Television media can construct reality in our lives in many different ways. The media may use ethically questionable digital manipulation techniques such as photoshopping, superimposing text on images, and fabricated voiceovers within films. The daily news, television shows, and movies can be very selective about what to include or exclude in their footage to influence the viewers’ opinions about the information being presented. One particular person I watched on television as a child has constructed a reality that has influenced multiple aspects of my life.
I have been watching the Buffalo Sabres professional ice hockey team on television since I was about 5 years old. During the late 1990’s, Dominik Hasek was making a name for himself as the best goaltender in the NHL while playing in my hometown of Buffalo, NY. I began playing hockey when I was 7 years old, around the same time I became obsessed with the man nicknamed “The Dominator.” In my first two years as a hockey player, I struggled to play any position at forward or defense. I desperately wanted to try playing in goal. My dad never wanted me to be a goalie; he grew up watching the Boston Bruins’ Bobby Orr, a defenseman who could carry the puck from one end of the ice to the other and score more goals than most of the forwards on his team. Before I even started playing hockey, my hockey career was already being influenced by what my dad had seen on television. Meanwhile, my mom was concerned about my safety if I were to play goalie. I convinced my mom to let me play goalie by telling her that goalies wear more protective equipment than anybody else on the ice.
 |
| Bobby Orr carries the puck |
It turned out that I was much better goaltender than I was a goal-scorer or defender. I continued to idolize the six-time Vezina Trophy winner (NHL’s best goaltender) Dominik Hasek for his unorthodox, yet surprisingly effective, style of play. Using a unique flopping style that combined cat-like reflexes with the flexibility of a ballerina, Hasek proved that goalies can be creative and develop their own ways to stop the puck. Pierre McGuire, a sportscaster for Versus, told Sports Illustrated,
"Dominik Hasek's flopping style in goal is often described as unorthodox, but he may do one of the basics - squaring up on the initial shot - as well as any goalie in recent history. Pucks frequently hit him in the chest or upper thigh, making rebounds easier for him to control and giving his defensemen a better chance to clear the crease. Hasek deserves credit for being more fundamentally sound that most observers think."
 |
| Pierre McGuire working between the benches for NHL on NBC |
As I learned from Hasek’s play on television, I tried to mimic his unique style on the ice. I was well known in my league for being one of the most aggressive goalies (an aggressive goalie comes out of the net to challenge the shooter; this is not necessarily physical aggression). I was very good at poke-checking shooters with my stick when they came down on breakaways. However, my style of play changed drastically as I began to lose respect for Dominik Hasek’s character on and off the ice.
One day, I met Dominik Hasek at my local ice rink, the Amherst Pepsi Center. I approached him and asked him for his autograph, expecting him to be an honorable leader like the persona the media created for him on television. He was not surrounded by a crowd of fans nagging him for autographs, so I thought the timing was perfect. Perhaps he would be in the mood to sign an autograph for one kid who he ran into at the rink. However, I found out he was impolite and quite irritable around his fans when he told me, “No, leave me alone.” I suddenly lost respect for the man I looked up to for years. I started watching different goalies and even changed my style of play according to the styles of younger up-and-coming NHL goalies who played far differently from Hasek. I adopted the “butterfly” style, used by NHL stars like Patrick Roy and Martin Biron. A “butterfly” goalie frequently drops down in his knees and spreads his feet outward to cover the lower portion of the net (I’ll post a picture below as an example). Today, I pay particular attention to Marc-Andre Fleury’s and Henrik Lundqvist’s butterfly sliding techniques when I watch them on television.
 |
| Marc-Andre Fleury performing the "Butterfly" save |
 |
| Henrik Lundqvist pushes across the ice using the "Butterfly" slide |
I must point out I am not the only person to find out Dominik Hasek’s character does not match up to the persona of a glorified hero created by television media. Hasek has committed several violent acts on and off the ice, including punching former teammate Paul Gaustad and assaulting Buffalo News journalist Jim Kelley. According to Tom Farrey from ESPN Magazine, Hasek also dunked a teammate’s suit jacket in the toilet after his teammate made a joke about Hasek looking like “Kramer” from the show Seinfeld. Despite his dishonorable attitude, which was hidden by the television media, I must attribute much of my success to the influence television media has had on me with its presentation of Dominik Hasek. Had it not been for Hasek’s performance on television, I probably would not have excelled far enough in hockey to play at the college level here at the University of Florida. I may not have chosen to go to school so far away from home if it were not for my passion for goaltending.
 |
| Kramer from Seinfeld (Left), Domink Hasek (Right) |
 |
| Me making a pad save while playing for the Florida Gators |
I guess you could say it is “ironic,” better yet peculiar (so I do not make the mistake of calling something ironic when it may not be literally ironic) that I have a Dominik Hasek plaque with his real signature from the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan when he won the Gold Medal for the Czech Republic. One of my family members gave me this plaque as a gift when I was still obsessed with Hasek. This plaque hangs on my wall in my apartment to remind me not only to strive for a successful college hockey career but also to remind me to be a gentleman. 
