OK, that's such a lie. Of course I'd never heard of him. What do you think I am, some sort of sports freak? The first time the name ever passed into my consciousness was when we were planning the trip and Simon mentioned Wayne Gretzky's as somewhere we might eat one evening.
So we did - on Friday night we had a pleasant meal there, browsed some memorabilia and I didn't really think very much of it.
Saturday afternoon saw us at the Hockey Hall of Fame, with more memorabilia than I ever thought possible. And boy, they love their stats there: highest this, quickest this (how can you score 3 goals in 21 seconds?), most this...but guess whose name was everywhere?
This Gretzky guy was a legend! Kind of like Roger Federer crossed with Pele and Steven Redgrave with a bit of Ben Ainslie thrown in for good measure.
His career spanned a mere 21 years from 1978 to 1999 and his number - 99 - was immediately retired by all NHL teams. He was also promptly inducted into the Hall of fame. According to Wikipedia, his wedding was broadcast live throughout Canada . So he's probably the Canadian version of a National Treasure.
(Gretzky likes to use the number 99: his restaurant is at 99 Blue Jays way. They serve burgers with 'branded' 99 buns. He produces wines from the No. 99 Wine Estate. He has 5 children, none of whom were born in 1999)
So how about a TV reality show to find the next '99' branded business venture? I can see it now...
His middle name is Douglas, yet he still succeeded
Starting at a mere $999, you too can have your very own 99 jersey
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