Saturday, October 29, 2005
Fathers' Night at the RBC
The dads were in the house last night. And when you're playing in front of your dad -- fifteen of them, to be precise -- you're not going to lose the game. Even when you fall behind 2-0 in the first period, and 5-3 going into the third. This is the new-look NHL -- and most importantly, this is the 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes. The gutsiest, most enthusiastic, most team-like hockey team I have ever watched. I know it's early, but if their talent doesn't take them deep into the playoffs, their character will. This team will be a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
I'm a new dad, but in the last year I've learned how a little boy can climb into your psyche and become the greatest thing you've known in your life. I look at Logan (who turns 1 next week) every day and I swell with pride at how he's learned to walk faster than other children his age, flip the pages of a book, pick up the purple ball, etc. Little things for grown-ups, but amazingly huge accomplishments for a child who's seen fewer than 365 mornings in his life.
So I can imagine what it would be like to recognize in Logan a special gift of athleticism, an ability to skate, an especially keen hand-eye coordination, a stinging wrist shot. And I can imagine what it's be like to lug him off the ice rinks for practice every day before the sun comes up, towing bags of heavy equipment, to watch him develop into an elite hockey player -- one of the best in the world. That's a hell of a commitment, and the reward of seeing your son contribute to a team competing at the highest levels of the sport must be nothing short of amazing.
Peter LaViolette (young genius Canes coach [whose contract absolutely MUST be renewed after the season] and, for those not aware, coach of USA Hockey in this winter's Olympic Games) recognizes the commitment his players' fathers have made. So he invited them to spend a weekend with the team. Yesterday, 15 Canes dads from all over North America flew to Raleigh, played golf with the team, and watched the Canes beat the Flyers. Tonight they are traveling with the team to Pittsburgh to take in the game there. Dads will be encouraged to bunk with their sons at the hotel. Is that cool, or what?
Let me put it another way. If an NBA team had a father's weekend, how many dads would even show up?
The Canes fell behind 2-0 early to a quick Flyers team. Then, with less than a minute in the period, they scored to make it 2-1 at intermission. They tied it up at 2 early in the second period, then the teams traded goals to make it 3-3. But a couple bad penalties cost the Canes, and they were down two goals, 5-3, going into the second intermission.
In today's NHL, the only two-goal lead that holds up is the one when the buzzer sounds at the end of the game. The Canes tied it up at 5, then gave up a goal to make it 6-5. But the dads were in the house! This team wasn't gonna lie down! They tied it up at 6, then went ahead 7-6 with fewer than five minutes remaining. The RBC Center was euphoric. Seriously, I didn't think hockey fans here knew how to make noise unless an irritating video of Rick Flair saying WOOOO! urged them to do so. But the place was rocking. Swaying even. The Flyers pulled their goalie, and Vasicek turned a miscue of a deep faceoff into an empty net goal. Final score: 8-6. They did it for the dads, these boys did! They did it for the dads!
Last night's game was the fourth game in a row the Canes erased a two-goal deficit. They only lost one of those games, in Toronto, and that game went deep into OT (and to be honest, the Canes missed two gift opportunities in OT that would have reversed the outcome). Forsberg said after last night's game that no NHL team should lost a 2-goal lead (like his Flyers did, twice). He's right. Except he's played his entire career in the old NHL. In the new NHL, no lead is safe. Especially when the dads are watching.
Speed, skill, teamwork. That's what it takes to win in the NHL these days. And I'll argue the Canes have all three in spades. Kudos to Peter LaViolette for recognizing what it takes to maximize all three of those qualities in his Carolina Hurricanes team. And kudos to the dads for getting the kids there in the first place. You have a right to be proud.
I'm a new dad, but in the last year I've learned how a little boy can climb into your psyche and become the greatest thing you've known in your life. I look at Logan (who turns 1 next week) every day and I swell with pride at how he's learned to walk faster than other children his age, flip the pages of a book, pick up the purple ball, etc. Little things for grown-ups, but amazingly huge accomplishments for a child who's seen fewer than 365 mornings in his life.
So I can imagine what it would be like to recognize in Logan a special gift of athleticism, an ability to skate, an especially keen hand-eye coordination, a stinging wrist shot. And I can imagine what it's be like to lug him off the ice rinks for practice every day before the sun comes up, towing bags of heavy equipment, to watch him develop into an elite hockey player -- one of the best in the world. That's a hell of a commitment, and the reward of seeing your son contribute to a team competing at the highest levels of the sport must be nothing short of amazing.
Peter LaViolette (young genius Canes coach [whose contract absolutely MUST be renewed after the season] and, for those not aware, coach of USA Hockey in this winter's Olympic Games) recognizes the commitment his players' fathers have made. So he invited them to spend a weekend with the team. Yesterday, 15 Canes dads from all over North America flew to Raleigh, played golf with the team, and watched the Canes beat the Flyers. Tonight they are traveling with the team to Pittsburgh to take in the game there. Dads will be encouraged to bunk with their sons at the hotel. Is that cool, or what?
Let me put it another way. If an NBA team had a father's weekend, how many dads would even show up?
The Canes fell behind 2-0 early to a quick Flyers team. Then, with less than a minute in the period, they scored to make it 2-1 at intermission. They tied it up at 2 early in the second period, then the teams traded goals to make it 3-3. But a couple bad penalties cost the Canes, and they were down two goals, 5-3, going into the second intermission.
In today's NHL, the only two-goal lead that holds up is the one when the buzzer sounds at the end of the game. The Canes tied it up at 5, then gave up a goal to make it 6-5. But the dads were in the house! This team wasn't gonna lie down! They tied it up at 6, then went ahead 7-6 with fewer than five minutes remaining. The RBC Center was euphoric. Seriously, I didn't think hockey fans here knew how to make noise unless an irritating video of Rick Flair saying WOOOO! urged them to do so. But the place was rocking. Swaying even. The Flyers pulled their goalie, and Vasicek turned a miscue of a deep faceoff into an empty net goal. Final score: 8-6. They did it for the dads, these boys did! They did it for the dads!
Last night's game was the fourth game in a row the Canes erased a two-goal deficit. They only lost one of those games, in Toronto, and that game went deep into OT (and to be honest, the Canes missed two gift opportunities in OT that would have reversed the outcome). Forsberg said after last night's game that no NHL team should lost a 2-goal lead (like his Flyers did, twice). He's right. Except he's played his entire career in the old NHL. In the new NHL, no lead is safe. Especially when the dads are watching.
Speed, skill, teamwork. That's what it takes to win in the NHL these days. And I'll argue the Canes have all three in spades. Kudos to Peter LaViolette for recognizing what it takes to maximize all three of those qualities in his Carolina Hurricanes team. And kudos to the dads for getting the kids there in the first place. You have a right to be proud.
posted by Bill Purdy, 6:54 AM
1 Buffaloes were bitter enough to post comments:
I have to say - watching a break away in overtime (Avs v Canucks on Saturday) is frucking COOL AS POO!
Hockey is the best!
Hockey is the best!