My Interview with a Stanley Cup Winner

The Stanley Cup winners have been announced and while I wasn't rooting for either team in particular (well, maybe the Canucks a little, but only so I wouldn't have to listen to Hubs bitch about his team losing), I am happy for one player: Andrew Ference.

Andrew plays defense for the Boston Bruins and is a former Winter Hawk (our local team). Back in high school, I was introduced to the game of hockey and loved it. I had a writing assignment to do for my English class, and we were asked to pick any topic and interview someone about it and my friend Kara Neary jokingly said I should interview a Winter Hawk. We laughed it off, but I kept dwelling on it and really wanted to do it. In all honesty, I chose Andrew because he was a rookie, a good player and the same age as me. And let's face it, he's pretty damn cute. Even back then.

I was surprised to get a call from him saying he'd be willing to meet with me. So I wrote up some questions, grabbed a friend to video tape it and met him on the bleachers at Sunset High School. Wow, so cute. Very gracious and fun to interview. I have no idea what ever happened to the video, which kind of sucks; I'm sure it was taped over by my parents, but I have the transcript of the interview. Here are some of the highlights...

Q: How long have you been playing?
A: Since I was three. I lived on an acreage and we had a rink out by the farms, so I started there.

Q: Did you always want to play hockey?
A: (Shakes head yes) Always have played hockey. There's never been anything bad about it.

Q: What's it like being a local celebrity? (Andrew laughs) You don't consider yourself a celebrity?
A: No, I don't think I'd put it that way, it's just normal. We're just leading a normal life except for playing hockey. There's not too much difference from a normal life.

Q: What's the weirdest thing you ever had to autograph?
A: (Thinking) Let's see... probably a leg, a leg or a dollar bill. You get lots of dollar bills to sign, but a leg was weird. She had the whole teams' autographs all over her leg. (Laughs) You kind of think, 'whoa!'

Q: How does your mom feel about you fighting?
A: (Laughing) She doesn't like it. She hates it when I fight, but she knows why I do it. She knows that because I'm smaller I need to demand more respect. So she understands why I do, but she rather me not. I've never fought in front of her because she'd get all mad. When she's at a game, I won't fight.

Q: How many teeth have you lost?
A: None. My dad's a dentist. No, I haven't lost any. I've lucked out so far.

Q: What are your other interests?
A: Other interests? Um... there's gotta be something. I don't know. Hockey's a big interest. It takes up all my time. Other than that... let's see, I used to snowboard. I did that for seven years, up until this year. There's nowhere to snowboard here. During the summer I play rugby and lacrosse. So everything's kind of sports related.

Q: Do you want to continue with hockey or eventually do something else?
A: I'll go with hockey as far as it takes me. I'd like to go pro. There's so much money and so much involved in hockey. If you can play it and live off it, then that could be your life. Yeah, it'd be perfect.

Q: Did you ever think you'd make it this far?
A: Yeah. It's been the plan.

Q: What advice would you give someone who's striving for a dream?
A: Don't let people tell you that you can't do it. Lots of people told me that I couldn't play hockey because I'm small. Listen to yourself instead of others. Control your own destiny.

And there you have it. Who knew I would be interviewing a Stanley Cup winner at 16? Pretty cool huh?