The Statement Game
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by user Pjknight9
So, I write for another blog ( One Hundred and Ten Percent) that some friends write for since we're all over the world now, and one suggested I post this here. I'm a big hockey fan, so most of what I post has to do with that, but this idea has moved beyond that in my mind. I've actually been thinking of writing this column since Saturday, but life gets in the way sometimes. I'm totally rambling.
So here is what I've been thinking about. The Statement Game - my def. when a game is played by a player/team who has had they ability/heart questioned by another team, or the media, and they so dominiate that the only response after is that they made a statement with the way they played the game. The thought began with Marty Turco's shutout of Vancouver after a heart-wrenching loss to the Canucks in 4OT (yes, I watched all of it - and yes, I was completely worthless for the first half of the next day at work). That game did a lot to start changing the way Marty has been seen in the playoffs. Unfortunately, he followed it up with a late goal against and a goal against in OT, but to be honest, I put that loss more on the lack of scoring than his goaltending.
Statement games are always enjoyable because they usually lead to the reimaging of a player (or the cementing of an image). They can happen when a player has never made it on the biggest stage, or when someone says that a player has lost his ability to age, or when a rookie is said to be over his head. And of course, there is always the "you shouldn't have traded me/let me go through free agency" game. I started thinking back to come up with some statement games and thought it might be fun to throw it to the group. I'll come up with some, and you guys help me add to it. Here are some I came up with:
1. Turco's shutout - still a statement game
2. Tiger Woods Last year - Even though no one thought he'd had it, after getting cut at the US Open, he tied for second at his next tournament and then won the next 8.
3. Michael Jordan against the Jazz with the flu - He looked awful before and after the whistles, but once the game was playing, he looked like Jordan.
4. Wayne Gretzky's first season in the NHL - Coming from the WHA, he was thought to be overmatched. All he did was win the MVP (Hart trophy), and tie for the league lead in scoring (the most ever by a first year player - didn't get the trophy cause he had two less goals than Marcel Dionne)
Also published at 110 Percent.
