I am one of the first to admit… I don’t cry very often.
It’s just a thing I have where I don’t have a ton of “Guy-Cry moments at the movies… But among my top 3 in film would probably be:
1. The scene in Warrior where Tom Hardy cusses out Nick Nolte (Who I still say should have won an Oscar)
2. The scene in Top Gun where Tom Cruise loses Goose (Anthony Edwards)… To be honest the really heartbreaking part might be when Maverick sees Meg Ryan afterwards. BTW great take on Goose by Jim Rome HERE
3. The scene at the end of Friday night lights when Tim McGraw gives that kid from the Tron remake his State Championship ring
So suffice to say there isn’t much that really gets me too choked up… But there is something to be said about a truly magical sports moment that can make you (almost) tear up. Something that isn’t scripted or forced but comes out naturally and then plays out like a Hollywood feature.
I could list a ton of these moments… I was there the night Gretzky broke Gordie Howe’s All-time points record – In the final minute to tie the game with an empty net IN the house he built at Northlands. I am still blown away when I watch not only Eberle’s World Junior goal vs the Russians (even with a brutal call by Pierre McGuire), but the two he scored vs the USA the next year (“He’s done it again!” still gives me goosebumps even if they lost). And among them all, my favorite would probably be this years Game 6 of the Cup final (for obvious reasons).
The Dallas Stars will retire the number of one of the greatest Americans (and a WHL alumni) to ever play the game tonight and I am sure it will be an awesome ceremony (Dallas does things right). But for me nothing will compare to his last night playing in a Stars jersey in Dallas when I was almost brought to tears. It was fan appreciation night in at the American Airlines Center in a game that meant nothing to both Dallas and Anaheim as both teams were set to miss the playoffs. 1-1 game and the fan appreciation video comes up on the board with 5 minutes left in regulation. The video ends with a message from Mike Modano (the Captain of course) thanking the fans for their support. What follows is an ovation from the crowd worthy of a movie. On a side note, I don’t say this often but good on the NHL officials for recognizing the weight of the moment and literally stopping the game to give Modano and the fans in Dallas a chance to say goodbye. Either way, after all this I was already blown away, as apparently were the Dallas Stars as they ended up giving Anaheim a lead after this… Cue Mike Modano hero music… As I said these situations don’t present themselves that often and when they do I think it takes a special player to be able to rise to the occasion as Modano would go on to tip home a game tying goal and then score in the shootout to lead the Stars to a win. Check it out here… You can’t write this stuff.
It made me think about the crazy drama that must have come up about whether to count the goal or not? I remember talking about this at the time… And I realize the integrity of the game and such… But my thought is that Kris King was probably sitting in the NHL review booth back in Toronto, made the call, said it was a high stick and all the sudden Bill Daly walked through – unplugged the monitors and said “What high stick?”. I kind of imagined it went down like this. In truth I think it was a judgement call and in a nothing game the officials weren’t going to take that one away unless they absolutely had to.
In the end, Modano would go on to sign the next year and play a limited role with the Red Wings. He had another great moment in Minnesota where he was called out for the three stars and donned the old North Stars Jersey. But of course as I explained this is the moment that will always stand out to me. Completely unscripted and I admit a little tear jerking at times… And a big part of the reason that I would say I was in the industry I was for so long.
Medicated Thoughts 