Оглавление
Joseph A. Byrne. White Snow Blackout
WHITE SNOW BLACKOUT. A Hockey Story. by. Joseph A. Byrne
1. CANADA RUSSIA 1972 - WHY IT MATTERED
2. WHY IT MATTERED MORE
3. THE DAY I MADE THE BIG TIME
4. SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES
5. THE SYSTEM ON GABE’S POND
6. GABE’S POND VS PUCE CREEK
7. THE ST. CLAIR BEACH JUVENILES
8. A TEMPORARY LOSING STREAK
9. A BEER STORE IN CHICAGO
10. THE LEGEND OF GABE, LEN AND MARY
11. WHITE SNOW BLACKOUT
12. THE AFTERMATH
13. THE WINDSOR LANCERS
14. THE SUNDAY NIGHT LEAGUE
15. THE CIVIC LEAGUE
16. OLD TIMER HOCKEY
17. THE FIGHT GAME
18. WHO KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN TODAY?
19. THE REST OF THE STORY
Отрывок из книги
I was seated in Geography class that September of 1972, at the University of Windsor, watching my favourite professor, a man named Ledoux, set up for class. Ledoux was a man’s man, a rugby star, rough around the edges, with a soft heart. An intelligent man, he was on the path to stardom in the U.S.A, when he came to Windsor. He always tried to hide his obvious soft side.
I had selected a seat near the door, knowing I would have to leave class early, in order to watch the hockey game. It was not just a game. It was Game 8 of the Canada-Russia super series. I figured Ledoux might even cut class early for the game. Ledoux had endeared himself to the class last year, when he took us on a field trip to New Hampshire. After crossing the international border into the United States, at the Ambassador Bridge, a clamour went up in the bus to stop at a variety store. Unknown to the professor, many of the students went in and bought three bottles each of the cheapest apple wine on sale there. They were then ready for academics.
.....
Jim showed me and us, at a young age, that we were not gifted hockey players. We were generally smaller, less coordinated, not as strong, with less insight about the game. To him, it came naturally, the immense strength, the coordination, the ability, the maturity, the love to work hard at the game. It was like God gave us this great gift to grow up with, this great hockey player, this great person, and if he were playing there, in this series, he would have made a difference.
The obvious comparisons I made in my mind, between myself and this great hockey talent, took all the pressure off of me as a hockey player. I was free to make the NHL or any team or not make it or make any team or try to make them or not make them or keep trying to make them without ever being expected to make them. The pressure was off. I could aspire, at best, to be an underestimated hockey player. This is because it seemed to me that nearly everyone else playing the game was a better hockey player than I was. I could become, perhaps, a middle of the pack player, for as long as I wanted to be, moving up from level to level, in the middle of the pack. I didn’t need to be a star, not even in the hope within my mind. This is because I had seen what a great star is like. I had seen the immense talent of a star. The pressure was off me because I wasn’t that. I didn’t yearn to be a star. I could, however, hope to be a star maker, or if not a maker, a star helper. This modest goal could be my great aspiration.
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