I had a tendency to refer to former Minnesota Wild wing Marian Gaborik in uncomplimentary terms often enough (the word “Delicate” was often used). The guy simply didn’t stay healthy. I have pretty poor health (nothing serious, fortunately), but at least I can show up for work almost every day. Sure, my co-workers hate to listen to me coughing, but if I stayed home every time I got a cough, I’d miss about two months every year. My job doesn’t require me to be healthy, unlike someone in the entertainment industry, like a singer, actor, or athlete. They need to be healthy to perform. If they’re not healthy, they tend to fade away.
That being said, Marian Gaborik was one of my favorite hockey players to watch when he was healthy. The boy has amazing talents on the ice. He’s exciting to watch, because he can do things that seem impossible—and make them seem effortless. Every good athlete does this, sure. The first Wild game I attended, and the third hockey game I’d attended in my life, Marian Gaborik got a hat trick. I didn’t know much about hockey, but I knew what a hat trick was, and I knew how rare and special they were. It made the game that much more exciting. (I later learned it was the first ever hat trick by a Minnesota Wild player, too!) Things like that make a player a special memory.
And that’s all Marian Gaborik will become. He has now signed a 5-year contract with the New York Rangers. (Really, Gaby, couldn’t you sign with the Islanders, so I could watch you and my former favorite Gopher, Kyle Okposo?!) While I adore Mikko Koivu, has been healthy (Mattias Ohlund breaking his leg excepting), it’s hard to forget your first favorite player. The guy who made the game special to you by making your first game special.
I wish him well, but I shall always be sad that I don’t get to see him regularly. Of course, with his injuries, it’s not like I ever did.
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