Fifty-Mission Cap [part II]
Continued from part I
"Bill's younger brother, Bobby, was a way better player than Bill ever was, and Bill'd be the first one to tell you that," said Nate, after the waitress had taken our orders for another round.
We were still at Wayne Gretzky's, on the bar side, not the restaurant side, right beside the AM 640 broadcast booth where Nate's old school buddy and former Leaf, Bill Berg, was guest hosting "Live From Wayne Gretzky's." It's a radio show they do a couple of hours before each Leafs game. Nothing to do with the motocross races, though the Skydome is across the street and the Air Canada Centre, where the Leafs play, is a good fifteen minute walk away.
"Bobby was drafted in the first round, picked by Los Angeles, back when Wayne Gretzky was there. He got a $100,000 signing bonus. He was, like, 18 at the time. But he was a great hockey player; everybody said so. They all said he'd make it big."
Nate was telling us the story the way Bill had told it to him.
"So he goes to L.A. and his head's all swelled up and he's got $100,000 bucks in his pocket and he knows he's good — I mean, you do, when you play hockey; you know whether you're good or not."
Nate still plays hockey today, but he never made it to the NHL.
"It's not that he thought he was better than he was. He was good. But he was 18, and what do you know when you're 18? So he goes to L.A. and he's thinking he's going to be playing on Gretzky's line right away."
When you're 18, it's not that you think you know everything. It's that you're absofuckinlutely convinced that you do.
"So of course he doesn't listen to anybody, and the coach gets fed up with him and sends him down to the minors. That's why you've never heard of him. Bobby never played a single minute in an NHL game. But he became something of a star in the junior leagues."
I remember an episode of M*A*S*H when Pierce and Hunnicut were going on about something they thought was pretty great, and Charles sarcastically sneered from behind his martini, "That's roughly equivalent to boasting that you're the greatest hockey player in Peru."
"Down in the AHL Bobby's in the dressing room before the game, and the guys are talking about a tough guy on the opposing team. Bobby, of course, pipes in and says, 'I'll take him.'
"When Bill told me this story," said Nate, "He said, Bobby was no fool; he knew the coach had heard him when he looked across at the player waiting at left wing with him on the faceoff, and it was the Tough Guy. He knew the coach had put him there to teach him a lesson. So he had to go for it.
"So Bobby slaps Tough Guy's stick. And Tough Guy says, you don't want to do that again, so of course Bobby does it again. They drop their gloves before the puck drops, and they go at it.
"Bobby, he thinks he's winning. He's sure he's gotten some good punches in, and he's still standing. But afterwards, in the dressing room, his teammates tell him, the guy was holding you up by your sweater and ploughing you."
Who was the Tough Guy?
"It was Tie Domi."
And what happened to Bill Barilko?
Erik was right, it was a plane crash. Bill Barilko was the biggest celebrity in Canada for one summer, and then he died. And he wasn't much older than 18.
When you're that young, you're so sure you're invincible.
* * *
In the next story, Postmodern Sass responds to your inquiries about Andrew, the bartender at The Banknote.
"Bill's younger brother, Bobby, was a way better player than Bill ever was, and Bill'd be the first one to tell you that," said Nate, after the waitress had taken our orders for another round.
We were still at Wayne Gretzky's, on the bar side, not the restaurant side, right beside the AM 640 broadcast booth where Nate's old school buddy and former Leaf, Bill Berg, was guest hosting "Live From Wayne Gretzky's." It's a radio show they do a couple of hours before each Leafs game. Nothing to do with the motocross races, though the Skydome is across the street and the Air Canada Centre, where the Leafs play, is a good fifteen minute walk away.
"Bobby was drafted in the first round, picked by Los Angeles, back when Wayne Gretzky was there. He got a $100,000 signing bonus. He was, like, 18 at the time. But he was a great hockey player; everybody said so. They all said he'd make it big."
Nate was telling us the story the way Bill had told it to him.
"So he goes to L.A. and his head's all swelled up and he's got $100,000 bucks in his pocket and he knows he's good — I mean, you do, when you play hockey; you know whether you're good or not."
Nate still plays hockey today, but he never made it to the NHL.
"It's not that he thought he was better than he was. He was good. But he was 18, and what do you know when you're 18? So he goes to L.A. and he's thinking he's going to be playing on Gretzky's line right away."
When you're 18, it's not that you think you know everything. It's that you're absofuckinlutely convinced that you do.
"So of course he doesn't listen to anybody, and the coach gets fed up with him and sends him down to the minors. That's why you've never heard of him. Bobby never played a single minute in an NHL game. But he became something of a star in the junior leagues."
I remember an episode of M*A*S*H when Pierce and Hunnicut were going on about something they thought was pretty great, and Charles sarcastically sneered from behind his martini, "That's roughly equivalent to boasting that you're the greatest hockey player in Peru."
"Down in the AHL Bobby's in the dressing room before the game, and the guys are talking about a tough guy on the opposing team. Bobby, of course, pipes in and says, 'I'll take him.'
"When Bill told me this story," said Nate, "He said, Bobby was no fool; he knew the coach had heard him when he looked across at the player waiting at left wing with him on the faceoff, and it was the Tough Guy. He knew the coach had put him there to teach him a lesson. So he had to go for it.
"So Bobby slaps Tough Guy's stick. And Tough Guy says, you don't want to do that again, so of course Bobby does it again. They drop their gloves before the puck drops, and they go at it.
"Bobby, he thinks he's winning. He's sure he's gotten some good punches in, and he's still standing. But afterwards, in the dressing room, his teammates tell him, the guy was holding you up by your sweater and ploughing you."
Who was the Tough Guy?
"It was Tie Domi."
And what happened to Bill Barilko?
Erik was right, it was a plane crash. Bill Barilko was the biggest celebrity in Canada for one summer, and then he died. And he wasn't much older than 18.
When you're that young, you're so sure you're invincible.
In the next story, Postmodern Sass responds to your inquiries about Andrew, the bartender at The Banknote.
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