Posted: 8/20/03

Brooks will be missed

I was enjoying a vacation to Las Vegas this past weekend where I did not think once about work or sports, I didnít even pick up a paper or turn on the TV. The closest I came to seeing live sports coverage is when I walked past the bookie tables and saw that the Cubs beat the Astros.

When my fiance Nicole and I arrived back in the Twin Cities on Aug. 13 her dad asked if I heard about Herb Brooks. Unaware of what had happened I said no, thinking maybe he had been named head coach of some team. I was then informed of the sad news.

My first thought was, of course, of the great Miracle on Ice in 1980, and how he ran that team. I have the DVD Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team. The DVD talks a lot about the team, but it seems that everything comes back to Brooks. The players talk of the fear they had of him, but also the respect they had for him.

The players talked of the different comical remarks Brooks would yell out at them as they practiced. Mike Eruzione and John Harrington wrote them down in a notebook and called them ìHerbieisms.î Of the many humorous quotes they had of Brooks, it seemed like every player heard, ìyou know you play worse everyday and today youíre playing like itís next week,î at least once as they got ready for the Olympics.

Brooks canít only be remembered for his Olympic glory of 1980. He inherited a last place Gopher hockey team in 1972 and turned it into a three-time NCAA National Championship winning program.

I can go on with all different stats and accomplishments of Brooks, but as a hockey fan, I donít have to. Every American knows Brooksí greatest accomplishment, and those old enough to remember it know where they were when it happened.

To Minnesoteans though, Brooks was more than just the 1980 U.S. Olympic coach, he was one of their own.

Former North Star and Gopher coach Glen Sonmor said it best when he said, ì(Former Gophers coach) John Mariucci is the godfather of Minnesota hockey, but Brooks is number two, without question. He made an impact like no one else. He was a person of conviction and character who wasn't afraid to take an unpopular stand and stick up for what he believed in.î
Having never met Herb Brooks it is hard to really talk about the person he was, but a lot of his players and friends have been in the papers and on TV talking about his life and what drove him.

Al Michaels was the announcer for the U.S. versus Russia game in 1980 and shouted out ìdo you believe in miracles? Yes! Yes!î as the final seconds ticked off the clock with the U.S. team in front. In talking about Brooks, he said that he didnít believe Brooks truly appreciated what his team had done in 1980, but simply acted as if the win was simply part of his job.

Mario Lemieux was Brooksí last boss as Brooks worked as a player scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux said Brookís death was not only a great loss to the Penguins and the U.S., but a loss to the hockey world. Lemieux couldnít have been more right. Brooks coached the French Olympic hockey team in 1998, and he coached players from all around the world as an NHL coach.

At the age of 66, it can easily be said that Brooks left us too soon, just like so many other sports legends like Ruth, Gehrig, and Dale Earnhardt. As Billy Joel sang, only the good die young.
New York Islander and 1980 U.S. Olympian Kevin Morrow said of Brooks, ìIt seems like all the great innovators die young. Coach may have been the greatest innovator the sport has ever had.î

As a hockey fan the memories of Herb Brooks will remain with me for many years, but his impact on the game will last forever.

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