the players actively try to develop a "signature" that in no way resembles their actual name, but I challenge you to decipher most NHL player's autographs.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't bother me. I'm past the age of waiting for NHL players to sign my scrap of paper outside the rink. (Yes, I admit I do have Tomas Plekanec's autograph, but that's on a game-worn jersey, so it's different. (It is!) Plus, he's one of the few who actually signs a name you can read.) Once though, I was a kid who thought a Canadien's...any Canadien's...signature was a treasure to be carefully folded and tucked away with the most cherished of keepsakes. It was a tangible link between me and my heroes. Mats Naslund actually touched this paper; for one moment we met and he acknowledged that he knew I was out there rooting for him. The autograph is just a reminder to me of that special moment. I came across the little scraps of paper from childhood not long ago, and read the names on them. Naslund, Serge Savard, Gainey, Guy Carbonneau, Bobby Smith...they're all clear and well-defined. Others, like Chris Chelios, Claude Lemieux and Mike McPhee are reasonably understandable. Only two of the whole pile...I'm talking to you, Petr Svoboda and Patrick Roy...are known only unto God and those who cheered for them for years.

Now, of course, autographs are much more than just treasured mementos pasted into a kid's scrapbook for posterity. They're important to charities who sell them to raise money for good causes. They support the businesses of people who collect them en masse and sell them, in turn, to richer collectors who can't or won't ask for them in person. They're even a source of income for the old players who sign them and actually need the money to offset poor pension plans. Yet, it's interesting that the more commercial players' signatures become, the more illegible they become too.

Some of it's understandable. Russian players, for example, grew up with a Cyrillic alphabet, so their names would be difficult for most North Americans to decipher, even if the guy wrote it clearly. Others may just have bad handwriting, be writing at odd angles in a crowd of autograph seekers or be in a big hurry. But it's hard to imagine a modern player who's asked to sign more autographs than Jean Beliveau or Maurice Richard did, and they managed to make theirs meaningful and readable.

The reason this is on my mind is because a while back I came across an advertisement for an auction of "Blackberry Curves, used and autographed by NHL All Stars." The slick little devices were to be sold to raise money for charity, and the signatures of the hockey players were supposed to make them more valuable than the generic one you just pick up anywhere. The thing is, there wasn't one single recognizable name on them. Unless the owner pointed it out and said, "Hey, see my blackberry, autographed by Sheldon Souray?" you'd never have a clue what that scribble is supposed to be. I just don't get how the careless, indecipherable scrawls that pass for autographs today have any value at all, let alone actually add value to an item. And, outside an iconic signature like Alex Ovechkin's, I can't see how some of these players' autographs will evoke memories in the future when the people looking at them have no idea to whom they belonged.

Fans give a lot to make sure the NHL stays afloat and the players are rewarded very handsomely for their efforts. I appreciate that the players give back by offering their time and autographs to the fans. But, if they're doing it anyway, how hard is it to make sure someone can actually read it? I look at my Jean Beliveau signature, and Bob Gainey's and Yvan Cournoyer's, and I'm glad there was a generation of players I'll always remember because if I forget, I can just read their names.

8 comments:

DB said...

So now we know that you're really Andy Rooney.

Jessica and Stephan said...

I'd like to point out that its not the teachers that are the problem with the lack of handwriting...its technology. I say this as a teacher myself. How often are kids writing? Rarely. Only in school for their assignments, and even then not all are written. And those that are are printed not handwritten. They are typing on their computers, and on their phones. Outside of school, they don't write. And even in school, some is still done on paper.

There is the added fact that there is so much jammed into the curriculum, and never enough time to teach it. Sadly, the teachers have to choose to leave some things out, or not spend as much time on it. Its just not humanely possible. Also noted is the fact that many teachers in the elementary grades leave out cursive writing, although I was lucky enough to supply for a teacher who still valued it and did it throughout the year.

In a world that is dependent on technology, the written word isn't used much with this generation. And if it is, its in printing. Even then, the printing is horrible. And unless these kids learn the handwriting young, and keep using it throughout the years, then they lose it or never accomplish it except for the rare occasion they need it.

The kids are technology dependent in every humanely possible way, most don't know how to survive without it.

Anonymous said...

Love all those players past and there autographs a truly treasures. Maybe some day the Habs will have another player worth an autograph and hopefully he will know how to write but for now the point is moot.

Steph said...

I'd like to point out that April I got Bob Gainey's autograph on TWO hats (I was taking part in the Gainey Foundation Hockey Pool, and he was there for the draft).

BOTH hats are illegible signatures, and except for the #23, no one would know it was Gainey. So maybe he's handwritting has gotten worse with age or something...

This does bring me to my next point though. While the modern player does have a terribly illegible signature, they do put their number. That's how you identify them nowadays.

Anonymous said...

I suppose when someone went up to Big Jean and asked politely for an autograph both M. Beliveau and the fan had a moment. That might be somewhat different from people shoving things in your face, demanding an autograph, and then selling it as sports memorabilia. The love of the game vs the love of bucks sort of thing.

Stuart said...

Interesting subject, especially since I collect fountain pens (which improve your handwriting by a lot), and, more importantly, I once asked Beliveau about his autograph. He was here in Edmonton promoting "Jean Beliveau - My Life In Hockey" and I, along with a throng of other Habs fans lined up for most of our lunch hour at Audrey's Books to get his signature. When my turn finally came, I bought two books: one for myself, and the other for a 90-year-old friend named Edith. Her book was to be a Christmas gift and I asked him to inscribe it "To Edith, thanks for all the years of dedication to Les Canadiens" -- but as he was writing, I mentioned to the bookstore owner that it was to be a Christmas gift and Beliveau added the salutation "Merry Christmas '94" on his own. Then I commented on how he wrote such a legible signature and his reply was classic Beliveau in that low, slow voice, "Well, you know, these young guys today they sign so you can't read their autograph and I think if you give someone your autograph, they should be able to read it." Interestingly, Guy Lafleur USED to sign "Guy Lafleur", but now it's just "G Lafleur". I also have the book for myself which was inscribed with a pen Edith had given me that had been her late husband's "Thanks for letting me use your pen."

Hadulf said...

I guess it depends on the mood.

I have a signed Guy Lafleur jersey and he signed it very clearly Guy Lafleur #10. One signature on the top of the "CH" crest and one signature on the top of the zero in the "10" in the back. Both very clear and readable...

Anonymous said...

A few years ago I hung around outside the hotel the Habs were staying in across the street from where the Predators play and got a bunch of autographs. Even with the numbers, I can't identify many of them. Some I will never figure out. The Habs who signed my book in 1968 in St. Louis and the Habs who signed in Atlanta in 1970-something are completely legible.