Photo: Deadspin.com
Can we all get off our high horses yet? This over reaction with Patrick Kane is getting out of control. Okay, the kid spent a boozy weekend or ten doing dumb shit, can we get over it?
Patrick Kane is a 23 year old millionaire, celebrated as an amazing forward, part of the unstoppable duo in Chicago, and a fan of drinks of the alcohol variety. He was drafted first in overall 2007, and by 2010, had won the Stanley Cup.
In that time, Kane has gained quite the reputation in the party scene. And with our hyper attentive media, no moment goes undocumented whether it be a tweet, a blog post, or a lovely photo spread.
But I have to imagine if we had the media following us around between the ages of 18 and 25, I doubt the moments would be all Hallmark approved. Now add the big paycheck Kane receives, eliminating the worry of money in these years, I'd say 75% of those reading this now would be a bit embarrassed.
Look, you're going to have situations arise that do not paint NHL players in the best light in this media heavy world. There's no more hiding out when you made a mistake, shit happens and EVERYONE knows and EVERYONE has an opinion. Could Kane handle some of his moments better? Yeah he could, but those in the media that are criticizing them should take a good look at their past.
Rob Ramage knows first hand what it is like to be under media scrutiny, and his problems started right at the cusp of the insanity. In 2003, Ramage drove drunk and kill his passenger Keith Magnuson, formerly of the Chicago Blackhawks, and injured the driver of the other car. Ramage escaped the Twitter generation's judgement and Deadspin was not launched for another two years.
Phil Esposito was on Off The Record and fully admitted to playing games drunk. He still put up the phenomenal numbers fans expected him to. In addition, he managed to keep his party boy persona some what undercover because there wasn't that instant access. Yeah big celebrity but it wasn't important as long as his game wasn't affected. Kane's game certainly hasn't been affected.
And you keep on going down the line, how many of these guys are known alcoholics? You've Tim Horton, who's death remained a mystery and unquestioned for 30 years before people started attributing it to alcohol and drugs. You can check out his death certificate on this site as well as his autopsy.
Look up Ed Belfour on Urban Dictionary and you'll find an entry that really brings a new level to the meaning "drunk". And who can forget when he offered the Dallas police a billion dollars to release him?
In 1972, Wayne Cashman got drunk at the Bruins Stanley Cup Parade and tossed his socks into the awaiting crowd. And that's just scratching the surface of all of these guys.
You go right on down the line: JR's antics, Bobby Hull and his wife beating accusations, stories of parties thrown by every winning team, books devoted to the lunacy that went down in the WHA, and general folklore never took away from the credibility of these players. Never once did anyone stop and question these players' choices. So why now are we criticizing guys like Kane, who are only following in the foot steps of their heroes?
With great access to players lives, every moment is under a magnified glass, when it paints our favorite players in a good light (like Brooks Laich changing that flat tire) we are thrilled to find this out, but what is really upsetting is how many Tumblrs are devoted to photos of young NHLers acting drunk and stupid. What irks me more is when it's in the off season.
Look if Kane or any other NHLer wants to drink themselves to an early death, well it'll be a shame to see them go, alcoholism and alcohol abuse is no laughing matter, but I prefer not to see it splashed all over the news. This isn't news, this happens every day on a college campus, in city bars, and throughout the history of the NHL.
Let the kids be kids.
Everyone calm down.
Not all of us are like me (I fall into the previously mentioned age category of 18 to 25) and wish for millions to build a personal library, so stop kidding yourself if you think no young kid with that kind of money hasn't thought about doing what Kane has been up to recently.