He loved what it brought: a continuation of an unlikely hockey career. And he loved what it meant: vengeance against a lifetime of perceived doubters and the gratitude of teammates glad that he would do a job they could not imagine.
He put up with the pain because he was living his dream, just in a weird and damaging way.
his brothers found him dead of an accidental overdose in his Minneapolis apartment. Boogaard was 28
This is really young for a hockey player to die. What happened? Why was he taking so many meds?
That dream ended early, as it usually does, and no one had to tell him.
Was he just not good enough, or did obligations get in the way?
noble and barbaric, necessary and regrettable
It's interesting how a single job can have the ability to have characteristics that ultimately contradict each other.
One fight ended, another awaited. It was a cycle that commanded the rest of his life.
Shouldn't the sport be pushing you to worry more about playing than fighting people? Then again, people who play sports are meant to be more of entertainers than actual athletes half the time. Big good at the sport is only half the battle. The other half is making it so that people actually remember you.
He was 16
They made him punch someone at 16 just to put on a good show? And they congratulated him for it? Most young people are taught to fight with intelligence, not their fists, for it goes farther and doesn't break a person's nose.
They knew the choreography that precedes the violence.
The fights were staged, just for show. They get the fans to pick sides, pick favorites. It also makes the game itself more entertaining.
“I’m going to kill you,”
What did he do? This a threat; something must have happened for some random guy to say this to him.
Opportunity and obligation had collided, the way they can in hockey.
This happens a lot in life in general. Often people are held back from what they want by what they feel obligated to do. They often get in the way of each other.
just that he must.
why did he have to fight anyone? What was it meant to achieve?
pile,
Rachel, Abby, and I made to realization that the author uses many different words that have double meanings. He uses football terms that can easily be used to make his readers think about more than just the game. For example, the word "pile," he doesn't just mean a bunch of guys who tackled each other and need help untangling themselves. He is also referring to the pile of rubble that the victims had to be pulled out of after 9/11. There are plenty more words like this, this is only one.
Some holes are easier to patch than others.
It's easier to fill a spot on a team then replace a brother who you lost so tragically.
"To him, all those guys were his uncles,"
Everyone saw each other as family. It wasn't just real blood brothers on the team, but also men who were considered brothers whether they were related or not.
his friends believe those two rescued a lot ofpeople that day before the steel-and-concrete sky collapsed onthem.
they both were considered heroes, but that doesn't take a lot of the weight off for how many people were lost.
I promised my mom
brought someone from the outside in
How does starting cornerback Danny Foley replace thestarting cornerback on the other side--his brother, Tommy?
This definitely holds double meaning; both how do you refill the spot on the team and how do you fill the void that was left by him dying
microscopic remains of their fallen comrades.
If this doesn't give yo a piece of reality, nothing does.
"It's tradition."
Tradition is going to be a huge deal, especially after a tragedy. The best way to keep someone's memory alive is by continuing to do things that you used to do with them.