The title of this post amuses me because I remember reading a book called More than a carpenter and it was about Jesus.
ANYWAY,
If I want to stay married to my sweet husband, I must watch every single Canada hockey game in the Olympics. Last night was no exception.
We got to the bar early to get the good seats. We warmed up with pre-game conversation about who we would cheer for if Canada wasn’t in the finals (answer: Russia).
The game starts and it is immediately clear we are the better team. Except we can’t score. The whole first period goes by and Norway’s goalie, Pal Grotnes, is a brick wall. The announcer comes on and introduces the net minder as passionate athlete who is a carpenter by day. A Carpenter.
Hilariously, Grontes is playing opposite to Canuck’s goalie Roberto Luongo, a guy who makes $6 million a year to stop pucks.
The second period comes. We finally score and the rest of the game is slaughter (Luongo shuts Norway out 8-0).
Still this guy’s story stays with me. It seems heroic on some level. I’m not sure why; most other Olympians have regular day jobs, but not hockey players. Unlike the most other Olympic hockey players who are taking a break from the NHL for a couple of weeks, this nameless guy put his saw down to represent his country for something he wouldn’t be doing otherwise.
To steal Jon’s thought on the matter: Grontes represents the ancient Greek ideal of amateur competition. Back then, no one was a professional athlete, so the Games were about regular people becoming great for a moment, a hero for a day.
To me, it’s just a good story.
*JENlightened~ 