Why do you think it's over? Just because you lost? It's not over. That's what you don't get, you don't lose when you fail. You lose when you give up.
I was sitting in my dorm room sulking about a month and a half ago. I got an email saying that I hadn't won the fellowship I had applied for. All decisions were - are - final the email said. It was the standard, you're great, just not great enough, so have a great life kind of deal. I was reading it, and my heart dropped as soon as the phrase, "We regret to inform you" came about. Hundreds of hours of translating, talking, searching, skyping, and playing hockey were spent just to get my idea off the ground.
Him: But what about Wayne Gretzky? I watched him for a couple of games in the 90's, I haven't watched a lot of hockey, but how does he fit into your argument about culture and the ethics of hockey. Me: Well he fits right in actually - Him: But he was small and effeminate, that isn't reconcilable with your project given your philosophical take on the ethics and moral codification of hockey. Me: Well you see he had people, like Luc Robataille and others, who were there to protect him and play the role of a new version of the ethics that I described. It's important to remember though that the rules were changed because of Gretzky, so the modern game's ethics also changed and that is all the more interesting. Him: Yeah, but I don't think that's true. What you wrote just can't account for Gretzky.
My friends told me that they knew before the letter came that I was going to probably not get it. The top 149 students in the country, and I was one of the 101 losers. I came back to my dorm room from that interview and told them that I didn't think it went well. When I got my letter back, it was confirmed.
So I sulked a bit. Well I sulked out loud for 24 hours. Up until a month ago, I was sulking internally. I had literally gone to the ends of the earth contacting the farthest Island off Russia's west coast, the farthest down in the tip of Patagonia, and the most remote in the badlands of the Kazahki-Siberia borderlands. All of it was based on the idea that if I won I would have 30k to spend on housing and food - the rest would be covered by some of the nicest people I had ever met. I had promised people I would be there if I won, to coach, to play, to be their American Ambassador on social media. It was all a high stakes gamble. One that I lost. Now I had no post-grad plans, and all of my ideas (like interning at places I cared about pursuing a career in like the Fed Bureau of Ethics, the EPA, etc.) were foiled by other unfortunate happenings. Nothing was left but to coach and play hockey for the summer. No job, no real resume building, no nothing. I was good, just not good enough, and at the time I was just about to give up on my dreams of exploring philosophy around the world.
I asked my friends what I should do, they told me to keep trying. I asked my girlfriend, she told me everything would be ok. So I called home, and my mom told me the phrase I posted at the top. I shouldn't be so hard on myself she said, I just needed to keep striving to become who I want to be. Failure was not the end all be all of my life, and I hadn't lost anything, but if I gave up I'd lose everything I worked for. I knew she was right, but I didn't know how to take her advice at the time. I didn't know how to apply her words of wisdom. What who I want to be seems to change with each failure. But, honestly, I felt like I really had lost my shot. I put my entire year into a scholarship, done nothing but eat, sleep, and breathe it. Then poof, I lost.
Now its late May, and I think I understand that quote a bit more. I saw that the Fulbright ETA opened up spots in Brazil, and I was wishy-washy if I wanted to do it. I was vaccilating because I was afraid of failing to win a scholarship that for some people is a thing made of dreams. I was being an idiot. I didn't lose the Watson. I didn't lose 30k. And I didn't lose my dreams. I failed to realize it through that one manner, but that doesn't mean there aren't other ways to get there. I failed, but I didn't lose.
I hope when I write my next blog post, or whenever I get the info in I can say I was chosen for a Fulbright to Brazil (or a different nation with more hockey ) and then was able to study the philosophy of sports morality afterwards.
sry to nitpick here but Luc Robitaille was not an "enforcer" and he did nothing to "protect" Gretzky. Robitaille was a goal scorer. The primary "enforcers" playing with Gretzky were Semenko and Mcsorley. You'll notice Mcsorley got traded along with Gretzky to LA in the summer of 88.
