It's always tough to say goodbye to a legend, especially one that has been the heart and soul of one of your favorite sports franchises. Teemu Selanne is rightfully the first Anaheim (Mighty) Duck to ever have his jersey retired. Thanks to the greatest Dad in the world, I had a pretty good vantage point for the festivities last night.
People have a tendency to forget how incredible the Finnish Flash was throughout his entire career. Teemu's responsible for my favorite goal celebration of all time even before he made it to Anaheim. This classic gif is from his rookie season, when broke Mike Bossy's record for goals in a season by a rookie. Except he went on to score 20 more to get to 76 goals on the season, otherwise known as the 5th best season EVER. As a rookie. 76 rookie goals is a record that will never be touched.
I've had the privilege of caddying for Teemu Selanne twice in my life. I used to caddy for my Dad's friends in the summer, and one day I got the offer of a lifetime - a chance to caddy for one of my heroes. Teemu called me "Little John" the whole day, but the kicker was on the 17th tee. My Dad's buddy challenged Teemu saying that I could knock it closer than him. I did, and we had a good laugh. I thought that was the end of it. Directly after the round, Teemu handed me $120 but wouldn't let go and said, "Little John, let's go double or nothing on 4 holes." I had just caddied 18 holes for the man, so my natural response was, "How many strokes do you want?" The group busted up. I was dead serious. We settled on one stroke for Teemu. Four holes later I was up 2 strokes and Teemu handed me $250. Best. Day. Ever. The second caddying loop wasn't quite as memorable, but Teemu did let me sit shotgun as he spun the tires on his Ferrari 360 Modena. Oh, and he has the Happy Gilmore hockey stick putter too. What's not to love?
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