It was a rainy Christmas morning in Florida. I was 8 years old, and just like every other kid on Christmas, I was up at the crack of dawn ready to open my presents. With both my parents up, my mom went to go grab my gifts and she had a box that she wanted me to open first. With a smile, I happily took the box and tore it open as fast as I can.
What did I find?
A big red and white Red Wings jersey. There it was, sitting right there in my lap. Words couldn’t explain just how happy I was, it was my first Wings jersey. Upon further investigation, I looked at the jersey and saw the number 30 on the sleeve. There was more excitement. I screamed. It was an Osgood jersey. I remember putting the jersey on immediately over my pajamas and running around the condo. I didn’t want to take it off....ever. In fact, I’m pretty sure I wore that jersey to Christmas dinner.
From that moment on, I had claimed Ozzie as one of my own. He was my idol growing up. (and yeah, a part of it was the innocent crush I had on the baby-faced goaltender.) Mainly because he never gave up.
Osgood was the definition of perseverance. When everyone was against him, he would go on to do something and make the naysayers look foolish with their remarks. Ozzie always had to fight to prove his worth, day in and day out, Ozzie was always singled out...even for the tiniest of mistakes. (Unfortunately, for Osgood, he’s always had the target on his back.)
Now I know that my views on Osgood aren’t always popular, they probably never will be. But from day one, I stood up for Osgood. I can honestly say that when everyone else was putting him down, I was standing up for him. I don’t want to get into the Hall of Fame debate, or question whether or not #30 should be hanging in the rafters at the Joe. Nope, that’s not something for today. Because today, we should honor the man and thank him for all that he’s done.
There have been so many great moments in Red Wing history that we should all thank Osgood for. There was that goal against the Hartford Whalers. Sure it was an empty netter, but still, that something that many goaltenders in the NHL will never do. There was that fight against Patrick Roy where Ozzie skated to center ice to challenge a man that was much bigger than him, just to back up his teammates. There was the 400th career win, which took place against the Avalanche just this past season. And of course, the 3 Stanley Cup wins. (2 of which he played an integral part in winning.)
On a personal level Chris Osgood has meant a lot to me. But there’s more to it than many of you think. Osgood is the reason I love the sport of hockey so much. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be this hockey-obsessed woman that you all know and love…. But on a serious note, Osgood has been my role model. Many times, Osgood was the underdog. When things didn’t go his way, he didn’t let it get him down. (Save for one game in the playoffs against the Shark’s almost 2 decades ago, but who remembers those tears?) Instead, he fought back. Osgood always stood his ground. If he had a terrible game, he would talk to the media and own up to his mistakes. He worked hard to improve his game and in return, experienced success. Role model.
But enough of the serious and onto the fun.
Chris Osgood has left an impact on my life with 2 wonderful memories. The first of which came during the Stanley Cup parade after the 1996-97 season. My mom and I, along with my Aunt and cousin spent the day in downtown Detroit so that we could get a glimpse of our Hockeytown Heroes ride down Woodward. I remember it being one of the hottest days ever. But the heat didn’t stop us. I brought a sign with me to the parade that said “Ozzie I love you and the Wings.” It was nothing special; in fact it wasn’t even that big. But when Osgood rode past us, he looked right at me and read the sign. Then, he blew me a kiss. To this day, that memory is crystal clear in my mind. I’m pretty sure I didn’t wipe the smile off my face at all that summer.
The second memory I have took place later that summer when Ozzie was doing an autograph signing in Westland. My dad was nice enough to take me. The place he was signing at was packed and we had to park far, far away. It didn’t really matter much to me though, because I was going to meet Osgood. Anyways, my dad and I started walking to the venue and along the way I was distracted by the picture of Ozzie I was holding. So much so that I walked right into a stop sign. This is where things got ugly. I did a pretty nice job of hitting the stop sign hard… I had a HUGE gash on my head. It probably needed stitches, but there was NO WAY I was leaving without meeting Ozzie. So after fighting with my dad about it, we made our way in to meet Ozzie… with blood coming down my face and everything. He looked at me kind of funny, but signed my picture and smiled for a picture with me anyway. ...Two moments that I will never forget, made sweeter now to me today, knowing that no one else will ever experience that.
So, thank you Chris for the memories. Thank you for making hockey so special for me. And congratulations on you’re wonderful career. The Joe won’t be the same without the “OZ-ZZIE, OZ-ZIE” chants, but you won’t soon be forgotten.
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