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| Look at the bottom left of the photo |
I’m taking recent events in the NHL as a sign from God that I’m on the right track. My first hockey novel, On the Surface, features a former Blackhawk who is traded to the San Diego Barracudas because of an incident with a fan involving a water bottle.
Now, keep that in mind as I tell you that this spring, the water bottle has been the weapon of choice for NHL players.
Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks sprayed water into the glove of one of “My Guys”, Jeff Carter.
Shawn Thornton of the Boston Bruins sprayed the visor of Montreal Canadien PK Subban.
And finally Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers gave Pittsburgh Penguin Sidney Crosby a little mid-game shower.
It’s like an epidemic. It’s harmless really. It doesn’t hurt anyone (except wimps, as you’ll see below). It’s just annoying. However, so far the hydro-taunting has been player vs. player. A few days ago, that changed.
Well, that last part isn’t quite accurate. The back cover copy, over which I had only minimal input, says Tim threw the water bottle at a fan. In reality, I never fully describe what Tim Hollander does to the fan with his water bottle.
But still!
What are the chances that real life incidents almost completely mirror what I wrote a year ago? Like I said, I take it as a sign from God that my time has come and I’m on the right track. I also bask in the knowledge that what I wrote is utterly believable and possible in the real NHL.
It feels pretty damn good.
The LA fan (yes, he was rooting for LA.
Photo credit: Paul Sakuma, AP
This just proves how brilliant you are. 😀
LOL, Robin. People always said I was psycho…psychic. Whatever. 😉
Hi Kate!
I think it's an awesome sign of your skill at crafting a plausible, relatable, entertaining sports story 🙂 …and kind of a sad indicator of the state of sportsmanship today, on both the fan side and the player side. 🙁
I'm sure I'll get a squirt for that!
Where are the water bottle police, aka David Clarkson, when you really need them?
See, I always knew there was a bit of the witch in you. ; ) Seriously though, you have a creative mind that you allowed free range to explore all logical possibilities that could get your player in deep trouble. It must be infuriating for people in the public eye to have to withstand the abuse they get. How can they protect themselves? Look at poor old Brad Pitt yesterday. Some guy jumped a fence at a movie premier and took a swing at him. And he has bodyguards.
Wow. Nothing like art imitating life. Or is this life imitating art? Whatever it is, good job.
Thanks, Sam. I don't know. Like I said, it's pretty harmless. Stupid, but harmless, irritated eyes notwithstanding.
I was actually inspired by a true event where a player hit a "fan" with his own shoe in the seventies. I don't blame Brad for having a bodyguard. Those paparazzi are crazy.
I know, right, Claire? That's exactly what I thought!
I think you're missing the big picture here, Kate. These players have obviously READ YOUR BOOK!!
Marcy Shuler
aka: Two 😉
You were way ahead of the game! I enjoyed the post, Kate, and the book sounds great.
LMAO. I can see it now…a rough and tough NHL player, sitting in the locker room reading my hockey romance and drinking Gatorade. Awesome.
Thanks, Tanya!
Woot and for whatever reason I just want to say, "What a wimp!" to the LA fan. Clearly, the "fan" was being a jack- ehrm – rabbit or the player wouldn't have been that irritated. On the other hand, perhaps the player was being a jack rabbit for letting the "fan" get to him. Hmmm.
This is awesome, Kate! Definitely some synchronicity in the air…
I agree. The fan was being a wimp and a jackrabbit. On Twitter, fans say some really horrible things, which is what prompted me to write what I wrote. My player's 5-year-old daughter dies from leukemia and shortly thereafter while in the penalty box, he is heckled by someone telling him his daughter is better off dead than having a dad like him. In my book, anyone who would say something as horrible as that deserves more than a water bottle thrown at him.
Thanks, Christine!