World's Longest Hockey Game
On an NHL sized homemade ice rink in the town of Strathcona, just east of Edmonton, Alberta, a game is being played. It's a game that was meant to be played with heart, with joy, and with a passion that exceeds all other games.
It's called hockey. And 40 guys have been playing in shifts non stop since Feb 11th, regardless of the weather, temperature or aching body parts.
They play for many reasons... they played to shatter the Guinness Book of Records for the longest ever match by playing 203 consecutive hours of hockey. Having reached that goal at 11:13 PM, they continue to play to raise money for cancer research. For inspiration the players have encased photos of loved ones lost to cancer underneath their ice.
But something else stirs them, deep down. They're playing hockey, pure and simple. The way the game was meant to be played.
"[It's] Canadiana at its finest" said Dr. Brent Saik, organizer and player.
When the final buzzer sounds at noon on Monday (Family Day here in Alberta) the players will have skated 240 hours and raised more than 80,000.00 for pediatric cancer patients and research.
The NHL and the NHLPA could learn a little about real hockey from these guys.
No comments:
Post a Comment