After the long, backbreaking season; after the grueling, punishing, but successful, playoffs; after the fans jubilant victory celebration, Robby McNicol was preparing to fly home for three months respite. While storing their gear, some of his teammates were talking about their holiday plans over the next three months.
"How bout it, Robby? Wherere you headed – Europe, South America, the Caribbean?"
"Actually, Im heading home to the family farm in Saskatchewan," he replied.
"Youre kidding, man! You were the mvp of both the season and the playoffs, and youre going home to work? On a farm? Unbelievable."
"Its no big deal," Robby replied. "My Grandpas getting up there, and my Dad and Uncle need help working the farm and getting the crops ready for harvest."
Six hours later, blue-eyed, brown-haired, Robby McNicol, 6'3", 195 lbs was aboard a red-eye flight, flying back to Regina. The next morning he was met by his Uncle, who drove him, while he slept most of, the +7 hours back to Big River and the vast, plain fields farm. That night, after a delicious meal cooked by his Mom, Robby stretched out and slept in his own bed, in his own room, in the family farmhouse.
Next morning, he was up at 5 a. m., to begin spending long, hard days working until evening. Although there was little fanfare for his return, no doubt lingered that Robbys Dad and Uncle – and all of his family – were very proud of him. After 6 years in the professional league, he had skyrocketed to the top of his sport, with his team winning the championship, and himself 3 personal awards, including 2 mvps. His Dad and Uncle had brought their father – his Grandfather – to several playoff games. Now, he was back to get in harness with the family.
The 380 acres of farm land was owned by Robbys grandfather, while his father and uncle had their own homes on the property too. His Dad, Gordon, was 44 – a big, seasoned, weathered man, the older of the brothers, standing 6'5" and 260 lbs of hardened, steely muscle. His Uncle, Ian, was two years younger, 6'4" and 255 lbs of granite-like muscle. Robby, strong from working out and tough play, was still lean and lanky in contrast to those men.
Approximately 8 days after returning, Robby and his Dad were preparing to head out onto the farm for the days work. Gordon instructed his son to move the cattle from a field near the fence Robby was working on, so they could get some fresh grass and would not be at risk to get loose while the fence was down and being repaired. Robby was in a hurry to finish repairing the fence, and to get on to irrigating the crop fields, so he did not bother to relocate the cattle. I wont let them get out, he thought to himself, thinking that he could gain some time this way.
As he worked on the fence, taking sections of it down and replacing poles and boards, Robby did not notice the herd gathering alongside, but farther down the still-standing fence, behind him. Suddenly, he was pushed away and off his feet, as the herd barged its way past him, through the opening. Robby immediately sprung to his feet, shouting to try to startle the cattle from continuing. It was no use. They all went through and began meandering further.
Robby got in the truck and raced back to the barn where his Dad and Uncle met him. "Whats the matter, Robby?" they asked. He told them what happened, and noticed the visible disgust of his father. They all got into trucks and headed out and after the cattle. It took the better part of the day to find, and herd back the cattle, to a different field – the one to which Gordon McNicol had told his son to take them. Then, Robby had to finish putting the fence back up.
By the time he finished and drove up to the barn, it was after 6 p. m. He looked worn and dismayed as he got out of the truck. Immediately, his Dad and Uncle came up to him. "What did I tell you, Robby?" Gordon demanded. "Did I tell you to move the cattle first, before you repaired the fence, and just so this thing wouldnt happen?"
"Well, yeah, but . . ."
"Why didnt you mind me, boy?" Gordon demanded sternly.
"I was trying to speed things up. Theres so much to be done, and I thought . . ."
"You thought? You didnt need to think about this one, Robby. I told you what to expect, and what to do? You didnt heed my directions, did you, son?"
Oh, boy, here goes the orders routine, Robby recalled.
"Look, Dad, Im sorry. Its not the end of the world. Its taken care of, and sos the fence. Just leave it alone."
