Humility

Garth Heckler stood with his hands on his knees as the crowd counted down the final seconds of the game. Three! Two! One! The horn sounded and pandemoium erupted. Garth skated wearily toward the exit to the locker room, looking forward to sitting down for a few minutes, drinking a litre of juice, and taking a hot shower.

He was surprised when his mother ran out onto the ice and threw her arms around him. Canadian junior hockey is somewhat less formal than the NHL, but the audience is not usually allowed out onto the ice. Apparently his dejection was more obvious than he thought. Nonetheless the little boy inside him was glad for the comfort of Mommy's arms. Behind her his father gave him that 'We're proud of you anyway' smile that all Daddys have.

Garth's eyes were unexpectedly dazzled by a bright light. He turned to see a TV camera pointed at him and the CBC announcer shoving a microphone in his face. It seemed his humiliation was to be a public event. "How do you feel?", the announcer asked him.

"I actually feel kind of wierd. It was like I was skating in slow motion out there"

"Yeah, we could tell.", the announcer said unsympathetically. Talk to us about that last goal."

"That was pretty lucky. The winger missed the pass and I got a breakaway. I meant to go for the five hole, but at the last second I hit the puck with the back of my stick. It slid to the side and I had to reach out and sort of flick it. It sailed up over the goalie's shoulder and into the goal."

"I wish I could have that kind of luck", the announcer said. What about your second goal?"

"That was an example of pretty good defense. Probert poke checked the puck away and I had to turn and reach back for it. Then the only way I could get a shot off was to let my momentum carry me around. Evidently that took the goalie by surprise. The puck bounced off his skate and into the net."

The announcer turned to the camera. "And there you have a typical Garth Heckler understatement."

Garth fought to keep his face impassive. It was bad enough that they should publicly humiliate him without mocking him into the bargain. At that point a voice boomed over the intercom. "And now your number one star of the game, With three goals and two assists, GARTH HECKLER!"
His mother gave him a hearty shove and he coasted out onto the ice toward the beaming team owner with a confused look on his face, as the crowd chanted "Garth! Garth!"