There is nothing more fun than winning
On Friday night, Hugh's hockey team, the Shellbrook Elks, claimed the top prize in Senior Men's hockey in Saskatchewan by beating the Rosetown Red Wings 5 - 2. For the first time ever, Shellbrook won the AAA provincial title.
When the dust settled, I took a moment to announce to the Facebook world the excitement. At first I considered putting, "There is nothing better than winning", but hesitated, thinking there might be people out there who would start a Facebook argument with me over how high I place winning on the hierarchy of things in my life. I then considered putting, "There is nothing more fun than winning", but again, I hesitated. I thought that the absoluteness of the statement might still open the door for criticism. Finally, I settled on "There aren't many things more fun in life than winning" and added a couple of photos.
When I got home, I began thinking about the two statements I discarded. I started thinking about the things in my life that might be better than winning and I was quick to come up with a number of things including the births of my kids and my engagement to Hugh. I realized I was glad I hadn't put "There is nothing better than winning." I then began to critique my second statement and was really hard pressed to come up with anything that was more fun that my evening watching Hugh, my brother Luke, and the rest of the Elks take the provincial title. I started feeling a little guilty. I have two wonderful little boys at home. Certainly, I must have fun with them. I also live with my best friend. Hugh and I laugh lots and enjoy doing many of the same things. Surely, some of those must top the list. It was only when I realized that I couldn't come up with anything more fun than winning, that I realized that part of the reason Friday night was so fun was because for me was because it wasn't just Hugh's hockey game and the Elks' weren't just Hugh's team. Myself and the boys are part of it. The win wasn't just Hugh's. It was mine and it was Calder's. We are part of the story.
In the future, when we reminisce about the game, Hugh will talk about calling me at lunch from work. He had tweaked his back and could barely move. He will recount how it happened and how he was afraid to phone me earlier because he had lots of work to do and he knew I would nag him to get his butt home to bed. Luke will tell how he knew Hugh's back was bad when he walked into our house later that afternoon and Hugh was lying face down on our floor while I tried to massage some of Hugh's back muscles to see if we could loosen him up. Luke will laugh at how Hugh could barely walk and I was telling him he would be fine once he got his skates on.
The boys' will reminisce about the game. The Elks got down quickly to Rosetown on Friday night. Ten minutes in it was 2-0. Shellbrook was able to even it up before the first period ended, but it felt like Rosetown really had the upper hand. Play evened itself out in the second period and it closed with a 2-2 draw. Years from now when Hugh and Luke talk about the game, they will discuss in detail the game winning goal that came on the power play at about the 13 minute mark of the third period. Hugh will recount the puck going out to him at the point. Luke will describe the shot from the bench and how it looked like frogger - legs and sticks moving out of the way at the exact same moment, so that Hugh's shot could find its way to the back of the net*. I will then pipe in that Calder and I jumped up from our seats at the exact same moment, throwing our arms in the air (Calder had two arms up. I had one. Boone occupied the other!). I will demonstrate the EXACT way Calder said, "Woooooo" and share that we were both banging on the glass. Luke will kill himself laughing because I am so competitive and as he says, "Not your typical hockey wife". I will talk about the look of pain on Hugh's face when his teammates rushed to hug him.
Luke will talk about how excited Calder was out on the ice when they handed out the awards. He will talk about how the players wanted to get the trophy into the group picture and when it was taking so long to get it, Calder tried to weasel himself and Hugh's plaque into the shot. Hugh will remind us that Luke commented on their way of the ice that he thought I was the most excited person out there - players and coaches included. Hugh will recall how excited Calder was in the room after the game and how he had to put Calder in a bear hug while speeches were being made because all Calder wanted to do was run around the room giving all the players high fives. We will laugh about partying well into the night with the trophy and how Petey rigged so that they could actually drink out of it. We will reminisce about our socializing being tied to the clock and not because we had a sitter to get home to but because we had to get Luke back to Saskatoon so that he could make his 5:30 flight to Vegas.
I have no doubt that at the end of 2014 when Hugh and I put together our Christmas letter that the Elks' provincial title will be at the top of the list of all the things we did this year. It had it all - Fun, family, and of course, winning. If I had that status to write again, I think I would put "There is nothing more fun than winning." It was an amazing night. Next up, Manitoba. When the Elks win that best of 5, they will be on their way to the Allen Cup playing for the national title.