"Leave it alone?" Ian interjected. "Robby, you know better than that. You cant just allow things to go willy nilly on a farm. Orders have to be followed. Ways of doing things have to be adhered to. Then, this kind of happenstance, and worse, wont occur."
"Look, Uncle Ian, I did the job, I got it done. Okay?"
"No, its not okay, lad," Ian replied. "Your Dad counted on you to do the job, but also to do it right, and to do it as he instructed you. You decided to take it into your own hands to do things differently. We cannot have that. You cannot operate a farm like that."
"Oh, cmon, guys," Robby responded too casually to his father and uncle. "Its not like nobody else ever makes a mistake, or like this was a terrible one. After all, . . ."
"This mistake as you call it is really just your disobeying what you were told, Robby," his father answered. "Thats what makes it so much worse than the waste of time and manpower that was required to correct the situation. If youd heeded my words, it never would have happened."
"Well, we just have a difference of opinion about it, I guess," Robby returned flippantly, and turned back towards his truck.
Suddenly, he felt a strong hand grab his left ear and pull his head around.
"Oooowwwwwchaaaaa!" Robby exclaimed
"Theres no difference of opinion, young man. We have orders. You have orders. You are to follow them – or else." At that point, Gordon and Ian both grabbed the lean, young mans arms and began pulling him away from the truck and towards the barn.
"You obviously need to relearn the necessity for obeying, to the letter, what youre told, which you seem to have forgot. Just because youre a big shot in the hockey world, its no big deal for us to blister your behind and reacquaint you with the consequences of disobedience, young man." His Dads voice was cold, flat, and resolute – exactly as he remembered it from so many times when he had been spanked in the past.
Looking at the faces of his Uncle and Dad, and feeling himself swept along into the barn, Robby was suddenly, keenly aware of what was impending.
"Look, Dad, Uncle, Ian. What is this?! So I made a mistake. I fixed it. Its not the end of the world aaaaaaah! Waaaait! Nooooo! Whatre you doing? Stop! Noooooo!"
Gordon and Ian had reached the old, wood bench in the barn near where hung an old, well-oiled strap. When the stopped, the two, big men reached over and began undoing Robbys belt, unzipping his old jeans, and jerking them down over his hips and buttocks, down his legs to his feet. Then, Gordon McNicol snatched the waistband of Robbys boxers and sent them to his feet to join his jeans. In the midst of his protests, he was swiftly swept of his feet and across both pairs of legs, as he was draped over the laps of his Dad and Uncle sitting side by side.
Uncle Ian seized the gangly young mans arms, and pulled them, twisted, up into his back, baring it as he pushed up Robbys shirt. Gordon had the strap in his hand, and began snapping is fast and vigorous against his sons exposed bottom. Robby was thrashing around and kicking, fighting to free himself from his fathers and Uncles grip, and to get away from what he now knew to be coming. While the lanky, lean young man was indeed strong, he was match for the overpowering strength of his Dad and Uncle.
Gordon McNicol rhythmically and repeatedly snapped that strap all over the buttocks, thighs, and in-between-areas on Robbys butt, until he voice so familiar in the locker room and on the ice was heard negotiating, apologizing, confessing, pleading, begging, screaming for forgiveness and relief. None was coming, and within 10 minutes the hockey star had convulsed into wailing sobs and gagging gasps, before he finally collapsed, resigned to his punishment like a naughty, 10 year old. He lay hanging across his Fathers and Uncles laps, bawling unintelligible shrieks with each searing bite of the strap again and again on his legs and buttocks.
When Gordon McNicol finally stopped, the spanking was not over. Ian took the strap and began smacking the upended young stars bare behind and upper legs until finally nothing more could be heard from Robby than an almost unceasing wailing. They left him dangling on their laps until he began to regain consciousness and composure. Then, Gordon lifted his tall, slim son up off their laps and stood him on his wobbly legs, dancing up and down before them, weeping and clutching his branded behind.
