I was driving an American colleague to the Halifax International Airport where he was catching a return flight home to Minnesota. I resented having to drive him because I was unable to watch Game 8. But I was able to listen to it on the radio and the more I listened the more nervous I became.

As I approached the airport, Paul Henderson scored the winning goal. Not only did I have trouble controlling the car, but also I immediately got a nosebleed. There I was, one hand on the steering wheel and one pushing Kleenex into my nose. My American colleague gave me a puzzled , slightly bemused look. “it’s a Canadian thing, ” I said proudly.

Jim Prime is the author of several sports books including How Hockey Explains Canada which was co-authored with Paul Henderson.