| | TORONTO -- On the morning before he was to be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Wayne Gretzky took a stroll through his own personal time warp.
After Gretzky and the other two inductees -- Ian "Scotty" Morrison and Andy van Hellemond -- answered every question imaginable at a news conference, The Great One shuffled out of Bell Great Hall. It should have come as no surprise that, instead of leaving the premises to attend a private luncheon as planned, Gretzky decided to sneak a peak at the immense exhibit dedicated to his career, which was on the floor below.
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FATHER KNOWS BEST
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Gretzky's father, Walter, might have answered more questions than Wayne. All questions he's heard a hundred times before.
Did he push his son? Did he know Wayne was special? How does it feel? On and on.
But it's obvious where Wayne got his patience from because Walter squinted into the lights and addressed each person, eye to eye. He built a rink in the back yard because he got tired of freezing his butt off at the town rink. Wayne could skate to his heart's content in the back yard, and Walter could stay warm. "Self preservation," he said.
His favorite story to retell -- he admitted it and then confirmed it by retelling it -- is about the phone call he received from his son after Wayne scored 50 goals in 39 games in 1981, shattering the record for quickest player to 50 goals. "He called me and told me he did it," Walter said. "I asked, 'Did what?' " Wayne told him that he scored 50 goals in 39 games, and Walter responded, "What took you so long?"
-- Brian Shactman |
Almost everyone in attendance remained upstairs while Gretzky began meandering through the incredible display of pucks, photos, home movies, game highlights, jerseys and plaques -- made possible because of the donations of Gretzky's father, Walter, who handed over everything he had for the exhibit.
"This is his call, not mine," whispered Bob Stellick, the man in charge of the event, as a few cameras stumbled upon Gretzky reading captions of each item as he sipped a cup of coffee. He bent over, squinted and pressed his face close to the glass case. Maybe it was the first time in a long time he had seen things, actual items, to remind him of his brief stint in St. Louis, his years in juniors, his time playing on a line with idol Gordie Howe in a WHA all-star game, and so on.
Overhead, a string of video monitors showed a Gretzky tribute film. Gretzky continued to look at the encased items as 30-year-old highlights of him skating in the back yard were interspersed with comments by himself and his father. The story was retold how, when he was 6 on a 10-and-under team, Gretzky scored just one goal. A picture flashed of this tiny kid, half the size of his teammates. Then, a few years later in his final year with that team, he netted 378 -- in 85 games. Another image flashed of Gretzky celebrating with a palm-up fist pump that he made into a calling card for his NHL goals.
When the screens switched to Gretzky as an adult -- showing him discussing something related to his childhood in Brantford, Ontario -- Gretzky finally looked up and noticed the film accompanying all the memorabilia.
Someone asked if he had seen this video before.
"No, they never show me any of this stuff."
It was not easy to tell if he was joking, but people chuckled anyway.
Within a few minutes, the "secret" as to his whereabouts was out and an array of cameras and furry microphones hovered over Gretzky, once again, as he went around the shrine. He just can't seem to get a moment to himself. Perhaps, later in the evening or some time before the exhibit goes down, Gretzky will get a private moment to look at his entire hockey life -- which has really been his whole life -- but for now, there's absolutely no let up.
Even as he was staring at an old picture of himself playing junior hockey, a television reporter interrupted his repose to ask a quick on-camera question.
Despite looking a little tired -- perhaps from the private party he was host to the previous night at his restaurant in downtown Toronto -- and even a bit melancholy about the whole concept of entering the Hall of Fame, Gretzky didn't flinch in annoyance.
Earlier at a news conference, he repeatedly said how at peace he was and how this day was more a highlight than anything. But there remains a little cloud around Gretzky that begs the question what he's going to do next. He spoke candidly about the difficulty of adjusting to his new lifestyle and how it's affected his family.
He misses the game the most, but he also misses taking his children to the rink and being a part of that in-season rhythm. But there's no chance of him returning. When someone joked that he could, upon entering the Hall, un-retire like Guy Lafleur once did, he said: "Like I've said many times, I'd only retire once. I'm officially retired"
|  | | Ever the memorabilia fan, Wayne Gretzky admires the Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit that honors him. |
If playing professional hockey was always his dream, as he's repeatedly stated, what's his dream now? Gretzky can certainly continue as a pitchman. Already, he can be seen just about everywhere -- on cereal boxes, coffee cups and gas-station signs. But even Gretzky isn't sure if that will sustain him.
"(My dream is) That I could come back and play again. Like I was 20," he responded with a smile. "I spent 36 years either dreaming of playing, or playing in, the National Hockey League. Now, it's time for me to step back and enjoy like you people do."
Regardless of his unknown future and the media crush of the present, The Great One just wants to deal with the Hall of Fame and all that accompanies his inclusion in something he'd visited as a child, staring at the plaques, wondering if he'd even play in the NHL.
"When you do something you love, it's difficult when it comes to an end," he said. "But it'll be a nice feeling to walk around and see your picture on the wall ... it's kind of neat."
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