Gordon then reached down, and pulled his sons boxers back up the young mans bouncing legs, across his seared rump. Then he did the same with Robbys jeans. Clasping the young mans arms firmly, he pulled Robby closer towards him, reaching down with his right hand pulling the young mans head and eyes up to face him. "Hold still, Robby," he Father barked, but the young man was trembling and jumping up and down almost beyond control. "Ian, hold his still while we talk to him."
Ian came over and replaced Gordons grasps on Robbys arms. Gordon held Robbys face up looking at him. "Let this sink in deep – from the bottom up – , young man. You know better than to disobey and think theres no penalty. You get yourself into the truck and up the house. Then get yourself straight to bed. Youve lost dinner tonight. Ian and Ill be there shortly. See that you obey these orders fully, or you may have a repeat performance coming tonight."
"Dyah hear your Dad, laddie?" Ian demanded.
"Aaiughuhuh-uh-uh-yesssss, uh, uh!" Robby gagged and sobbed his response.
"Then get your behind in gear!" Ian barked and delivered three more swats to the seat of his famous nephews jeans. Robby launched forward, stumbling towards the truck. Grimacing, he lowered himself onto the truck bench, started it, and drove off towards his parents house. Twenty minutes later, Ian and Gordon entered the Gordon McNicols home, and began to wash up for dinner.
"Whats wrong with Robby" his mother asked her husband. "He came storming into the house, wouldnt look at or speak to anybody, and headed up to his bedroom. Ooooh, noooo," she suddenly realized. "What happened?"
"I think some of the fame and glamour went to the lads head," Ian spoke. "He completely disregarded and disobeyed Gordons instructions this morning, caused a big problem that required all of us to correct, and then acted like he was being annoyed by Gordon calling him on the carpet about it. He spoke out of turn, and Gordon had to bring him back down a couple of notches. Hell be all right – and a better lad because of it."
"Anyway, he wont be joining us for dinner this evening," Gordon pronounced. "I just checked in on him, and hes asleep already. I think hell need the rest to ease his backside for a while. I hope its the last time this happens."
"Dont you worry about it, Gordie," Ian reassured his brother. "He asked for it, and had it coming, from the way he acted and talked. Youre right to do what you did. After all, we want him to be a good, well-mannered, well-behaved young man."
The next morning at 5, Robby was awake and up bringing his strong, hard efforts to contribute to the daily, morning chores – even if he was a bit quiet while doing them. After breakfast, the days work load began in earnest, and at lunch they all gathered to eat heartily before resuming the afternoons work. By the evening suppertime, Robby had let go of any resentment that he might have felt over the previous nights discipline, and relaxed to join in with his extended family over dinner. The following days were spent in meticulously pursuing the never-ending duties of farm life, precisely as his Dad and Uncle directed. The summer promised to be a good, enjoyable, and productive one.
Three days after the spanking incident, the North Battleford paper carried a small, filler article: "Hockey Star Gets Spanked," stating that NHL star, Robby McNicol, was reported to have received a serious spanking recently while back home at the family farm near Big River. Obviously the story had been drawn ultimately from information obtained from someone at the McNicols farm. Neither Robby, nor anyone else in the McNicol family or on the McNicol farm, was aware of it.
About a week and a half later, the phone at Gordon McNicols farmhouse rang. It was someone from the Sporting News, wanting to speak with Mr. McNicol about a report that he had given his son – Robby McNicol, the NHL star – a spanking recently, while the young man was back working on the farm. Gordon McNicol bluntly replied, "Thats none of your business," and hung up. Other sports media began telephoning as well, only to be met by the same fortress of unresponsiveness from Robbys immediate family.
