Herb Brooks: "Tonight, *we* are the greatest hockey team in the world. " "This is your time! Now go out there and take it!"
"Two days later the miracle was made complete. My boys defeated Finland to win the gold medal, coming from behind once again. As I watched them out there, celebrating on the ice, I realized that Patti had been right. It was a lot more than a hockey game, not only for those who watched it, but for those who played in it. I've often been asked in the years since Lake Placid what was the best moment for me. Well, it was here - the sight of 20 young men of such differing backgrounds now standing as one. Young men willing to sacrifice so much of themselves all for an unknown. A few years later, the U.S. began using professional athletes at the Games - Dream Teams. I always found that term ironic because now that we have Dream Teams, we seldom ever get to dream. But on one weekend, as America and the world watched, a group of remarkable young men gave the nation what it needed most - a chance, for one night, not only to dream, but a chance, once again, to believe.
My first love was hockey. I played at a very high level after High School from Alaska to Buffalo, for two years. An injury stopped my dreams of playing college hockey and of going to the Air Force Academy. I wanted to go to the Academy to become a fighter pilot; based on the extensive physical and medical testing required to get in to the school i was also given a fighter pilot spot. This meant that i would have a chance at my dream career, and if that didnt work out it still is one of the toughest schools in the country to get in to.
Well things happen for a reason i always tell myself, I found new interests, grew much closer to my family, and found my future wife. I still love to play hockey, lifting weights, reading anything from a good fantasy novel to random textbooks. I love BioChemistry especially when it applies to the human CNS, i read books about this for fun. I think college shouldn't be just about grades or what happens next, it should be a place to try new things, explore the world, talk with professors that have vast amounts of knowledge, and to find what your passion is.
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