In an article in the Toronto Star, Mark Zwolinski relays a story, the moral of which is it is never a good idea for a professional athlete to refuse to sign an autograph for a fan. Read on. You will see.
Rewind to 1983, Brendan Shanahan is an impressionable 14 year old hockey fan and approached Maple Leafs star, Rick Vaive for an autograph and was turned down. Bad move by Vaive, let me tell you.
Fast forward 4 years to 1987 and Rick Vaive who was finishing his career with the Sabres lined up for a faceoff with Brendan Shanahan who was just called up to the New Jersey Devils.
I will let Shanahan describe the encounter:
"When the puck dropped, I attacked Rick Vaive. It was a quiet uneventful game. He couldn't believe the rage I had, not only in attacking him, but it took two linesmen to restrain me afterwards and throw me in the penalty box."
Apparently, Vaive was stunned by the melee and asked former teammate, Jim Korn who was then with the Devils what was wrong with Shanahan.
"He said...'By the way, what's wrong with that kid and why was he coming after me?" said Shanahan. "Jim Korn said, 'Apparently he asked you for an autograph when he was a little kid and you weren't friendly to him. So he's harboured those feelings since then."
Story of the millennium! "Fan turned player" gets retribution for a slight years earlier! I bet Vaive never refused an autograph request from 1987 on!
You betcha that is Brendan Shanahan above signing an autograph for that boy. You never know where that kid is going to be in 5 years. Shanahan's no dummy.*
*I don't care if Shanahan is retired. He still walks the streets, doesn't he?
3 comments:
Awesome story!
That is a great story.
great story
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