Heartbreaking: Nobody Ever Taught Matthew Tkachuk How To Throw A Football
This is the brutal side to having a father who played in the NHL that nobody ever wants to talk about.
Sure, it's awesome that your old man is playing in the Show. You get to hang out in the locker room, learn from some of the greatest hockey players in the world, and soak up a million memories for life. You get to go out on the ice for All Star Games your dad is playing in, you get to travel across the country to watch him play with a heart full of pride that your father is one of the best American hockey players to ever lace up a pair of skates.
But here you are 28 years later. Your life has turned out pretty well. You won the Stanley Cup twice, you won an Olympic gold medal, and now you're heading into an NHL season playing on the same team as your younger brother. But then it dawns on you....
"Holy shit. I never learned how to throw a football".
Your dad was playing 82 games every season. You were out there playing hockey tournaments your whole life, and constantly had a stick in your hands. You don't know what to do while you're holding a ball. But there you are on the field during warm ups at at the University of Miami football game, and the ball is in your hands.
I don't care how many Stanley Cups you've won. At this exact moment, Matthew Tkahcuk had to be terrified that he was going to throw an awful ball. He's played on the biggest stages that sports have to offer, but the idea of throwing a terrible pass here had to send a shiver down his spine. The set up looked promising, but you could tell he wanted to get that thing out of his hands as quickly as possible. No pump fakes, no fake roll out, no nothing.
I'm not sure if I've ever seen anyone look like a kicker watching a field goal split through the uprights after throwing a ball before.
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Poor guy went full Drake Maye out there. It's like his favorite quarterback growing up was this actor on some shitty Freeform show.
It just goes to show that at the end of the day, sports are the great equalizer. You could have all the money and success in the world, but there's always going to be an athletic motion out there waiting to humble you real quick. The same way most NFL quarterbacks would look ridiculous if they ever randomly put on a pair of skates and tried playing hockey.