Fallen Leafs

rantingofabostonsportsfan:

#1
Bobby Orr
Ummm, did anyone really think it would be anybody else?
Didn’t think so.
Maybe it’s a bit cliche, but Bobby Orr is the Bruins. He also happen to be the greatest hockey player who ever lived. I know you Gretzky supporters are about to throw rocks at me. Look, Gretzky was amazing, he did incredible things, but Bobby changed hockey. No defenseman did what he did before him, he changed the way they played the game. Hockey wouldn’t be hockey had Bobby never graced the ice. Not to mention he was one of, if not the most popular player of his time, he popularized hockey. The number of ice skating rinks in MA like quadrupled or something crazy like that during the Orr era. Plus, everything he did was in a much too short career, 12 seasons, not at peak health (Gretzky played 21 seasons, fyi).
Like I said, Bobby is the Bruins, that’s it.

Not that I disagree with what you wrote about Bobby Orr (I consider him to be hockey’s greatest player, too), but Wayne Gretzky is perhaps the single most important ambassador to hockey. No hockey player, Bobby Orr included, comes close to what Wayne Gretzky did for the NHL and hockey in general when it comes to popularizing and growing the sport. Wayne Gretzky is essentially the reason why there is hockey being played in California, Texas, Nashville, and Florida right now. Without The Great One, outside of a few northern American cities, hockey would not be played in the United States period. Being careful not to come across as a complete Wayne Gretzky fan-boy, but #99 accomplished feats on and off the ice that no player has or will ever approach in our lifetimes. 

Wayne Gretzky is by far the most popular and recognizable athlete in Canadian history. Quite easily, Gretzky is the most famous hockey player in the world. I mean, Gretzky even made a memorable cameo in the film Swingers.

While Bobby Orr may be the Bruins, Wayne Gretzky is hockey. 

fuckyeahnhl:

99 is NUMBER ONE

Wayne Gretzky was not amused by the Torch malfunction. “I’m too old for this shit.”