Also, big rule changes occurred after the 2005 full season strike. It was because scoring was very low for many years and they wanted to cut down on severe concussions. The rule changes were an attempt to increase scoring and decrease head injuries. Didn't have to do with Gretzky. In fact, when Todd Bertuzzi badly injured Steve Moore ending Moore's career Gretzky was a big proponent of getting Bertuzzi back into the NHL and on the Canadian National Team.
On June 02 2017 02:58 JimmyJRaynor wrote: sry to nitpick here but Luc Robitaille was not an "enforcer" and he did nothing to "protect" Gretzky. Robitaille was a goal scorer. The primary "enforcers" playing with Gretzky were Semenko and Mcsorley. You'll notice Mcsorley got traded along with Gretzky to LA in the summer of 88.
Also, big rule changes occurred after the 2005 full season strike. It was because scoring was very low for many years and they wanted to cut down on severe concussions. The rule changes were an attempt to increase scoring and decrease head injuries. Didn't have to do with Gretzky. In fact, when Todd Bertuzzi badly injured Steve Moore ending Moore's career Gretzky was a big proponent of getting Bertuzzi back into the NHL and on the Canadian National Team.
this ended Steve Moore's career and was the exact kind of vigilante on ice justice Wayne Gretzky was a big proponent of his entire career.
http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/robitlu01.html - I checked his PIM, its like a penalty a game or two a game, but you're right it doesn't point to anything like I had thought. I had Robitaille pegged wrong - but I mostly mentioned him because my interviewer said that he lived next to the man. I got into hockey way after Gretzky. I watched it as a kid with my dad, but I didn't start playing and really paying attention until really about 4 years ago, so I didn't know much lore and history now. I know a lot about rule change history though - mostly because of my project that I was trying to get ok-ed on hockey ethics.
On a separate note, I agree that Gretzky has made it clear he thinks the physical side is important, but I think in condensing the conversation I didn't make it clear that I was addressing several points my interviewer made. I was referring to this The Gretzky Rule This rule change happened way earlier than when my interviewer saw Gretzky and was one of the big reasons that I had so much trouble making him understand how Gretzky really did fit into the culture side.
that rule change got reversed later on as they mentioned in the article. it was only in effect for a few years. it had no lasting impact on hockey culture or hockey ethics.
On June 03 2017 00:06 JimmyJRaynor wrote: that rule change got reversed later on as they mentioned in the article. it was only in effect for a few years. it had no lasting impact on hockey culture or hockey ethics.
7 years, not just a few. I would strongly disagree with that last bit. I realize that the rule got reversed, but that isn't the end all be all of its impact. The impact is huge from an ethics standpoint because showing that players are what the rules are bent around, and not the other way around like in many other sports is just one reason why rules like that - even if they do get reversed - have lasting effects on the way that strategy, ethics, and rules go together. From a social/cultural side I think we can credit rule changes like that and the almost reversal entirely towards what Gretzky's Oiler's did in the 80's with why hockey has begun to swing the other way with the new Penguin's offensive strategies - especially on the PP.
On June 02 2017 02:58 JimmyJRaynor wrote: sry to nitpick here but Luc Robitaille was not an "enforcer" and he did nothing to "protect" Gretzky. Robitaille was a goal scorer. The primary "enforcers" playing with Gretzky were Semenko and Mcsorley. You'll notice Mcsorley got traded along with Gretzky to LA in the summer of 88.
You mean the primary players alongside of Wayne Gretzky were Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri. Jari Kurri assisted Wayne Gretzky on over half his goals!!! Sink that in. Never forget legendary defenseman Paul Coffey. Who then later played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. If Lemieux didn't get ill, the Penguins would have won way more cups in the mid 90s after their 2 Cups in the early 90s. Jagr, Francis, Stevens, Coffey, Recchi, Trottier, Lemieux! Godlike teams!
