Perhaps you’ve heard: the Caps had their recording-breaking win streak snapped last night in Montreal. I’m not as upset as many people because 14 games? Tied for 3rd in the history of NHL winning streaks? I can’t even be upset because I’m too busy still being psyched. But the victory, in my mind, isn’t the streak itself, but how the Caps will play now that the need to play for history is gone. I was going through a rough period athletically when I saw this commercial:

I realized that what truly makes one a champion isn’t the ability to do something 100% right the first time, it’s the ability to always stand up afterward, shake it off, and go for it again. Oddly, I also got that message not long ago from a fortune cookie; I keep it on the fridge as a reminder–not just in sports–but in one’s entire life:

The winning streak is not as important as being able to print those rally towels this early in the season with 2009-2010 on them, making the Capitals Southest Division champs three years in a row. The streak won’t be on anyone’s mind when Captain Ovechkin and his teammates are lifting the Stanley Cup. It’s the big picture that matters–not what happens when you fall down, but what happens when you stand back up.

And it’s another fortune cookie fortune on my fridge that I keep to further the point even more:

Firstly, who comes up with these things? Secondly, like that over-played Nike slogan “Just Do It,” it reminds us that doing something is the first step to being something. Twice in as many games have the Caps come back from a deficit, both essentially relying on hat-tricks from two great players. Ovechkin in the Pittsburgh game and Brooks Laich, the first in his NHL career, in the Habs game. I hear that Brooks is often the last player on the ice after practice, still taking shots and working on his game. Does he have the goals to show for it? Well, sure, but you know he wants to be better. After that crazy two hat-trick game against the Pens in last year’s playoffs, Sidney Crosby said something to the effect of, “It’s nice to score, it’s better to win.” I have a feeling that Brooks Laich would say that he’d immediately give up that hat-trick if it meant the Caps would win that game, but I don’t think he should. Ultimately yes, hockey is a team sport and there’s no “I” in team (blah blah blah) but Brooks won, whether the Caps did or not. He stepped up and he helped his team get back in the game, working his ass off until the very last second. I hope his pride for what he’s done isn’t diminished by the loss. At first I thought that fortune seemed kind of apathetic. Champion of whatever? But I prefer to interpret it as conveying that it really is “whatever you want” and it doesn’t have to be a streak, or even a single game. Play, compete, do your thing…that’s what the Caps need to do now. Be the champions of “whatever” and all those little “whatevers” along the way will lead to the Big One. So, you know, a player’s first NHL hat-trick is a victory on it’s own. Third longest win streak in the NHL is a victory on it’s own. Standing up that eighth time is a victory on it’s own.

Check out these game highlights for Brooks’ fantastic night:

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Capitals Friday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.