Don Cherry Remembrance Day post gets outpouring of support. The simple post on the importance of the poppy received 1.6 million views.
Mississauga’s own Don Cherry got people talking all over again with a recent social media post the hockey icon made on the important of wearing the poppy.
The simple post showed Grapes, now 92 years old, smiling for the camera, wearing a poppy, with the phrase “Don’t forget your poppy!”
The post was released on Nov 10, the day before Remembrance Day. It quickly went viral, with over 1.6 million people seeing it and thousands engaging with it.
“Hero!” was what Brad Smith, former CFL wide receiver and star of The Bachelor, wrote as his one word response.
“Absolutely Coach,” is how Jinglai He reacted.
“Don Cherry is a great Canadian and did nothing wrong,” remarked an account named Jake.
In 2019, Cherry was fired from his longstanding role on the Coach’s Corner hockey segments following that year’s version of his annual Remembrance Day commentary.
“You people that come here… you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that,” Cherry said. “These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”
The remarks were characterized by some as xenophobic, but also defended by many as acceptable and inaccurately mischaracterized.
This Remembrance Day, Cherry also revealed his retirement from public life, announcing in a Joe Warmington Toronto Sun column that he was no longer taping episodes of his podcast the Grapevine.
Cherry was ranked the 7th greatest Canadian of all time in a 2004 televised contest, placing ahead of Wayne Gretzky and Sir John A Macdonald.