On June 03 2017 04:48 docvoc wrote: From a social/cultural side I think we can credit rule changes like that and the almost reversal entirely towards what Gretzky's Oiler's did in the 80's with why hockey has begun to swing the other way with the new Penguin's offensive strategies - especially on the PP.
If Lemieux didn't get ill, the Penguins would have won way more cups in the mid 90s after their 2 Cups in the early 90s. Jagr, Francis, Stevens, Coffey, Recchi, Trottier, Lemieux! Godlike team! After 1995, the dead puck era truly began. Thus the trap was born, first invented by the New Jersey Devils. Niedermayer, Stevens and their third defenseman and goalkeeper Martin Brodeur.
On June 02 2017 02:58 JimmyJRaynor wrote: sry to nitpick here but Luc Robitaille was not an "enforcer" and he did nothing to "protect" Gretzky. Robitaille was a goal scorer. The primary "enforcers" playing with Gretzky were Semenko and Mcsorley. You'll notice Mcsorley got traded along with Gretzky to LA in the summer of 88.
You mean the primary players alongside of Wayne Gretzky were Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri. Jari Kurri assisted Wayne Gretzky on over half his goals!!! Sink that in. Never forget legendary defenseman Paul Coffey. Who then later played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. If Lemieux didn't get ill, the Penguins would have won way more cups in the mid 90s after their 2 Cups in the early 90s. Jagr, Francis, Stevens, Coffey, Recchi, Trottier, Lemieux! Godlike teams!
On June 03 2017 04:48 docvoc wrote: From a social/cultural side I think we can credit rule changes like that and the almost reversal entirely towards what Gretzky's Oiler's did in the 80's with why hockey has begun to swing the other way with the new Penguin's offensive strategies - especially on the PP.
If Lemieux didn't get ill, the Penguins would have won way more cups in the mid 90s after their 2 Cups in the early 90s. Jagr, Francis, Stevens, Coffey, Recchi, Trottier, Lemieux! Godlike team! After 1995, the dead puck era truly began. Thus the trap was born, first invented by the New Jersey Devils. Niedermayer, Stevens and their third defenseman and goalkeeper Martin Brodeur.
my post discusses his "enforcers" not the skill players he played with. the enforcers were Mcsorley and Semenko. Mcsorley followed Gretzky to LA.
the trap was a variation on the "Roger Nielson System of Hockey". Nielson teams could slow a game down to a crawl when facing a more skilled team
On June 03 2017 09:23 [N3O]r3d33m3r wrote: You mean the primary players alongside of Wayne Gretzky were Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri. Jari Kurri assisted Wayne Gretzky on over half his goals!!! Sink that in. Never forget legendary defenseman Paul Coffey. Who then later played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. If Lemieux didn't get ill, the Penguins would have won way more cups in the mid 90s after their 2 Cups in the early 90s. Jagr, Francis, Stevens, Coffey, Recchi, Trottier, Lemieux! Godlike teams!
On June 03 2017 04:48 docvoc wrote: From a social/cultural side I think we can credit rule changes like that and the almost reversal entirely towards what Gretzky's Oiler's did in the 80's with why hockey has begun to swing the other way with the new Penguin's offensive strategies - especially on the PP.
If Lemieux didn't get ill, the Penguins would have won way more cups in the mid 90s after their 2 Cups in the early 90s. Jagr, Francis, Stevens, Coffey, Recchi, Trottier, Lemieux! Godlike team! After 1995, the dead puck era truly began. Thus the trap was born, first invented by the New Jersey Devils. Niedermayer, Stevens and their third defenseman and goalkeeper Martin Brodeur.
my post discusses his "enforcers" not the skill players he played with. the enforcers were Mcsorley and Semenko. Mcsorley followed Gretzky to LA.
the trap was a variation on the "Roger Nielson System of Hockey". Nielson teams could slow a game down to a crawl when facing a more skilled team
Interesting, never heard the term "Roger Nielson System of Hockey". I guess his team is also what really made Gretzky shine.
EPT
) and then was able to study the philosophy of sports morality afterwards. 
