The Game(s) I'll Never Forget Part 1 - The Ice Age
As a dumb jock, there are always times when I'll talk about how I've played in certain hockey games, blah, blah, blah. Some people who are interested in the sport might care to listen; most wouldn't. But nevertheless, I think it's somewhat important to document these specific games for posterity. So that one day I can reminisce and tell Dryden, "Your Dad was quite a hockey player."
In order to understand the importance of certain events, it's important to know background information. For example, what was Vince, the budding young hockey player really like? Well, unlike most hockey players out there, I didn't learn to ice skate until the age of 9. Yes, I was a late bloomer. I was first exposed to skating when I was 3, though. But back then all I did was lie on the ice and eat it. What else could I do? No one wanted to teach me. Gah would come over for about 2 minutes, get bored with holding me up and then go teach Q for the next half hour while I just laid on the ice and munched away. That was back in Toronto. Not a glorious start.
Fast forward 6 years when I was living in San Francisco. One great thing about Goh and Gah is that they always took us somewhere when Q and I were little. Goh always took us to Tower Records, and Gah would take us to the movies, or the zoo, or ice skating. Thus, it was during one of these outings when I learned to skate in San Francisco at a little rink on 48th Avenue. And I learned on figure skates. During this time, I finally was able to stand and go under my own power. As the minutes turned in to hours I was getting better and better until I was going so fast one time I skated right in to the boards at full speed. No one ever taught me how to stop, okay? Thanks, Gah. I hit my face for sure and thought I might have knocked a tooth out or loose. I remember Gah calling over the rink "guards" to see how I was. I guess I was okay because I just went back to skating.
1987. NHL vs. Russian Red Army in Rendez-vous 87. . It was one of the rare times that hockey would be televised in San Francisco, even on ESPN. We taped it and watched it until the heads wore out on the VCR. But after that, Q and I were hooked. After that we went to the ice rink repeatedly, trying to improve our skating skills. It was nice having Q there with me while we were doing all this; I think I would have been bored doing it all alone. But as brothers, people can't help but make comparisons. Of course, Quinn being older, stronger, and more coordinated, he was a better skater. He always was (for the record, I was the first in the family to figure out how to skate backwards, though. Gah built on that and discovered the technique for the backwards cross-over).
Then soon after, Gah moved back home for UCLA, finally. It was during that time that I begged her to take us to the hockey store so we could buy some gear...I mean, so Mom could buy us some gear. And it was then that for the very first time I had my very own pair of hockey skates. They were the Bauer Panthers, size 9. It wasn't just me, though. Q got a pair, Goh got a pair, Gah got a pair. Hell, even MOM got a pair of hockey skates (more for dust collecting purposes).
Later on, we discovered there was a much bigger rink in Belmont, CA. It was a pain to get to because it was 30 minutes away on the freeway, but the rink was huge (it was a hockey rink) and very few people went there. I'll always remember that stupid sign that said "Home of Brian Boitano" on the walls. Poor Mom would have to drive us down to the rink, but before long Q got his license to drive and soon we would have the means to go whenever we wanted.
It was during one of these evening skate sessions that we noticed a bunch of guys coming in and dressing up in hockey gear for games. Q and I wanted to stay and watch and we did with wide-eyed wonder. Eventually, we talked with some of the players and discovered that this was a pick-up game (as opposed to a league game) and that anyone could join in. Anyone! We couldn't play just yet, because Q and I didn't have all the equipment. We had skates, sticks, helmets, and gloves. Nothing else. No face protection, elbow pads, shoulder pads, pants, or shin pads. So we still couldn't play. That is until Goh discovered a hockey shop in San Jose that sold equipment. He then took me to buy my very own set of full equipment. Cooper helmet SK2000 with Itech full face shield, Cooper shoulder pads, CCM gloves, Cooper elbow pads, CCM pants, and Cooper shin guards. At that time, only Cooper and CCM made most things. Jofa had equipment but it was way expensive. There was nothing else to choose from. Now we were ready.
It was such an important event for the family as well as for Q and I; we must have been the first in the family to suit up and wear full gear to play hockey in a real rink...in California. Ironic that we never did this in Canada. But anyway, it was such a spectacle that I remember Mike taking pictures of us. I was so excited that after gearing up I rushed outside to the rink. I watched the warm-ups from the side and saw Q take a wrist shot at the goalie and then totally wipe out. Woah, what a spaz. It can't be that hard, can it? I climbed over the boards and the instant my skates touched the ice I fell flat on my butt. What the? I tried to stand up and fell right down, again. I looked at my skates and it was then that I discovered that I forgot to take off my blade guards. How intelligent. This was a sign of things to come.
My play at Belmont was anything but stellar. For the first time, Q and I were playing with other people, with full teams and so it was challenging to figure out where to be, where to skate, what to watch out for, and anticipation for the plays because we had never had a coach. It all came from watching NHL games on TV. Needless to say I was slow, I was always behind the play, I never received a pass from anyone or made any nice plays. Q on the other hand would always tell me about the 2 goals and 3 assists that he had, or the really nice play he made, etc. Which is fine because at least that meant one of us was doing well. He was always the better player, and the other players made sure I knew it. And watching from the bench I could tell he was stronger, faster, smoother, over all better player.
Interest waned for a few years, as playing hockey became too expensive. There was the gas, the game fee itself, and not to mention that games were scheduled from 10:30 until 12am. So Q and I would get home around 1am all sweaty and dirty.
