My Hero

My Hero, originally uploaded by MertWindu.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of meeting two of my heroes in one building. At a UMass-BU hockey game, I got to meet Bobby Orr, and have him sign a program, and shake his hand. That was really nice. What trumped it, by a large margin, was when I walked over to the balcony that looked over the ice at Walter Brown Arena, and leaned over, put a hand on his shoulder, and told Travis Roy that he was my hero. That was far cooler. So I try to keep an eye out for any updates on him. I should have been paying more attention on Thursday, which was the 10-year anniversary of his injury, but I missed it. Either way, The Globe caught up with Travis for the anniversary. I'm trying to put this delicately, because I respect the idea the writer had. But I've got to say it. This story would have been 10 times better if it were either a Q and A, or just written by Travis himself. After you read it, go back, and pay special attention to the words that aren't in quotes. Are any of those writer's interjections necessary? It's unfortunate, obviously, that such a good idea would get ruined by the writer's inability to get out of his way. Nonetheless, I enjoyed hearing from Travis again. If the story interests you at all, I implore you to buy his book, "Eleven Seconds." It's gut-wrenching, inspiring, and it's true.

Also, Go UMass!