The 93-year-old Second World War veteran has become a fixture on the scoreboard at the MTS Centre during the final seconds of the national anthem before each game. He's standing at attention, dressed in a navy jacket with Canadian and U.S. pins on the lapel, a baseball cap with "Veteran" across the front and he's belting out the national anthem as if his life depended on it. Perhaps it did at one point in his military career.
"Being a veteran, I always like to salute my Canadian flag and I do it for my country because I love my country," Kropioski said.
He had no idea the first time his image was shown on the scoreboard but he found out a few minutes after he walked in his front door.
"There were all kinds of messages on my answering machine saying that they had seen me on TV," he said.
Kropioski, who was born in 1918 and grew up on Burrows Avenue, admits to being a little bit embarrassed by all the attention but he's proud of his fandom for the Jets. He said he gets excited on game days to the point he sometimes can't eat when he gets into town after his two-hour drive down the Trans-Canada Highway.
"I look for my tickets (at home) because I want to make sure I've got them. Then I get dressed up, have my breakfast and I'm all set to go at two o'clock. I'm just as excited as the players," he said.
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