Honoring Cameron Frye's Gordie Howe Jersey

When you think of Ferris Bueller you think of the wisecracks, sure, and the breaking of the fourth wall, yes, and the immaculateness of forcing Edward R. Rooney, Dean of Students, to have his cheese left out in the wind, absolutely, but you also think about Ferris’s appearance. You remember him looking so quirkily regal in his white shirt, vest and trousers, that beret occasionally adding an accent, an outfit that made him seem older than his high school accomplices but also more blithe in spirit. You also think of Sloane Peterson, of course, and how her scorching white, leather fringe jacket paired with the white cowboy boots make you believe, if only for an hour and a half, that the 1980s were a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guided fashion loving people everywhere. Why you even think of the immortal righteousness of Jeanie Bueller’s socks and Nikes. And while you might think about Cameron Frye’s suspenders/belt combo or his black slip-on shoes, mostly you think of his Gordie Howe jersey.

Now the story goes that Cameron wore a Red Wings jersey because “Ferris Bueller” auteur John Hughes, a noted hockey fan, had eyes for both the Red Wings – having been a Michigan native – and for the Blackhawks – having adopted Chicago as his hometown, and so be it. Incidental though it may have been, a Gordie Howe jersey fit Cameron to an emblematic tee, effortlessly evoking his at-odds countenance toward the whole wide world. He spent the most famous Day Off in the history of the world adorned in the armor of that city’s great hockey rival.

In hockey parlance, a Gordie Howe Hat Trick consisted of a goal, an assist and a fight in one game. Well, Cameron scored a goal, finally, near the end, off an assist from Ferris, though he never quite threw punches even if there were a couple times on that otherwise glorious afternoon where he seemed to come close. He didn’t get the Hat Trick; he didn’t get in a fight. Still, on account of that red & white getup he wore all throughout the Loop and even into the ostensible friendly confines of Wrigley Field you can’t say that he sure as heck wasn’t looking for one.