The York Guardian

So, in lieu of my regular column, here instead is a tape of the runaway winner for the year's No. 1 ad in Canadian Sportsdom.

TSN ANNOUNCER: Game Day. Toronto. 7 p.m. The Air Canada Centre.

When he was two years old, the daycare volunteer winced as he tried to put a square peg into a round hole.

When he was five, his kindergarten teacher grimaced as he tried to put a round peg into a square hole.

And when he was eight, his coach took him aside in the gym and said, 'Son, I hate to break it to you, but even if you practice twice as hard as your classmates, I don't see how you are ever going to fulfill that cockeyed dream of yours.

And those were but a few of the doubting Thomases.

And to add insult to injury, none of them were even named Thomas.

Ouch.

And there would be more naysayers just like them to come along as the years unfolded. Many more.

For when he was 10, his principal cautioned him about putting all his eggs in one basket.

When he was 13, his pastor pleaded with him to keep his options open.

And when he was 15 and he stood up at that memorable family picnic in front of all the relatives and boldly predicted that nothing and nobody was going to deter him from his goal, heck, even grandma and grandpa rolled their eyes.

Double ouch. Grandma AND Grandpa.

It doesn't get any worse than that.

Yes, one by one, all those around tried to discourage him.

One by one, they all gave a thumbs down to his plan.

It was unanimous. Everyone agreed that he would never, ever fulfill is lifelong dream to play for the Maple Leafs.

But luckily for him, he paid them all no heed.

And most importantly, never stopped believing in himself.

And Saturday night he will make each and every one of those naysayers eat their words.

Just like he did last Saturday.

And the Saturday before that.

And more than 41 nights a year for the last 18 years.

You see, not only does he play for his beloved Maple Leafs, he is on for more than 30 minutes a night.

What's more, the spotlight shines on him every time he is.

And with good reason...that's because he's Guido the Organist!

Da da da da da da...charrrrrrrrge.

GUIDO: Hi, this is Guido. And this is my Sportscentre.

TSN ANNOUNCER: Hey Guido, do you know Moon River?

GUIDO: Da da da da da da...charrrrrrrrge.

TSN ANNOUNCER: Close enough big guy. Close enough.