Then, someone from the Hockey News thought to contact Robbys Uncle, Ian. Though equally as blunt as his brother, Ian was less inhibited in speaking his mind. "Yah, the laddie got out of line all right, and his father brought him back in line right quick, he sure did." The reporter was intrigued. He talked about sports and hockey generally, and the farming business on the McNicols farm, with Ian McNicol. Then, he fired the question whether he could come out and meet him, and Robbys family, and do a story on the young mans devotion to working with his family on the farm. Ian acceded to his request, and they made plans to meet at Ians house two days later.
When Ian McNicol told Gordon and Robby McNicol about the call from the Hockey News, and what he had agreed to, they were upset. "Its a great honour to be in the Hockey News, but theyve got no business coming around here and sticking their noses into our lives," Gordon declared. "Robbys home for the summer, here to rest and work, and hes to be left alone." Robby nodded in agreement, also worrying with some discomfort about the fact of the article that had appeared in the North Battleford paper, and the resulting calls from other sports shows, magazines, and newspapers. He wanted to avoid any embarrassment in dealing with anything about that. "I dont want to talk to anybody, Dad, Uncle Ian. Cant I just be home here and relax without being followed by the media?" he asked.
So, when two days later the reporter and video cameraman arrived from the Hockey News, they had been directed to go to Ians house. He met with them, then took them around the immense farm in his truck, bringing them to the patriarchal farm home, where they ate lunch with Robbys grandparents. Ian had to explain that Robby and his Dad, Ians brother, wanted Robby to have some down time, to just unwind, and relax. They did not want to be interviewed or asked questions.
This was a great disappointment to the Hockey News staff who had traveled so far, but inevitably they had to agree, as they had no other choice. They asked if they could observe Robby working on the farm, and at least take pictures. Ian called his brother, and after Gordon spoke with Robby, he authorized his brother to allow them to come back the next morning, and follow them all, at a distance, observing and photographing the farm chores, especially those being done by Robby McNicol.
The next day, the Hockey News men were driving all over the farm, as they watched and filmed Robby bailing hay, checking wheat, corn, oats, other crops, and working on rehabilitating fencing around the farm. Although they yearned to get close enough to talk, always Gordon and his son remained far enough away to avoid communication. At lunchtime, it was back to Grandpa McNicols house, where the grandparents and Ian spoke freely with their sports media guests.
The reporter said how much he would like to be able to confirm information with Robby, but it was plain that this was not available. So, he turned his questions obliquely to the grandparents and uncle. Was it true that Gordon McNicol, Robbys father, still disciplined the young man? How could that happen? What could have caused it? How did the young star feel about being taken in hand like that?
Ian spoke bluntly. Our father, Thomas McNicol, never minced words or spared the strap when we were growing up. We learned to pay attention, obey, and stay outta trouble, or we got a quick, painful reminder to help our memories. Both Robbys Daddy and I got plenty of corrective action by our father until we were nearly 30. Its no different with Robby, except maybe Gordies even a bit more concerned about Robby, and all the foolishness of fame, money, and attention leading the lad astray.
"Well, what happened this summer? Did Robby McNicol – hockey superstar – really get a spanking back here with his family this summer?"
"The lad got careless and didnt heed his fathers instructions. Instead, he did what he wanted. When Gordie called him on it, Robby tried to dismiss it, to minimize it; and Gordon will not countenance that. He called him on it, and Robby didnt want to back down. Gordie and I took the young laddie into the barn and gaveim a good hiding, tanned his backside good. I think he learned his lesson. Hes been fine – no trouble – since."
"Oh, so you were involved in the disciplining too?" the reporter asked. "Sure, hes my nephew, too, and Im as concerned about his attitude, actions, and words as my brother. Nobody is allowed to act that way around here – not even a hockey mvp."
"Can I ask, what did you use to discipline him? How did you do it?"
"We used the same, old, reliable strap our father here used on us. His britches came down, he was over our laps, and his rearend received a long, hot blistering."
"Well, I can see that you and your brother, Gordon, Robbys Dad, are pretty big men; but Robbys a tough, strong player. And, after all, hes 24, and a big star in the hockey world, too. Didnt he oppose being treated like that?"
