Pucking Fantastic
December 27, 2011 10:10 AM   Subscribe

SLYT: Brenda Hewlett: 5'3", 59 years old, has never held a hockey stick before. At an Akwesasne Warriors hockey game, however, she finally did hold a hockey stick in an attempt to win a new Ford truck by shooting a puck at a goal from 114 feet away. You probably see where this is going.

(via Jalopnik)
posted by schleppo (65 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
That is just beyond super cool.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 10:14 AM on December 27, 2011


You're description doesn't do it justice. Crazy.
posted by knapah at 10:15 AM on December 27, 2011


Your, damnit
posted by knapah at 10:16 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


Not just *at* a goal from 114 feet away: at a puck-sized *hole* in a goal 114 feet away.

Holy crap.
posted by joe lisboa at 10:16 AM on December 27, 2011 [8 favorites]


Awesome, but it's obviously a viral ad for frustratingly small hockey goals.
posted by bondcliff at 10:17 AM on December 27, 2011 [30 favorites]


ha! i was all set to be not *that* impressed until i saw the size of that hole. and then i was all like "wooohooooo! awesome!"
posted by h0p3y at 10:18 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


Oh my god, the YouTube comments even on this manage to be instantly misogynist and crazy. I scrolled down almost by accident, dammit. >:|

That said, this is pretty great. =D
posted by kavasa at 10:18 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


Divinity.
posted by dirtdirt at 10:21 AM on December 27, 2011


I wish we could have seen her initial reaction to getting the shot! I know my jaw would have been on the ice, then the rest of me as I fainted away.
posted by Elly Vortex at 10:25 AM on December 27, 2011


Added detail: Brenda was at the dealership getting her old beat-up Ford fixed, and said to the mechanic that she knew she needed to just get a new one, but she couldn't afford it. So he pointed her to the contest, because what the hell.
posted by Etrigan at 10:28 AM on December 27, 2011 [13 favorites]


I once saw two people win this contest on the same night. (It was up in college, and the prize was a free class ring.) Granted it was at an east coast college rink, so the distance to the goal from center ice was shorter, but it was still incredible.
posted by Guernsey Halleck at 10:29 AM on December 27, 2011


How on EARTH did she not flail and fall down on the ice when she won!?
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:30 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


If I won a pickup truck like that, I'd get vanity plates that just said "WINNER", just so I could tell the story about how I won it whenever anyone asked about them.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 10:32 AM on December 27, 2011


That's not center ice, that's the far blue line! I've been to enough games to know how often folks don't even get the puck to the net from the center face of circle. As you can see, she really had to put something on it to get it that far on the chipped up ice. What a shot!
posted by meinvt at 10:34 AM on December 27, 2011


I saw the description that 'hole in one' and thought 'whoo boy, clueless poster' and then 'Holy Crap!'
posted by sfts2 at 10:35 AM on December 27, 2011


Awesome! But she has to pay taxes on that truck. MSRP starts at $22,950. So that's probably going to cost her $8k, give or take.
posted by Plutor at 10:35 AM on December 27, 2011 [5 favorites]


Either that was one lightning strike of a lucky shot, or this woman really ought to be a draft pick next season.

And I love how happy the players and the crowd and the other people are for her.
posted by orange swan at 10:36 AM on December 27, 2011


I love the guy with a crutch out on the ice to support her.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:37 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


She's a better sniper than Kovalchuck, at least this was the right net.
posted by nathancaswell at 10:37 AM on December 27, 2011


Yeah, I was thinking she just got it in the net. That hole is SMALL!
posted by OmieWise at 10:40 AM on December 27, 2011


I love the guy with a crutch out on the ice to support her.

