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Pope John Paul II had played in a Polish hockey league !!

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VanIslander

VanIslander

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CNN ran a profile of his life which mentioned the Pope had played hockey as a youth and got a scar over his eye from a stick slash.

Does anyone have more info on this?
Click to read more...
 
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acr*

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He was a great Pope, but if it's true he played hockey, he's officially the coolest Pope ever.
 
VanIslander

VanIslander

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The Washington Post article stated he was nicknamed "Lolek the Goalie" and in the short summers played in a soccer league. Then there's this:

In the winter, the future pontiff played ice hockey on the Skawa's frozen surface...

"We were like all the other mountain boys, winter was long in Poland."
Click to expand...
They make it sound like casual, pick-up pond hockey... but CNN mentioned a hockey league... maybe there was a rec league... whichever way, I'd love to hear more, maybe even see a picture.

What a cool sport! :o
 
Lou is God

Lou is God

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Nov 10, 2003
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Found this:

"The Pope offered you hospitality, did you give him gifts?" ZENIT asked.

"Yes!" Alana said, who brought a book and photographs of Nova Scotia, a bookmark, and a CD recorded by her diocese. The Canadian youths gave the Pope a hockey stick with his name, John Paul, inscribed on the back. And his number: 2, in Roman numerals, of course. It was Roger's idea.

"Because I love hockey," he explained, gently shrugging his shoulders.

The Pope surprised them by confiding, "60 years ago, I too played hockey!"
Click to expand...

http://www.ewtn.com/wyd2000/dines.htm

And this:

This may sound peculiar. You are young. He is old. You are vigorous. He, once a great sportsman -- a daredevil skier, a man who could hike for hours on end, a kayaker and hockey player -- now leads the Church from a wheelchair. The Pope often treats his infirmities with the medicine of humor.
Click to expand...

http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=54719

Apparently the Pope was quite an athlete.
 

monkey_00*

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Leaf Lander said:
he was a good one


we neeed a canadian pope;)
Click to expand...

Oh I see............I guess that explains why Canada had a great hockey team and Poland didn't. ;)
 

jacketracket*

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Devilsfanatic said:
Thats kinda cool!
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Sure is.

I'm not Catholic --- or even religious, for that matter --- but thinking about the Pope playing pond hockey as a kid helped brighten a somber day.
 
Trottier

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Dan Galvin said:
I'm not Catholic, but he was a great man...
Click to expand...

I agree with those sentiments. One need not be Catholic nor in agreement with all of his church's pronouncements to recognize that this Pope was an immensely large figure in our times.

In a world of commoditized celebrity, "greatness," in the historical sense of the word, is often bastardized.

As such, it's worthwhile to acknowledge the few truly large and impactful figures among us. Such is the case here.

***

"He was a man, take him, for I shall not look upon his like again...."
- Shakespeare, "Hamlet"
 

go_leafs_go02

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Apr 24, 2004
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He's a Blues fan? I was sure he would be a St. Michael's Major's fan.

from photo link posted above:

Pope John Paul II holds a St. Louis Blues hockey stick presented to him by the youth of St. Louis at the Light of the World papal youth gathering in this January 26, 1999 file photo.
 

Icer

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Oct 15, 2004
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The Pope played in a Polish hockey league! That reminds me of a joke:

Q: What happened to the Polish National Hockey Team?
A: Drowned during spring training.
 
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