Throughout New England, girls and boys are of their driveways, firing pucks in opposition to storage doorways till the winter gentle fades. They depend down imaginary clocks that result in Olympic extra 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 consider in miracles? This winter, it’s Jack Hughes ending it in extra time, and it’s Megan Keller stepping right into a shot with gold on the road. It’s additionally Matt Boldy putting first within the fiercest rivalry.
Round right here, the gap 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 in the event you watched the lads’s Olympic remaining carefully, an important second got here after the profitable objective. After the medal ceremony, two young children had been introduced onto the ice. They had been Johnny Gaudreau’s youngsters.
A lot of the world knew him as “Johnny Hockey.” These of us who watched him at Boston School keep in mind the magic. He wasn’t the most important participant on the ice — heroes hardly ever come within the form we anticipate — however he performed with creativeness and pleasure, the sort that made you lean ahead as a result of one thing sudden was about to occur.
Johnny’s life was minimize quick in a tragedy that also feels unimaginable to course of — struck and killed by a automobile whereas using his bicycle. A superb profession. A younger household. But on the most important stage in sport, his former USA teammates made positive the world noticed one thing better than the ultimate rating. They carried his jersey. They carried his youngsters onto middle ice. They widened their celebration to create space for love.
For the children within the driveways, the objective 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 extra time. However we additionally witnessed loyalty, brotherhood, and humanity overriding every little thing 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 go away behind.
The Olympics have fun greater than nationwide satisfaction. They remind us what binds us. They present our youngsters that greatness is not only about what you accomplish, however about who you carry with you while 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 selections: 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 objective. It’s the picture of Johnny Hockey’s youngsters at middle 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 much more enduring: love.
That’s the miracle I’ll keep 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,” desirous to be a part of it. And perhaps — simply perhaps — that older baby will pull them into the celebration as a substitute of pushing them away. That’s the legacy value remembering. Not simply the extra 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 middle ice.
Dr. Peter F. Folan is the Head of College at Dexter Southfield.
