Derek Boogaard

I think back to when I was in high school.  Nobody knew what the Internet was, or at least, nobody outside of Al Gore.  LOL

Today we have a different life then we had 24 years ago.  24 years ago, my parents told me how different things were 24 years before.  Today, computers, cell phones, a relentless 24 hour news cycle that brings us breaking news, along with facebook and twitter, are all the norm. 

And that's how many found out about Derek Boogaard, aka Booogeyman; twitter.  Derek was an NHLer, played for the Minnesota Wild and more recently the New York Rangers.  Last night at 8pm local time, I came back to my office to finish up two jobs, and while running one job, I decided to check Twitter on my phone.  The first tweet, from hockeyfights..."RIP Derek Boogaard." 

I thought to myself "could this be right?" and I ran into the office and got online, only to find out that unfortunately, it was true. 

Back in the day when I was a pro hockey rep selling equipment to hockey teams and their players, my biggest fear was that we develop friendships outside the rink with quite a few players and what happens when the "pro athlete" that we know passes away?  Suddenly, the story gets personal and cuts deep. 

That player, Derek Boogaard, he was never my client, but, he was my buddy Ron's client, Ron's friend. 

The story is the death of a good person who happened to be a professional athlete.  The story is of a son...a brother...a friend.  The hockey world takes these things personally, especially to a guy known more for his fighting on the ice than his soft, gentle, funny side off the ice.

RIP Derek Boogaard...