Summit Series Overload
September 20, 2002

Courtesy of On The Wall
Story by: James Bisson

I would like to preface the following diatribe by saying that I love sports nostalgia as much as the next person. For instance, I’ll always remember where I was the day Mario Lemieux took a Wayne Gretzky pass and fired a shot past Russian netminder Sergei Mylnikov to give Canada the 1987 Canada Cup.

Each game in the 3-game mini series was a close one, with Canada and Russia splitting 6-5 decisions in each of the first two games. It was Lemieux’s OT goal in the second overtime period of Game 2 that kept Canada alive in the series, and many fans refer to that game as the best international contest to ever take place on Canadian soil.

Which brings me to the focus of my ire this week. 2002 marks the 15th anniversary of the greatest international hockey series I have ever bore witness to. Of course, you won’t find many stirring recollections in print or on television; in fact, the anniversary has hardly been mentioned by anyone.

You will, however, notice myriad references to 2002 also representing the 30th anniversary of the ridiculously over-trumpeted ’72 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. Two words for you, baby boomers: Enough already!

The Summit Series must be given its due, not only for the generation that got to watch it, but for the generation which followed. It was, without a doubt, the most influential moment in Canadian sports history. The drama, given the political climate of the time, was unparalleled.

The shock of having the Russians take a 3-1-1 series lead could only be surpassed by the joy of Canada triumphing in Game 8, with Paul Henderson’s game-winning goal etched in the minds of all who have seen it.

I’ve seen it 247 times, myself. That’s about 245 times too many.

Canada, and the media in particular, has somehow taken one of the nation’s most pristinely poignant moments and reduced it to a yearly regurgitation of video highlights, interviews with team members, and The Goal. Add to that a rebroadcast of every game, daily capsules in the newspaper, and a new book on the Summit Series that I’m sure many boomers will gladly buy.

But the Summit Series isn’t MY series. And I’m insulted at those who suggest it should be, simply because the moment belongs to Canada as a whole, and that alone should coerce me into reminiscence. I wasn’t even around in 1972, so you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t crumble to tears every time I see the now infamous Phil Esposito interview, where he complains about how Canadian fans booed.

For the record, Phil, they had every right to boo. For the first five games of that series, you guys really sucked.

What also irks me is how the “greatest moment” in Canadian sports history didn’t even take place in Canada, it took place 46,000 miles away. When Lemieux sent Canadians into a frenzy with his 1987 goal, it was a moment that was distinctly Canadian—the game took place in Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.

This isn’t about pride in my country, either, because I have that in spades. Nobody cheered louder than I did when Joe Carter launched a 3-run homer into left field to win Toronto’s first World Series. And this past February, I watched the entire Olympic gold-medal game between Canada and the United States, and got tingly watching our boys celebrate their first Olympic triumph in over 50 years.

But stop trying to ram 1972 down my throat. It seems like it’s become the last bastion of recaptured youth for an aging population, and little more. To the rest of the world, the Summit Series is a footnote in hockey annals, especially to the Americans, who have their own celebrated hockey moment (1980’s Miracle on Ice, which was nearly as entertaining and far more shocking than Canada’s victory.)
Yes, Canada’s win in 1972 was a magical moment. Yes, Paul Henderson belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame for scoring the historic winning goal, and yes, it’s a shame he isn’t in the Hall. But hockey fans in my generation would like the opportunity to cherish our own favourite hockey memories; moments like Canada Cup 1987, or the shootout loss in Nagano in 1998, or this year’s Olympic victory.

Those moments weren’t as politically charged as the Summit Series, but from a hockey standpoint, I’ll take Mario and Wayne over Team Canada 1972 anytime. I was there. I saw them on television with my family. I whooped and hollered and made noise.

1972 means so much to so many, but not to me. And seeing it played over and over and over again does little more than create an annoyance of overkill, not to mention slighting some of Canada’s other terrific hockey moments.

It’s time to take one last look at the 1972 Summit Series, thank Team Canada for some wonderful memories, and then move on.