Did you ever hear about that Iraqi player that chose to sign with the Red Wings over the Jets?
The coach of the Detroit Red Wings had put together the perfect hockey team. But then his star center got blindsided with a hit from behind and was out for the season with a knee injury. Then his 2C went down with a concussion.
He tried the trading route, free agents, but nobody any good was available.
One evening while watching the news from Iraq, he saw a young Iraqi soldier playing hockey in the sand. For hours, he practiced shooting his stone puck into the net, and over and over again he would hit the top corner.
Coach said to himself, “I got to have this guy. He’s got the best shot I’ve ever seen!”
He tracks him down and convinces him to come to Detroit. The kid takes coaching perfectly, makes all the plays, and long story short, the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup.
The Iraqi is now the conquering hero in pro hockey, and a huge story. But when the broadcast team tries to interview him, all he wants is to phone his mom.
“Mother,” he yells over the phone, “We just won the Stanley Cup!”
“Don’t talk to me,” the woman says. “You abandoned us. You can’t be my son.”
The young Iraqi begs, “Mom, you don’t understand! Our team won the biggest hockey game here in the U.S. Thousands of fans are screaming for me. The U.S. President is going to call me!”
“I don’t care,” his mother snaps. “Right now I can hear gunshots everywhere. Our block is like a ruin. Your brothers were beaten half to death last night, and your sister was nearly raped.”
Then she says, "I can never forgive you for making us move to Detroit.”
