On Frozen Blog

Readying myself for the office this federal holiday morning, my quasi-consciousness ran through its customary inventory of what was potentially significant about the day’s agenda. Firstly, was there a hockey game to watch this evening? That of course means, first and foremost, is there a Caps’ game? This morning’s answer was no, and this precipitated a comparison with the King holiday of a year ago. Then, too, I worked it, except that that day featured the novelty of an uber-rare happy hour broadcast of a Caps’ game. The Phoenix Coyotes were hosting the Caps in a desert matinee then, and for those of us puckheads working in the East, that meant out the office door at four and into earlier-than-usual R&R.

My season ticket holder friends Mike and Marleen, who were not working that day, hosted a game-watch dinner for it at their Capitol Hill home. My next recollection of a year ago in the pre-joe Monday morning darkness today was of the tripple-espresso jolting variety: The Goal!

Happy Stars-and-Planets-Alignment-Altering Anniversary, Ovie!

By the third period of last year’s game with Phoenix Mike and Marleen and I may have had more than the customary number of puck sodas typically associated with a Monday evening game-watch. But whatever level of spirits-fog had settled in upon us, it wasn’t sufficient enough to dull our receptors for, and reactions to, the once-in-a-generation, perhaps never again burst of virtuosity authored by number 8. Seated next to Michael on his couch, I didn’t need a replay to recognize instantly the holiday history that had presented itself to us.

I remember staring transfixed at the screen in the seconds before Comcast’s initial replay, JoeB’s Al-Michaels-like, perfectly pitched real-time narration (”Simply Sensational!“) alive in my ears, my jaw slacked, and reaching my right hand into Michael’s chest to grab a fistful of shirt as I beer-screamed my disbelief.

And I remember alleging this to the assembly, none of whom at the time would second the sentiment: “It’s one of the greatest scores in hockey history.”

I remember leaving Capitol Hill that evening and on the Metro ride home being anxious to chronicle the larger media’s reaction to the feat. Sure enough, ESPN was all over it. But it was the Internet that played a lead role in not only airing the replay footage around the globe in an instant but through its message board and bloggers’ enthusiasms being a driving force in the goal’s ascension into the realm of a Where-Were-You-When moment. The Caps’ site, which had the replay up virtually instantly, received something like 50,000 hits on it in the following 24 hours.

Predictably, the print media lagged behind in acknowledging the enormity of the event. Tuesday’s Washington Post mentioned it in the body of Tarik’s game file. But by Wednesday even The Post couldn’t ignore the impact cyberspace was having. At the very top of Wednesday’s Sports section, Thomas Heath’s file was titled ‘Shot Heard ‘Round the World.’ A still-frame color montage of it ran immediately beneath.

A federal-minded question for this federal holiday: should the Caps reach out to the U.S. Postal Service and initiate a dialogue about getting a stamp commissioned to honor The Goal? (I think so.) Somebody high up in the Postal Service, after all, is home today with plans on watching hockey.