I love even more that he appears to be miraculously healed when she makes the goal.
posted by wreckingball at 10:41 AM on December 27, 2011 [7 favorites]


I wonder if the owner of the dealership threw his cowboy hat on the ground and stomped it in a comical fashion after seeing the puck go in that undersized hole...
posted by hellslinger at 10:41 AM on December 27, 2011 [22 favorites]


Oh sweet! I've been to countless hockey games here in NYC.. it's always fun to see the close-calls in this game. You "Know" it's possible to make the score, even for a novice.. it's just as rare for the entire crowd to see it happen as it is for her to make the shot. Very cool.
posted by ReeMonster at 10:43 AM on December 27, 2011


Growing up going to Islander games during the dynasty years, we used to call this the geek, the kid and the bimbo show. The geek was mostly booed when he missed, the kid got a smattering of applause if he was close and the bimbo with the big hair and short dress got cheered no matter what. I think they were shooting from the red line not the other blue line. I vaguely recall there being some guy who did win once.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:46 AM on December 27, 2011


I wonder if the owner of the dealership threw his cowboy hat on the ground and stomped it in a comical fashion after seeing the puck go in that undersized hole...

Not to bum everyone out with reality but a friend of mine is in the car biz and I asked him about the whacky contests once and they have special insurance in case people win.
posted by nathancaswell at 10:49 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


How can we be sure that's not all a hallucination in her head after she slipped on the ice and knocked herself out?
posted by mannequito at 10:53 AM on December 27, 2011 [6 favorites]


Hewlett Puckard
posted by exogenous at 10:53 AM on December 27, 2011 [3 favorites]


Not to bum everyone out with reality but a friend of mine is in the car biz and I asked him about the whacky contests once and they have special insurance in case people win.

But the insurance guy stomped on his hat, right? RIGHT?

A local furniture store (and institution) took out a $20 million policy in 2007 and had to use it, thanks to the Red Sox.
posted by bondcliff at 10:54 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


didn't know Trump was announcing minor league hockey on the side these days.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:54 AM on December 27, 2011


Bondcliff, funny I'm in NH for Xmas still and we were talking about that on Christmas day...
posted by nathancaswell at 10:56 AM on December 27, 2011


Meh, it's just the law of probability at work. What you don't see are the 99,999 people who don't have the same luck.
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:07 AM on December 27, 2011


My favorite part is that she apparently really needed the truck she won.
posted by bearwife at 11:12 AM on December 27, 2011 [4 favorites]


Don't the winners usually win a free lease on the vehicle? Or do people get free and clear ownership? 'Course they have to pay taxes. But paying 8k-ish on a 22k vehicle is a pretty good deal.

Anyway, it's cool to see this happen.
posted by hot_monster at 11:15 AM on December 27, 2011


Clearly this needs to be made into a documentary a la Hands on a Hard Body (SFW, even though the title doesn't sound like it).
posted by Wuggie Norple at 11:17 AM on December 27, 2011


Don't the winners usually win a free lease on the vehicle? Or do people get free and clear ownership? 'Course they have to pay taxes. But paying 8k-ish on a 22k vehicle is a pretty good deal.
Was this in Canada? I assumed it was, because, you know, hockey. Anyway Canadians don't have to pay taxes on contest winnings, from what I understand, unless they are professional gamblers.

Anyway, paying taxes on contest winnings is kind of lame.
posted by delmoi at 11:19 AM on December 27, 2011 [7 favorites]


Empty net goal. Meh.
posted by Danf at 11:19 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


(I mean requiring people to pay taxes on them, not paying them yourself)
posted by delmoi at 11:19 AM on December 27, 2011


The guy throwing his crutch in the air was the dealership General Manager, Scott Coupal.
posted by hat_eater at 11:20 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


Was this in Canada?

It seems to be in Massena, NY, which is not under the Canadian legal or taxation system but otherwise is effectively Canada.
posted by A dead Quaker at 11:27 AM on December 27, 2011 [11 favorites]


A few months ago there was one of these with a young boy, maybe 12 or something. The thing with his was that names were drawn from a hat for who would get to take the shot. When the name was called, that kid was in the bathroom so the dad took the kid's friend or brother down to the ice instead. Kid got it in but the rink refused to give the prize when they found out. I think it was $10k or $20k or something big.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 11:37 AM on December 27, 2011


I wonder if the owner of the dealership threw his cowboy hat on the ground and stomped it in a comical fashion after seeing the puck go in that undersized hole...

Pretty sure the guy in the tan pants is from the dealership. Check out his reaction at 1:43 - I think that's when it sinks in.
posted by Big_B at 11:40 AM on December 27, 2011


Pretty sure the guy in the tan pants is from the dealership. Check out his reaction at 1:43 - I think that's when it sinks in.

