Trevor Linden's jersey #16 was retired last night by the Vancouver Canucks. He played there from 1988-1998, and 2001-2008. The years in between were a black hole of meaninglessness for Canucks' fans.I barely watch hockey anymore, but will always have this team in my blood, thanks largely to this one man. He was an impressive person, a hard-working player, and he nearly singlehandedly brought the Stanley Cup to Vancouver in 1994.
His game 7 against the New York Rangers was one of the most tragic and yet heroic performances I have ever seen from a team athlete. He very nearly conquered the world. Tears were shed when it was not to be. I became a man that day.
The picture below, from after one of those hard-fought playoff games, pretty much says it all.
And you might not enjoy this video montage unless you are a Canucks fan, but regardless it pretty much sums up my childhood and adolescence.
3 comments:
I'll show my respect for the guy.
And let's not forget the brief time ho put that Habs jersey on!
Every Canadian team should have a Stanley Cup banner. Kudos to Linden for doing his best to give Vancouver its birthright.
It was moving to watch that jersey retirement. Linden impacted a lot of us when we were kids and not just because he was a great player, he's also a great man and a true role model.
I know a family who have a young son with terminal cancer, Linden visits him regularly and calls the family at home as well to check on this kid. He does this with many many other kids too.
At the ceremony they told a story of another kid who was dying and had refused treatment at the age of 9. Linden visited him and inspired him not to give up. The boy lived until he was 17 and frequently thanked Linden for inspiring him to keep going.
Glad to see that you took note of this Jon. We're all waiting for you to come back to hockey someday.
Post a Comment