Jon Vaillancourt retweetledi
The Miracle on Ice was 44 years ago today. In 2017, Ryan Suter wrote about his dad’s legacy: “The best lesson I think people can take from my dad is his humility. He was a part of the single greatest moment in American sports history. But he never talked about it. He never wanted any glory. He was happy to go sweep the floors at the end of the night.
He never wanted to be a local legend. But he became one anyway. He did it his way.
I know that he was proud of what I accomplished in hockey, but honestly I think he was the most proud whenever he saw me around my wife and kids. He just loved being a grandpa, and he couldn’t sit still. That was perfect for the kids. We’d all go out to dinner and whenever my kids would be getting restless, he’d say, ‘Hey kids, what do you say we go outside?’
And they’d go on their little adventure together.
I don’t know why, maybe it was because he had been to the top of the mountain, but to him, hockey was just … it was just fun. It wasn’t about glory.
I remember before I left with Team USA for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, he said, ‘Ahh, you guys gotta win this so they can finally stop talking about us.’
And he was really serious.
I’ve still never watched the Miracle game against Russia. We have the DVDs somewhere, but I don’t know if I’ll ever watch it. It’s not what my dad would’ve wanted. I honestly don’t think he ever watched it, either.
I can just see him saying, ‘Watch it? I played in it. Let’s go to the rink.’
There’s a song that comes on the radio a lot, and whenever it does, I get a little bit emotional. It’s a Tim McGraw song, and the last line sums up my father in five words.
‘Always stay humble and kind.‘
I can’t think of better advice for anybody.
My dad is my hero. But I’m not proud of him because he was the guy who won the gold medal in 1980. I’m proud of him because he was the guy sweeping the floors in the locker room, and the guy who taught hundreds of kids how to play the great game of hockey, and the guy who was a hell of a dad to me and my brothers.
You were one of a kind.”playerstribu.ne/ForMyDad
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