My favorite player in the NHL today and of all time (since I’ve met him for an autograph) was born on this day in 1970. Sadly, he’s on the IR for the Sharks until further notice. On the upside, he’s playing for a winning team with a solid chance of going all the way to the Stanley Cup.
I find it rather poetic to discuss his career today since the weekend was kicked off in the crotch with the disappointing news I got at work; I didn’t get the position which is standard procedure in my so-called “career” at Apple. How I feel like JR. He was a promising young forward playing for the Blackhawks in the late Eighties and early Nineties. Historically, the ‘hawks were perennial losers for years with only one recent championship engineered by the league in the early Sixties to keep the team from folding. By the Nineties, they were divisional champs thanks to JR, Chris Chelios, Eddie Belfour (before he went nuts) and a handful of other talented players. In 1992, the Blackhawks went to the Stanley Cup for the first time in 30 years but were beaten by the Penguins. Roenick was 22 then, he figured this was only a temporary setback. His team had a fantastic roster, they’d return in another season or two. No such luck. The Blackhawks went into a losing streak with the playoffs starting in 1993 and it ended with him being traded to the Coyotes where the dream of having his name etched on the Cup was always a longshot. JR’s chances improved when he signed with my Flyers as a free agent but alas they came up short against the Lightning in 2004 for the Eastern Championship. Any further opportunities were robbed by the 2004-5 lockout and being traded to the Kings so GM Clarke could sign the overrated/always injured Peter Forsberg.
Now he’s with the Sharks playing on the fourth line while time is running out on his career. Hopefully, this will be their year they finally go all the way without being upset by weaker teams such as the Flames, Ducks or Blackhawks. Then team captain Patrick Marleau can raise the Cup and pass it to Jeremy first like Joe Sakic did for Ray Borque; many say it was the best pass of Sakic’s career. Roenick will be in the Hall of Fame and labeled one of the best US-born players in history but those accomplishments mean little without having one’s name on the Holy Grail of hockey.
What does that have to do with me? I sympathize with him and I know how his disappointment feels. I returned to Apple in 1998, worked my butt off, advanced quickly for a phone agent and hit the inevitable ceiling AppleCare has. Opportunities appeared for me to pursue, so I applied confidently thanks to the experience I gained from PowerComputing. The first couple times when I didn’t land what I wanted, I wasn’t too concerned because I had only been around briefly, besides, I was only 30, I had time. Then it became the permanent pattern after two years and several spiteful, inept managers, unless you count the consolation/pity-prize position of coach; getting all the crappy duties of a manager without the pay rate, authority or flexibility yet all the phone-call bullshit of a regular agent. Recently, I had what I considered my last chance at the brass ring now that I’m 40 in a very age-biased profession. As expected, I didn’t succeed and was given the shuck n’ jive of how close I was. Well, as Roenick knows, close doesn’t count. Few remember who lost the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl or the Oscars, why should that be any different with a possible promotion?
May JR have a great birthday to celebrate with his family, teammates (past and present) and fans. Hopefully 2009 will finally be both our years.