"For a couple of minutes, or so, yah, the laddie fought and resisted. But we outweigh and out muscle him pretty good, and he knows, here with his family, its no big deal to take Robby McNicol to the woodshed. So, after a bit he knew it was useless to struggle and resigned himself to what he had coming. Once it was over, Gordie stood him back up, pulled up his clothes, and sent him in to an early bedtime, without supper, to think on his behaviour. As I said, the lads the better for it, been fine, no hint of trouble, ever since."
"Amazing. Do you think we could see the strap – the McNicol family strap – that you and Robbys Dad used to punish him?"
"I guess so. What dyou think, Dad," Ian asked his father.
"I dunno. It sounds like a lot of nonsense to me. Thousands of young lads backsides are warmed with straps like that all the time. Whats so special about it, anyway?" he asked, boring his deep, blue eyes into the reporters.
"Oh, just a sort of visual image, confirmation of the story – especially since we cant talk to either Gordon or Robby. You can hold it, Ian. We wont even touch it, if thats what youre worrying about," the reporter replied.
"Thats not it at all, man," Thomas McNicol retorted. "I just cant fathom why youre making such a big deal about a routine discipline that happens all over Canada, hundreds of times a day."
"Well, think of it this way, Mr. McNicol. Maybe theres a good point to get across here. If Robby McNicol, hockey superstar, can get set straight by a good, sound dose of the strap, maybe thats a message to parents and young men everywhere. You want to grow up to be as fine a young man as Robby McNicol, you need to beware because the same spanking that put, and keeps, him on the right track is what you should expect too."
Thomas and his wife nodded slightly, and Ian broke into a grin, nodding more animatedly. After lunch, they went back to the big barn where Gordon and Ian had taken Robby and spanked him, and Ian took down the strap and held it up and out for the photos. Then, a video and pictures were taken of the environs of the inside of the barn, where the licking had taken place. Finally, just before they left, the reporter asked Ian a couple more questions.
"When was the last time youre aware of that Robby got a spanking before two weeks ago?"
"Well, last summer, too – for sure. The lad and some farm workers had sampled too much whiskey, and Robbys Dad had found him, inebriated, sitting on a wagon in one of the barns. Gordon lay into the boy until his bottom was red, hot and raw. The next day, both his head and his bottom were hurting. Weve never seen any repeat of that, I can tell you."
"Do you think its possible that Robby McNicol might get another spanking here, at his home on the farm, before the summer is over?"
"Of course, its possible. Gordie is nobody to disregard, and he is fiercely determined that his boy will behave and be the right kind of young man. So, will Robbys Dad let anything slide or overlook any misbehavior? Not a chance. But, frankly, Id be shocked if it happened again. I expect Robby to continue on acting as he usually does, a well-behaved young man. But if he doesnt, its no big deal, believe me, to take him and turn him over our knees and supply a darn good spanking thatll straighten him up promptly."
They thanked Ian profusely, and left. The next Hockey News edition carried a cover story: "Spanking a Superstar. How Robby McNicols familys discipline keeps him in line." Pictures of the "woodshed" area of the barn, and of the heirloom family strap were featured along with the story, quoting Ian McNicol and other, "unnamed" sources.
Gordon and Robby McNicol were irked with Ian for being so loose and forthcoming with the media, and also revealing what was really private, family information, and nobody elses business – and now also causing Robby some discomfort and embarrassment. He could only hope that most people would consider the story more like a tabloid tale. When ESPN and the CBC began calling Ian, and Gordon and Robby, however, no one would talk with them.
Ian McNicol was right, though. A recurrent session with the strap, taming his exposed rearend, over his Dads and Uncles knees was not out of the question for their sports champion son and nephew, and no big deal either. In fact, it happened again in early August. But this time the press did not learn of it until many months later, and this time no one in the McNicol family was willing to discuss it. That incident would make up another story, however.