Throughout New England, girls and boys are of their driveways, firing pucks towards storage doorways till the winter gentle fades. They depend down imaginary clocks that result in Olympic additional time.
With every technology, the names change however inspiration follows. In 1960, it was the Cleary brothers delivering America’s first males’s Olympic hockey gold. In 1980, it was Mike Eruzione and the query that also echoes: Do you imagine in miracles? This winter, it’s Jack Hughes ending it in additional time, and it’s Megan Keller stepping right into a shot with gold on the road. It’s additionally Matt Boldy hanging first within the fiercest rivalry.
Round right here, the space from driveway to future feels shut sufficient to think about. That’s what makes hockey in New England totally different. The legends by no means really feel out of attain as they skated in our rinks.
However when you watched the lads’s Olympic ultimate intently, an important second got here after the successful purpose. After the medal ceremony, two young children have been introduced onto the ice. They have been Johnny Gaudreau’s youngsters.
Many of the world knew him as “Johnny Hockey.” These of us who watched him at Boston Faculty bear in mind the magic. He wasn’t the most important participant on the ice — heroes not often come within the form we count on — however he performed with creativeness and pleasure, the sort that made you lean ahead as a result of one thing surprising was about to occur.
Johnny’s life was lower quick in a tragedy that also feels not possible to course of — struck and killed by a automobile whereas driving his bicycle. An excellent profession. A younger household. But on the most important stage in sport, his former USA teammates made positive the world noticed one thing higher than the ultimate rating. They carried his jersey. They carried his youngsters onto heart ice. They widened their celebration to create space for love.
For the youngsters within the driveways, the purpose will at all times be the headline; that’s how goals start. For the mother and father watching close by, the bigger story lingers. We noticed excellence underneath stress and braveness in additional time. However we additionally witnessed loyalty, brotherhood, and humanity overriding every part else.
We noticed grown males, bruised and exhausted, refuse to let glory overshadow their grief for a fallen teammate and their devotion to his household. Victory is about what you win. Love is about who you refuse to depart behind.
The Olympics have fun greater than nationwide satisfaction. They remind us what binds us. They present our kids that greatness isn’t just about what you accomplish, however about who you carry with you whenever you get there.
Miracles do occur on the ice, however they start lengthy earlier than the medal ceremony. They start in driveways and frozen ponds — in small decisions: who wakes up early, who takes the final shot, who places within the additional effort. In addition they start within the quiet formation of character lengthy earlier than the highlight finds you.
The second I’ll always remember isn’t the golden purpose. It’s the picture of Johnny Hockey’s youngsters at heart ice, carried by teammates who refused to let love be an afterthought. Within the exhilarating second they’d dreamed about since they first laced up their skates, these males made house for one thing quieter and way more enduring: love.
That’s the miracle I’ll bear in mind. This miracle made me cry.
And someplace tonight, a baby will take one final shot earlier than heading inside. They’ll increase their arms in imaginary triumph. Perhaps they’ll tumble into the snow in celebration. Perhaps a youthful sibling will wander into the “rink,” eager to be a part of it. And possibly — simply possibly — that older little one will pull them into the celebration as a substitute of pushing them away. That’s the legacy price remembering. Not simply the additional time winner.
What issues most is that we widen the circle — for the best victories are those the place we embrace these we love at heart ice.
Dr. Peter F. Folan is the Head of College at Dexter Southfield.
