I thought that I was likely done with this feature, given that I've only actually attended one Central Hockey League game in the past eight years and I've used most of my good CHL stories already. Thanks to the ever-watchful Internet eye of Yahoo!'s Puck Daddy blog, however, that glorious symbol of my youth keeps finding its way back to my awareness with awesome things like turkey-hunting-turtle jerseys.
So when this video came along, I thought, "Yeah, that might make a decent Only In the CHL post."
Admittedly, I know nothing about Harlem Shake other than it seems to be one of those things that everybody hates despite the fact that everybody seems to love it. But watching an entire team break it down at center ice post-game to the delight of the home crowd is a fun thing to watch. And it's the Rapid City Rush of the CHL, for crying out loud. Where tacky is kinda the rule and really, it's all about having a good time. So I'll give it a pass.
This next entry, on the other hand...
Okay, first off, if you're not familiar with the fantastic Herb Brooks Pregame Speech scene from the film Miracle, go get acquainted. It's a great scene from a great sports flick.
A few years after that film, four-year-old Josh Sacco watched the movie so many times he actually memorized the entire speech, so his dad recorded it and posted it on youtube. It was (and remains) one of the greatest things on the Internet. The kid was on Ellen and was invited to sporting events around the country--hockey, football, baseball--to do the speech for fans and athletes. He even gave the speech to the US men's Olympic hockey team back in 2010 in Vancouver. It's probably not a stretch to say more Americans know about Brooks' inspirational speech because of Sacco than because of Kurt Russell.
What does any of this have to do with the CHL?
Wellllll, the Allen (TX) Americans apparently had an evening presented by McDonalds, with special jerseys and everything auctioned off after the game. ("Special" jerseys are unbelievably abundant in the CHL) And...and they...it...
Just watch.
I...I...I...
Yeah, I'm done.
