When I first heard that CBC might lose the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada theme song - a.k.a. "The Hockey Theme" - I was a little surprised at the public response. You would have thought that we were losing the rights to "O Canada" to Mexico.

In the face of all the outrage, all I could think was, "Hey, it's just a song."

Sure, I know it's an iconic song. I still remember being eight years old around the 1983 Stanley Cup Finals, when my dad had me watch the Edmonton Oilers take on the New York Islanders because Wayne Gretzky was a Brantford, Ontario boy just like me. I became a Gretzky fan and an Oilers fan from that point forward. And yes, the Hockey Night in Canada song seemed majestic and powerful and inherently Canadian even back then.

That was 25 years ago. I'm much less idealistic and much more cynical now. I thought it was amusing and actually rather quaint that people could get so worked up about a 40-year-old jingle that, if we really want to be honest about it, is kind of played out by this point.

And yet, when the news broke about CTV purchasing the rights to the song in perpetuity (meaning forever), I was surprised by my response. I learned of this news in emails from two different colleagues, and because this is a family website, I'll need to get creative with parentheses in paraphrasing their messages.

The first email said, "Holy (crap)!"

The second one said, "Are you (frick)ing kidding me?"

And when I finally soaked up this news, I leaned back in my chair and said, "Wow, that takes some (spheres)."

Those "spheres" belong to Rick Brace, President of Revenue, Business Planning and Sports for CTV Inc. In a press release referring to the song as "Canada's Second National Anthem" (Ed. note: I thought that was Spirit of the West's "Home for a Rest"), Brace said, "The song has a long and storied history in Canadian sports and has become ingrained in the hearts and minds of hockey fans across the country. It is an iconic tune, embraced by Canadians everywhere, and we felt it was imperative to save it."

How heroic of CTV to "save" the 40-year-old classic ditty! (Sarcasm intended.) CBC, naturally, has a different spin on this. CBC Sports executive director Scott Moore claimed that the agency representing the song's composer was requesting up to $3 million for the rights to the song.

"If that is the price CTV wants to pay, it won't be the first time nor will it be the last time, probably, that they outbid us for something," said Moore. "They have a lot more profits than we do."

It's worth considering that since roughly half of the CBC's revenues come from public funding (meaning your taxes), you have to ask yourself if you really want a crown corporation to spend up to 3 million loonies for a freakin' song - no matter how iconic it is.

CTV, on the other hand, can do whatever they want with their revenues with a clean conscience - which is why you'll get to experience "The Hockey Theme" in NHL broadcasts on TSN and RDS beginning this fall.

Even though we have several months until the next NHL season, there will be no way to adequately prepare ourselves for how weird it will be to hear that song on a TSN broadcast instead of on Hockey Night in Canada. As Moore puts it, "It's a constant commercial for our network."

This is another reminder that sports, when it comes right down to it, is still a business first and foremost. I still remember my tears of denial as a 13-year-old when Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. If we could lose Gretzky, I learned, nothing was safe.

Since CBC now needs a new theme song for Hockey Night in Canada, they've announced a contest with a $100,000 prize for whoever can compose the winning song. Time for me to bust out my old Casio keyboard. Anybody know a word that rhymes with Crosby?

Seriously though, this contest will surely attract top musical talent from across the country. I have to admit that my personal choice to compose the new theme song isn't a Canadian at all, but the composer of the best sports theme song ever - "Roundball Rock" by John Tesh from the NBA on NBC in the '90s. (Yes, that John Tesh. Don't judge until you've clicked the link and enjoyed the majestic splendour of Tesh's masterpiece.) If anybody could lead us into a new Hockey Night in Canada era, the Tesh-man can.

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