...was the Miracle on Ice. Yea, I know exactly where I was; in the locker room and on the ice just like I was every weekend in the winter from age 6-16. However, I have the image embedded in my mind of being in the locker room and having the radio on as we were listening to this Olympic Hockey Game. There were lots of fathers around lacing up our skates, lots of rubber mats so we could walk around without skateguards, the smell of coffee, Sanka in a styrofoam cup, and the scent that only an ice rink has. Echos, lots of echos, and a pile of slush that the zamboni left before it exited the rink, a strip of unfinished ice down the middle of the rink, the driver was on a schedule. The equipment I was wearing was primitive compared to what is worn today. Everything we, and almost everybody else on the rink, had was used. Hockey equipment is too expensive to buy new every year for growing boys; things were passed down, it was a cummunity. One thing that I never passed down was the helmet that Riley is wearing in the photo above; that was my hockey helmet in 1980, the piece of tape with my name on it is original; the one I was wearing when a bunch of college boys beat the best team in the world. Not just the best hockey team, but the BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD. This victory would be like CU beating the Kenyans or Ethiopians in the World XC championships. A famous person used the analogy of a Canadian College Football Team beating the Pittsburg Steelers. Riley and Kayle went through a box in the garage today and pulled out some old stuff. Kayle certainly has the eye for a top a little less rugged, while Riley chose to dawn the classic. I had no idea that they were going to bring out the totally 80's hockey helmets, but am glad they reminded me where I was 30 years ago tomorrow.
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