Commentary
Hockey Hall of Fame mixes fun with history
MATT KRUEGER Sports Reporter

This is the first in a series of columns on sports Halls of Fame. Others will follow throughout the summer. Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier share a smile and touch gloves before skating away and preparing a two-on-none breakaway that ends with Gretzky slipping a backhand shot low at the net.

No, this is not a scene from the old Edmonton Oiler days, when Gretzky and Messier horrified opposing goaltenders with slick passing, hard shots and the footwork of a professional dance troupe. It's the view you get after stepping into the crease at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada. Yes, you too can be the next victim of two of the greatest players the NHL has ever seen when you try out the interactive game scenarios in the NHLPA Be a Player Zone.

Students and faculty from West Seneca East High School got that very chance this past weekend on their field trip with the French and Spanish Clubs. Many of the kids took turns climbing between the pipes to face a 70-mph slap shot of a weighted foam puck. Next to them, others tried the shoot out, where visitors got to try their goal-shooting skills against a computer-simulated version of Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour.

The NHLPA Be a Player Zone is just one of the attractions the Hockey Hall of Fame has instituted to make the building modern, fan friendly and fun. And that should be the goal of any Hall of Fame.

Balancing a sense of honor for the past and embracing the present with a concerted effort to entertain its visitors, the Hockey Hall of Fame offers something for every generation.

If you don't consider yourself much of a player, maybe try your hand at producing a televised game or tune up your best broadcaster voice for a turn at calling famous plays in the TSN/RDS Broadcast Zone. It's where you can turn "do you believe in miracles?" to "take that, Russia!" while watching the closing seconds of the 1980 Olympics match-up between the United States and the Soviet Union. Of course, hearing "he shoots, he scores" is inevitable.

On the other side of the building, fans can soak themselves in the rich, 100-plus year history of the game with up-close looks at some of the most famous awards in all of sports. In the MCI Great Hall, fans can touch one of the Stanley Cups, and get a photo taken with it. You can't help but imagine yourself holding the 40-pound trophy over your head, skating around an ice rink and cheering with the thousands of fans in the stands. It's that image we get every June, when the new champion is crowned, that every child who laces up skates harbors in his dreams.

Like any other living history of a sport, the Hockey Hall of Fame uses photos, old uniforms, old equipment and lists of records to illustrate the evolution of the game. Compare the skates Gordie Howe wore during his illustrious career to what the current crop of players use and the difference is startling. Howe's looked so heavy with their padded leather skins and bulky straps its amazing he could even pick up his legs when wearing them.

The best part about the Hockey Hall of Fame for Western New Yorkers is it closeness. You can get there in less than two hours, which makes for a great day trip.

e-mail: mkrueger@beenews.com