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Just dessert ... not! Stanley Cup deserves better than Jell-O
Posted: Monday May 22, 2000 11:33 PM
I never thought of the Stanley Cup as sacred, but I did respect it as one of the most revered trophies in sports. Given its history, it may well be the most revered trophy of all time. That's why it pains me to see it being used as a Jell-O mold in a commercial that is being aired during these playoffs. Having fun with the Cup is a tradition and the commercial that shows Brett Hull having locked it in his car while teammate Mike Modano and some shopping mall patrons look on not only is quite plausible, but it is actually quite funny. Still the Jell-O mold, a shot that features Joe Nieuwendyk, is a little over the line. Players bleed for the Cup, they lose their teeth for the Cup, some have even lost their vision while attempting to win the Cup. Most players who haven't won it are dying to do so. Those who have considered themselves as members of a small and exclusive club, so exclusive that membership in the group defines the rest of their lives. With that much respect for a trophy, isn't it odd that the NHL portrays it as some sort of home appliance? Can you now look at that dramatic shot of Messier accepting the trophy in New York, ending 54 years of frustration, and not see the Jell-O ring? How about that shot of a young Wayne Gretzky hoisting it over his head for the first time, or the famous Rocket Richard with eyes blazing as he embraces it for all of the Montreal Canadiens of all time? You wouldn't recognize the trophies for the NBA or the World Series if you ran over them with your car. You might recognize the Vince Lombardi Trophy, but only because it looks like something manufactured by KitchenAid. No trophy has a lore or legend about it quite like the Stanley Cup. Turning it into a Jell-O mold might seem like a clever thing for some marketing whiz in New York who never won anything but a contract to help sell the game in regions where the myths and legends of the Cup don't hold sway, but it hardly enhances the image of the game. It doesn't exactly do much for the reputation of the men who bled just so that they might someday touch it either. What's next, Eric Lindros promotions with little birds flying around his head like when cartoon characters get knocked senseless? Or how about doctoring that famous photo of Bobby Orr so that he's wearing a cape and looking like he really is flying past Glenn Hall after scoring the goal that clinched the Cup for the Bruins back in 1970? I saw Pat LaFontaine play on a knee with ligaments the consistency of spaghetti in the hope that the Buffalo Sabres might keep their playoff hopes alive back in the early 1990s. I see John LeClair playing with a face that looks like it went through a windshield, competing to keep his dream of just touching the Cup alive. You don't see that in basketball, baseball or (more and more these days) football. Don't even mention golf. Hockey may be changing, but when it comes playoff time, players still are willing to pay any price just to get their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. It would be nice if the marketing folks in New York understood that. It would be nicer still if their marketing ads reflected it. Jim Kelley covers the NHL -- and the Sabres -- for the Buffalo News. His notebook and Rumor Mill appear weekly on CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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