Team Canada 72 in Sports Hall of Fame
May 31, 2005 21:51:40 GMT -5
Post by NostalgHab on May 31, 2005 21:51:40 GMT -5
Team Canada 72 will be inducted into Canada's Sport Hall of Fame as a team. It means the induction of many Canadiens players on that team, a lot of them which are in the Hockey Hall of Fame (Ken Dryden, Yvan Cournoyer, Frank Mahovlich, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe). But it also means the induction of players such as Pete Mahovlich and Paul Henderson and coaches such as John Ferguson in a Sports Hall of Fame. The Hockey Hall of Fame has not inducted Team Canada '72 but has, I believe, a special exhibit.
Sun, May 29, 2005
By GEORGE GROSS -- Toronto Sun
It was almost 33 years ago that time stood still across our land.
The streets of cities and villages were nearly deserted, as the nation sat in front of television sets or listened to radio broadcasts of the Canada-Soviet Union winner-take-all series in the deciding eighth game in Moscow of the Cold War hockey summit.
Then, with only a few seconds remaining, Paul Henderson whipped the puck behind the Soviets' brilliant netminder Vladislav Tretiak to end the dramatic shinny confrontation and give all proud Canadians a lot to cheer for by winning this nail-biter and the overall series.
For this unforgettable achievement, Team Canada 1972, its members such as Henderson, Phil Esposito and Ken Dryden will be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 2 at a gala dinner at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
I lived for the pressure-packed series, feared for my heart and when it was all over, I was relieved enough to coin the following headline in the then growing Toronto Sun: "Never In Doubt."
It was therefore disappointing to read an embryonic critic's dismissal of this gigantic Canadian sporting triumph as an "exhibition series," while adding further unkind remarks about Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductees Catriona LeMay Doan, cyclists Curt Harnett and Steve Bauer, former Montreal Expos pitcher Claude Raymond and outstanding baseball executive Paul Beeston.
Obviously, this journalism neophyte is trying to make a name for himself at all cost.
Winston Churchill's famous World War II response to Hitler's threats "some chicken, some neck" could be applied to the Canada-Soviet series as "some exhibition, some series."
I guess that's why by real experts the series was rated as the Series of the Century.
Henderson, 62, is a Christian minister and chooses his words carefully. When I asked him if he was surprised it took 33 years for the victorious team, including coaches Harry Sinden and John Ferguson Sr., to be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, Henderson said:
"It's one of those things. Sometimes it takes a while before committees decide. In any case, it's better late than never. A few of us were inducted earlier as individuals but I'm particularly pleased that the likes of Ron Ellis, Pete Mahovlich, Bill White, Pat Stapleton, J.P. Parise and several others, all excellent hockey players, will also be recognized.
"It's a wonderful feeling to be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as a team. We should be celebrating, but some people have no pride in our country, institutions and our people, which is sad."
I guess it's not surprising that in a country where some people who have done nothing get to publicly criticize others' accomplishments with apparent impunity and the general population allows its government to go uncontested because it doesn't feel like spending two hours to go to the polls.
Sun, May 29, 2005
By GEORGE GROSS -- Toronto Sun
It was almost 33 years ago that time stood still across our land.
The streets of cities and villages were nearly deserted, as the nation sat in front of television sets or listened to radio broadcasts of the Canada-Soviet Union winner-take-all series in the deciding eighth game in Moscow of the Cold War hockey summit.
Then, with only a few seconds remaining, Paul Henderson whipped the puck behind the Soviets' brilliant netminder Vladislav Tretiak to end the dramatic shinny confrontation and give all proud Canadians a lot to cheer for by winning this nail-biter and the overall series.
For this unforgettable achievement, Team Canada 1972, its members such as Henderson, Phil Esposito and Ken Dryden will be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 2 at a gala dinner at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
I lived for the pressure-packed series, feared for my heart and when it was all over, I was relieved enough to coin the following headline in the then growing Toronto Sun: "Never In Doubt."
It was therefore disappointing to read an embryonic critic's dismissal of this gigantic Canadian sporting triumph as an "exhibition series," while adding further unkind remarks about Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductees Catriona LeMay Doan, cyclists Curt Harnett and Steve Bauer, former Montreal Expos pitcher Claude Raymond and outstanding baseball executive Paul Beeston.
Obviously, this journalism neophyte is trying to make a name for himself at all cost.
Winston Churchill's famous World War II response to Hitler's threats "some chicken, some neck" could be applied to the Canada-Soviet series as "some exhibition, some series."
I guess that's why by real experts the series was rated as the Series of the Century.
Henderson, 62, is a Christian minister and chooses his words carefully. When I asked him if he was surprised it took 33 years for the victorious team, including coaches Harry Sinden and John Ferguson Sr., to be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, Henderson said:
"It's one of those things. Sometimes it takes a while before committees decide. In any case, it's better late than never. A few of us were inducted earlier as individuals but I'm particularly pleased that the likes of Ron Ellis, Pete Mahovlich, Bill White, Pat Stapleton, J.P. Parise and several others, all excellent hockey players, will also be recognized.
"It's a wonderful feeling to be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as a team. We should be celebrating, but some people have no pride in our country, institutions and our people, which is sad."
I guess it's not surprising that in a country where some people who have done nothing get to publicly criticize others' accomplishments with apparent impunity and the general population allows its government to go uncontested because it doesn't feel like spending two hours to go to the polls.