If you’re like me, you’re not a hockey fan. It’s nothing personal. It’s a sport that I have tried to get into again and again, but it’s just not for me. This isn’t anything against hockey players or fans — I think it’s an incredibly beautiful game that deserves a lot of respect — but it’s just not for me. So why am I writing a sports column about a sport that I don’t watch, play or particularly enjoy? Because last weekend, something magical happened. And that magic has a name. And its name is John Scott.
If you have even an ounce of interest in hockey, you already know this story. But, again, if you’re like me, you may find this as bizarrely enthralling as I did. First, a quick recap. It’s December 2015. John Scott plays for the Arizona Coyotes. He has not played much this season (only 11 of 44 games). He also has not scored a lot throughout his career (5 goals in 285 games). Any value that he has as a hockey player comes from his ability to fight people. He is a goon. He is a jabroni. He is a loser. He is not an all-star.
Despite this, he wins the 2016 NHL All-Star fan vote (an open Internet poll) because NHL fans think it would be funny to see a player like John Scott play in an All-Star game. Behind closed doors, the NHL asks John Scott to drop out of the game. John Scott says no because John Scott is a cool guy who stands up for what he believes in. So, the NHL makes the Coyotes trade John Scott to the Montreal Canadiens who quickly put him on a minor league team with no chance of returning to the NHL, thus making him ineligible for the All-Star game. There is a huge fan backlash because a) it’s shitty and bad of the NHL to do that and b) because more people start taking an interest in John Scott the person, rather than John Scott the joke. It’s discovered that he has a wife with twins due during All-Star weekend. Fans get more and more upset, and finally, the NHL decides to let John Scott play (and serve as captain for the Pacific Division team).
All-Star Weekend rolls around. The fans at the game cheer for him louder than any other player and lose their minds when Scott scores not one, but two goals. Scott’s team wins the All-Star 3-on-3 tournament and gets to take home one million dollars. When it comes to the All-Star Game MVP, three players who aren’t John Scott are nominated. But part of the award comes from fan votes on Twitter, and suddenly, the Internet is flooded with #VoteMVPScott being tweeted out by fans, celebrities and almost every team in the NHL. He wins All-Star Game MVP in a perfect ending to a natural, beautiful underdog story unlike any other.
Yes, this is a great event, but let us not forget what the NHL tried to do. They were so concerned with the sacredness of their dumb little All-Star Game (because let’s be real: All-Star games are kinda silly and don’t matter in the slightest, no matter what sport they’re for) that they pulled some really shady shit that included forcing a man to relocate his family to a new country. Scott even says that before the trade, someone from the NHL called him and said, “Do you think this is something your kids would be proud of?”
That’s low. The NHL has already started to tout the magic and wonder of John Scott’s story at the All-Star game, but don’t let them fool you. Remember that the fans always, always, always have the power, and let John Scott be a lesson that we should never let the powers that be tell us what we can and can’t do.
Michael Hatchett, an A&E Editor for the Voice, can be reached for comment at mhatchett16@wooster.edu