*The game winning goal was given to another player. Luke swears he didn't see it go off of any stick, so because this is my blog, I am making my husband the hero. I just want you to know, for the record, that it was actually my friend Kerri's husband, Chris, who was the official hero! (Oh, and not my best friend Kerri - mother of Dylan - another friend, Kerri, whose husband is also Chris. So confusing!)
When the dust settled, I took a moment to announce to the Facebook world the excitement. At first I considered putting, "There is nothing better than winning", but hesitated, thinking there might be people out there who would start a Facebook argument with me over how high I place winning on the hierarchy of things in my life. I then considered putting, "There is nothing more fun than winning", but again, I hesitated. I thought that the absoluteness of the statement might still open the door for criticism. Finally, I settled on "There aren't many things more fun in life than winning" and added a couple of photos.
When I got home, I began thinking about the two statements I discarded. I started thinking about the things in my life that might be better than winning and I was quick to come up with a number of things including the births of my kids and my engagement to Hugh. I realized I was glad I hadn't put "There is nothing better than winning." I then began to critique my second statement and was really hard pressed to come up with anything that was more fun that my evening watching Hugh, my brother Luke, and the rest of the Elks take the provincial title. I started feeling a little guilty. I have two wonderful little boys at home. Certainly, I must have fun with them. I also live with my best friend. Hugh and I laugh lots and enjoy doing many of the same things. Surely, some of those must top the list. It was only when I realized that I couldn't come up with anything more fun than winning, that I realized that part of the reason Friday night was so fun was because for me was because it wasn't just Hugh's hockey game and the Elks' weren't just Hugh's team. Myself and the boys are part of it. The win wasn't just Hugh's. It was mine and it was Calder's. We are part of the story.
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| Luke talks about a picture that he loves at my Grandma's of my dad and our cousin. They were both playing senior hockey for the Tisdale Ramblers and are pictured in front of a huge trophy. I have no doubt that years from now our kids and Luke's kids will see this picture and be amazed at how incredible it is that their dads won this title together. |
The boys' will reminisce about the game. The Elks got down quickly to Rosetown on Friday night. Ten minutes in it was 2-0. Shellbrook was able to even it up before the first period ended, but it felt like Rosetown really had the upper hand. Play evened itself out in the second period and it closed with a 2-2 draw. Years from now when Hugh and Luke talk about the game, they will discuss in detail the game winning goal that came on the power play at about the 13 minute mark of the third period. Hugh will recount the puck going out to him at the point. Luke will describe the shot from the bench and how it looked like frogger - legs and sticks moving out of the way at the exact same moment, so that Hugh's shot could find its way to the back of the net*. I will then pipe in that Calder and I jumped up from our seats at the exact same moment, throwing our arms in the air (Calder had two arms up. I had one. Boone occupied the other!). I will demonstrate the EXACT way Calder said, "Woooooo" and share that we were both banging on the glass. Luke will kill himself laughing because I am so competitive and as he says, "Not your typical hockey wife". I will talk about the look of pain on Hugh's face when his teammates rushed to hug him.
Luke will talk about how excited Calder was out on the ice when they handed out the awards. He will talk about how the players wanted to get the trophy into the group picture and when it was taking so long to get it, Calder tried to weasel himself and Hugh's plaque into the shot. Hugh will remind us that Luke commented on their way of the ice that he thought I was the most excited person out there - players and coaches included. Hugh will recall how excited Calder was in the room after the game and how he had to put Calder in a bear hug while speeches were being made because all Calder wanted to do was run around the room giving all the players high fives. We will laugh about partying well into the night with the trophy and how Petey rigged so that they could actually drink out of it. We will reminisce about our socializing being tied to the clock and not because we had a sitter to get home to but because we had to get Luke back to Saskatoon so that he could make his 5:30 flight to Vegas.
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| Calder moving in to place the plaque in front. I didn't get a picture of him as he got closer, because I had put my camera down to yell at him to get out of the shot! |
*The game winning goal was given to another player. Luke swears he didn't see it go off of any stick, so because this is my blog, I am making my husband the hero. I just want you to know, for the record, that it was actually my friend Kerri's husband, Chris, who was the official hero! (Oh, and not my best friend Kerri - mother of Dylan - another friend, Kerri, whose husband is also Chris. So confusing!)
What a great night! Thanks for all the special moments relived- so that we could feel that we were there too! Glad you celebrated big! :)
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