U.S. men's hockey team will miss Modano's solid play

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[February 07, 2010]

U.S. men's hockey team will miss Modano's solid play

DALLAS, Feb 07, 2010 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- There are any number of reasons we should all want to be Mike Modano.

1. He's almost 40 and still has his hair.

2. He's still in peak shape.

3. He once participated in the NFL's Punt/Pass/Kick competition.

4. Financial security.

5. Fame.

6. His wife looks like Willa Ford.

7. His wife is Willa Ford.

And the most relevant reason today is that once upon an Olympics, Mike Modano lived today's version of the American Dream when he told off his bosses to the world.

If you recall, back in February of 2006 immediately after Team USA was dumped out of the Winter Olympics, Mo' ripped into Team USA administrators, criticizing the organization for a lack of organization and an inability to handle logistics.

"The timing was probably not the best for what I said," Modano said recently. "Everyone on the team felt the same way I did and just didn't say it. Everyone afterwards called me and texted me saying thanks for saying what we all thought. I was the guy tossed under the bus. But I think it hit home.

"In the Olympics, family and friends are important and the last thing you want to think about is, 'Do mom and dad have a seat in the building? Is there a meeting room where we can all meet after the game instead of a Shell station on the corner in Torino?' That happened." What he should have done was say he didn't play well, sorry the tournament went so poorly for Team USA, and then rip. Four years later, the face of USA Hockey is not on the team as it prepares to play in Vancouver at this year's Winter Olympics. Thirty years after the Miracle on Ice, the team has gone with youth, but it should have saved a spot for the face of USA Hockey.

"I don't think me not being on the team had anything to do with anything I said. What I said was true," he said.

Modano said not long after he made his comments he was contacted by Team USA officials to discuss his concerns. That meeting never happened.

This will be the first time Modano will not be with the team since the professionals were allowed to participate in the Olympics.

"That part is a little odd. I wanted to do it but they called me and told me they were going with youth, and I understand that," Modano said. "I knew this was going to come eventually." At 39 Modano is not the same player who helped elevate Team USA to a silver medal at the '02 games in Salt Lake City. You could make a strong case he was the best player in that tournament, when Team Canada threw the wolves at him in the gold medal game to ensure he would not beat them.

Modano is not even the same player he was in '06 in Turin, when he was essentially benched by coach Peter Laviolette.

But no player, and that includes Chris Chelios, has meant more to USA Hockey in the past 20 years than Modano.

Over the course of a long season, Modano's numbers will never again be what they once were. The Olympics, however, aren't long. In a short tournament, Modano is still fast enough on a big sheet of ice to be effective. At least in a defensive role.

And Team USA officials are kidding themselves if they think this roster can medal in Vancouver. Russia, Canada, Finland, Sweden and the Czechs are all ahead of the Americans. Maybe the Brits, too...and they don't have a team.

Team USA suits should have brought Modano as a guide, at least. Despite his age, Modano is not a leader in the traditional sense. It's not in him to say, "C'mon boys! This way to the gold!" He's too cynical for rah-rah rhetoric.

But for as much sarcasm can pour from this man's mouth, he cares tremendously about his sport, the NHL, the Stars, and USA Hockey. That's why he needs to be in Vancouver.

"I think the overall state of [USA hockey] is probably much better than any point in the last 10 years," he said. "The growth and expansion is amazing. The talent pool is much bigger than it's ever been. At the next Olympics, in another four years these kids are going to be in their prime. And you never know in this one. You get to a quarterfinal and crazy stuff happens. But look at Sweden, Finland, Canada, Russia... it's going to be hard to get up there with those teams." For the dwindling number that actually follow hockey in this country, this is good news.

We can all agree that the Miracle on Ice in 1980 was a seminal moment for hockey, a country, and the Cold War. It remains perhaps the single most inspirational moment American sports has produced in the modern era.

It inspired an entire generation of American youth to pursue the sport. American youth such as Derian Hatcher, Bill Guerin, Tony Amonte, Jeremy Roenick, Chelios, Modano and a host of others who are now either retired, or close.

The moment is eternal, but it was also 30 years ago.

"It's tough to keep going back to Lake Placid," Modano said. "It was an amazing moment and it had a big impact on me as a kid. But the kids who are on the team now, how can they relate to that? They weren't even born yet. This generation needs a new reference point." Maybe that reference point comes in Vancouver, although that may require something even more divine than a miracle. Win or lose, Mo' won't be there. He would like to be.

Instead, he'll be on a beach in Cabo with Willa Ford.

Another reason we all want to be like Mike.

Mac Engel, 817-390-7760 To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dfw.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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