In hockey, there's a specific criteria that fits into an existing ideal.
This isn't to say that what's revered hasn't taken on any adaptation in more than a century of competition. But for those who play the sport, everlasting traits and archetypal aspects synonymous with what it means to be truly special, to be respected, will endure.
We're reminded of certain time-honored values in intermissions, interviews, and, in our own, predominantly short-lived playing careers, often in the back seat of minivans. The postgame lectures inducing interminable eye rolls, of course.
But for the most part, we all come to appreciate the same things; speed, skill, strength, toughness, and doing right by the game. We can credit this fact to lessons from our fathers, their fathers, and other sources we depend on to teach us such nuances. Or, just rely on human tendencies to appreciate and admire what goes beyond a basic athletic threshold.
Today, we thank Gordie Howe for manifesting this ideal for multiple generations and over the course of a career that spanned six decades.
Mr. Hockey
Howe, the man most applicably nicknamed Mr. Hockey, died Friday morning at age 88. He leaves behind a Hall of Fame family, legions of hockey fans, and a legacy that goes beyond his longevity, and insurmountable collection of records in hockey: It's the superlative manner to which he established the standard on how to compete and conduct oneself in a pro hockey setting.
You can read this information in an instructional manual. He co-authored "Hockey, Here's Howe," in 1963, a how-to hockey book that found itself in the impressionable hands and minds of many of the greats that followed Howe into the NHL. This includes the man who broke many of his records: Wayne Gretzky.
But regrettably, and unlike Gretzky, this latest generation of player and fan is limited to its reading. We didn't grow up watching this prolific attacking force who finished in the top five in NHL scoring for 20 straight seasons. We never saw the 23-time All-Star who was as lethal with his elbows as he was dazzling with the puck on his stick. We don't know the man who returned to professional hockey in 1973 - almost 30 years after his NHL debut - to not only share a line with his sons, but dominate the opposition with his offspring.
We weren't witness to his legend, but it has still undeniably impacted us.
Magnificence and mean
What separates Howe from the rest of the game's greats, and even more so than his longevity - a quality that contributed in him maintaining 19 pro hockey records - was his ability to blend magnificence with mean. This was a genetic freak but also a trail blazer in terms of conditioning. And for that, and his truck-like build, he was unlike any player in his era.
He was impossible to push off the puck, often punishing those who tried. And in his defense of his territory, he essentially sent out an open invitation to settle disputes with fists. Though after the damage he did to the face of Lou Fontinato, rarely did he have takers.
A natural goal-scorer, playmaker, and enforcer, the Gordie Howe hat trick was coined for his deeply layered dominance. Now, and until fighting is abolished, single-game performances that include a goal, assist, and fight will come with a badge of honor, and a chance for players to have their name mentioned in the same breath as Gordie's.
Affable giant
For all his intimidation on the ice, Howe was charming, shy nearly to the point of submissive, and the definition of class. He was the epitome of humble, graciousness, and avoided controversy in his decades in the limelight. But most of all, he was considered the ultimate family man.
If there was any real criticism of Howe, it was that he didn't protest for higher wages. Imagine that.
This was a farm boy from rural Saskatchewan, who was content with a Detroit Red Wings-branded jacket as his signing bonus after inking his first contract with the organization he eventually led to four Stanley Cups.
Howe never professed his greatness, but certainly understood his impact and place in history. He visited the rinks that Gretzky played at to ensure he was present when his records fell, and left but only a few awaiting hands without his signature as he toured in his post-playing career.
These moments, and in his time conversing with his admirers, are where fans who weren't around in his era can appreciate his greatness - the looks adorn on the faces of those he touched being the best place to start.
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