Then someone came up with the bright idea of roller hockey. Q and I definitely bought a pair so that now we could skate wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. And we wouldn't have to pay for that.
And so, my career with roller hockey began. But that was another story...(whistle theme to Conan the Destroyer)
In order to understand the importance of certain events, it's important to know background information. For example, what was Vince, the budding young hockey player really like? Well, unlike most hockey players out there, I didn't learn to ice skate until the age of 9. Yes, I was a late bloomer. I was first exposed to skating when I was 3, though. But back then all I did was lie on the ice and eat it. What else could I do? No one wanted to teach me. Gah would come over for about 2 minutes, get bored with holding me up and then go teach Q for the next half hour while I just laid on the ice and munched away. That was back in Toronto. Not a glorious start.
Fast forward 6 years when I was living in San Francisco. One great thing about Goh and Gah is that they always took us somewhere when Q and I were little. Goh always took us to Tower Records, and Gah would take us to the movies, or the zoo, or ice skating. Thus, it was during one of these outings when I learned to skate in San Francisco at a little rink on 48th Avenue. And I learned on figure skates. During this time, I finally was able to stand and go under my own power. As the minutes turned in to hours I was getting better and better until I was going so fast one time I skated right in to the boards at full speed. No one ever taught me how to stop, okay? Thanks, Gah. I hit my face for sure and thought I might have knocked a tooth out or loose. I remember Gah calling over the rink "guards" to see how I was. I guess I was okay because I just went back to skating.
1987. NHL vs. Russian Red Army in Rendez-vous 87. . It was one of the rare times that hockey would be televised in San Francisco, even on ESPN. We taped it and watched it until the heads wore out on the VCR. But after that, Q and I were hooked. After that we went to the ice rink repeatedly, trying to improve our skating skills. It was nice having Q there with me while we were doing all this; I think I would have been bored doing it all alone. But as brothers, people can't help but make comparisons. Of course, Quinn being older, stronger, and more coordinated, he was a better skater. He always was (for the record, I was the first in the family to figure out how to skate backwards, though. Gah built on that and discovered the technique for the backwards cross-over).
Then soon after, Gah moved back home for UCLA, finally. It was during that time that I begged her to take us to the hockey store so we could buy some gear...I mean, so Mom could buy us some gear. And it was then that for the very first time I had my very own pair of hockey skates. They were the Bauer Panthers, size 9. It wasn't just me, though. Q got a pair, Goh got a pair, Gah got a pair. Hell, even MOM got a pair of hockey skates (more for dust collecting purposes).
Later on, we discovered there was a much bigger rink in Belmont, CA. It was a pain to get to because it was 30 minutes away on the freeway, but the rink was huge (it was a hockey rink) and very few people went there. I'll always remember that stupid sign that said "Home of Brian Boitano" on the walls. Poor Mom would have to drive us down to the rink, but before long Q got his license to drive and soon we would have the means to go whenever we wanted.
It was during one of these evening skate sessions that we noticed a bunch of guys coming in and dressing up in hockey gear for games. Q and I wanted to stay and watch and we did with wide-eyed wonder. Eventually, we talked with some of the players and discovered that this was a pick-up game (as opposed to a league game) and that anyone could join in. Anyone! We couldn't play just yet, because Q and I didn't have all the equipment. We had skates, sticks, helmets, and gloves. Nothing else. No face protection, elbow pads, shoulder pads, pants, or shin pads. So we still couldn't play. That is until Goh discovered a hockey shop in San Jose that sold equipment. He then took me to buy my very own set of full equipment. Cooper helmet SK2000 with Itech full face shield, Cooper shoulder pads, CCM gloves, Cooper elbow pads, CCM pants, and Cooper shin guards. At that time, only Cooper and CCM made most things. Jofa had equipment but it was way expensive. There was nothing else to choose from. Now we were ready.
It was such an important event for the family as well as for Q and I; we must have been the first in the family to suit up and wear full gear to play hockey in a real rink...in California. Ironic that we never did this in Canada. But anyway, it was such a spectacle that I remember Mike taking pictures of us. I was so excited that after gearing up I rushed outside to the rink. I watched the warm-ups from the side and saw Q take a wrist shot at the goalie and then totally wipe out. Woah, what a spaz. It can't be that hard, can it? I climbed over the boards and the instant my skates touched the ice I fell flat on my butt. What the? I tried to stand up and fell right down, again. I looked at my skates and it was then that I discovered that I forgot to take off my blade guards. How intelligent. This was a sign of things to come.
My play at Belmont was anything but stellar. For the first time, Q and I were playing with other people, with full teams and so it was challenging to figure out where to be, where to skate, what to watch out for, and anticipation for the plays because we had never had a coach. It all came from watching NHL games on TV. Needless to say I was slow, I was always behind the play, I never received a pass from anyone or made any nice plays. Q on the other hand would always tell me about the 2 goals and 3 assists that he had, or the really nice play he made, etc. Which is fine because at least that meant one of us was doing well. He was always the better player, and the other players made sure I knew it. And watching from the bench I could tell he was stronger, faster, smoother, over all better player.
Interest waned for a few years, as playing hockey became too expensive. There was the gas, the game fee itself, and not to mention that games were scheduled from 10:30 until 12am. So Q and I would get home around 1am all sweaty and dirty.
Then someone came up with the bright idea of roller hockey. Q and I definitely bought a pair so that now we could skate wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. And we wouldn't have to pay for that.
And so, my career with roller hockey began. But that was another story...(whistle theme to Conan the Destroyer)
posted by V-Hume at 11:01 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home