Monday, March 4, 2013

"Do you believe in Miracles?!"

So it's 2:09am and for the first time in a LONG time I'm not awake due to fear or panic or insomnia I'm wide awake watching TV and smiling like a nut!

I was flipping though the channels after I finished reading my daily Kate Middleton gossip (yeah yeah yeah I know but I can't get enough of the Royal drama haha) and I was pleasantly surprised to find one of my favorite movies was on, Miracle!

I know it's a weird movie to be my face but I have a reason and I can't help but smile when I think about it, it brings me back to a very different point in my life, a point where I still whole heartily believed in magic and well Miracles ;)

I was a Junior in High School when the movie came out, my dad took Jimmy (my brother) and I to see it (Mom stayed home with the baby) the movie is based on the true story of the 1980 Olympic Hockey team, The Miracle on Ice as it came to be known. The movie was fantastic and the fact that my dad could tell me about the day it happened brought it to life for me he told me he had tickets to the game but him and his friends decided to go to Atlantic City instead because they were convinced that the US wasn't just going to lose but be humiliated by the Soviet team... Boy were they wrong and boy were they pissed haha

They ended up missing one of the most amazing hockey games ever played and one of sports most important moments!

My first week of Senior year I was told about our Senior Paper assignment it had to be 25+ pages on an event in history with an interview from someone who either was involved in or witnessed the event... Lots of people chose 9/11 because of where we lived, the start of the war on terror or the day JFK was killed but not me! I chose the 1980 Olympic hockey Team's amazing win... Needless to say my teachers thought I was nuts.

After I handed in my idea, my English teacher asked to see me and wanted to be sure I knew what I was doing she informed me she wouldn't force me to change my topic but if I didn't get an interview she would be forced to fail me and she couldn't see any way I could possibly get the needed interview. I wasn't worried I already knew how I was gonna do it my dad had handed me the keys to that kingdom the year before and didn't even know it!

At the end of the movie they show each team member as the real person, the actor who played him in the movie and a little blurb about what they are doing now... Most of them went on to be coaches or team owners but not Bill Baker... Bill Baker was my golden ticket!

The film said he went on to become an Oral Surgeon in his home state of MO! Take that info with any knowledge of Google and you have yourself an office phone number! I called and left a message with his front desk staff explaining my project and requesting a call back. I got it that night!

My dad came into my room holding his hand over the phone and said "um there's a Dr Bill Baker on the phone for you is this for real" smiling so wide I was shaking I jumped took the phone and asked him a few questions about his time on the team.

He was VERY nice! Told me how when they were presented their gold metals that was the last time they were all in 1 place together... he said all the quotes in the movie were really things Brooks (Their coach) did and said "The name on the front of your jersey is far more important then the name on the back!" "Red line back blue line back far red line back far blue line back... AGAIN!" that work put became known as suicides...

I told him how my fave part of the movie was when Brooks was trying to get them to say they play for the USA not their College teams and he said that really happened and that was the moment they bonded as a team.

Before we got off the phone he asked me for my address which I quickly gave him.

A few days later a fed ex package came with autographed cards, pucks, a jersey and a letter thanking me for taking interest in history!

My teacher was in utter shock! She called my parents twice to be sure this was real and as you can guess I got an A on my term paper :)

How many girls can say they interviewed a Sports Legend for their senior paper... That's what I thought hehe :)

No comments:

Post a Comment