What should be sinking in is that his dealership just got 1.1 million hits on YouTube. If there is any reason to sponsor a competition like this, this is it.
posted by The Bellman at 11:45 AM on December 27, 2011 [6 favorites]


I asked him about the whacky contests once and they have special insurance in case people win.

I've wondered about that. Wouldn't the circa $30,000 be a pretty reasonable price to pay for an arena full of eyeballs focusing on your brand every half-time and then a couple million more once the winner's video hits local news and the internet?

What kind of money does it cost to sponsor a... [looks up Akwesasne Warriors]... minor league team for a season? Hmm... maybe $30,000 is actually quite a lot...
posted by rh at 11:52 AM on December 27, 2011


Should win more than a truck for that really.
posted by memebake at 11:57 AM on December 27, 2011


Be sure to read the full description and backstory of the event (written by the aforementioned Scott Coupal) below the YouTube video.
posted by ericb at 11:59 AM on December 27, 2011


***

on preview, my snark sniper has gone flacid.
posted by herbplarfegan at 12:09 PM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


I bet Frenchy is pissed!
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 12:11 PM on December 27, 2011


on preview, my snark sniper has gone flacid.

I swear this is the first time this has ever happened baby
posted by nathancaswell at 12:30 PM on December 27, 2011 [4 favorites]


Wouldn't the circa $30,000 be a pretty reasonable price to pay for an arena full of eyeballs focusing on your brand every half-time...?

And guess what! There's two half-times per game!
posted by that's how you get ants at 12:56 PM on December 27, 2011 [2 favorites]


This is why i don't watch hockey. Clearly, goal making is just random.
posted by rtimmel at 1:11 PM on December 27, 2011


If she makes that shot ten times, she might miss nine...but not this game. Not tonight.
posted by billyfleetwood at 1:15 PM on December 27, 2011


This is completely irrelevant to the post, but am I the only one who thinks the term "hockey stick" sounds odd?

Not odd as in unusual, but odd as in the sort of thing that would be made up by a person who knows nothing at all about hockey. "Yeah, I saw some guys out there with those, what do you call 'em? Those things people use to play hockey. Hockey sticks? Something like that, anyway they had some of those."

The fact that they actually are called "hockey sticks" is a never ending source of mild amusement and mild mental irritation to me. Sports are hotbeds of jargon and they all have a specialized vocabulary. And yet in hockey, which is no stranger to it's own vernacular, the core bit of equipment is called a hockey stick. That both amuses and bugs me.

On topic, dang. I'd have fainted if I'd managed that.
posted by sotonohito at 1:40 PM on December 27, 2011 [6 favorites]


Sotonohito: A "bat" is an old word for piece of wood or a stick, the sort of thing you use to batter people or other objects, perhaps the cause of injuries you sustain in a battle.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:52 PM on December 27, 2011 [2 favorites]


More on the hockey terminology side topic:
In 1799, William Pierre Le Cocq, in a letter written in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, provides a reference to the game hockey: “I must now describe to you the game of Hockey; we have each a stick turning up at the end. We get a bung. There are two sides one of them knocks one way and the other side the other way. If any one of the sides makes the bung reach that end of the churchyard it is victorious.” The actual word hockey was mentioned centuries before, in 1363, when King Edward III of England issued a declaration banning a list of games: "moreover we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing; handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games".

From the context, the word "hockey" is a clear corruption of the word "hook" referring to the end of the stick. In 1527 a statute recorded in Galway City in Ireland stated, "At no time to use ne occupy ye hurling of ye litill balle with the hookie sticks or staves, nor use no hand balle to play without the walls, but only the great foot balle." This was referring to the game of hurling and the hook made it likely the stick was like the ones used in shinty.

According to the Austin Hockey Association, the word puck is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word "puc" or the Irish word "poc," meaning to poke, punch or deliver a blow. This definition is explained in a book published in 1910 entitled "English as we Speak it in Ireland" by P. W. Joyce. It defines the word puck as "... The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck."*
posted by ericb at 1:53 PM on December 27, 2011 [4 favorites]


Sure it was luck, but I bought a Megamillions ticket today ($206mm). Yay, for luck!
posted by Mojojojo at 2:20 PM on December 27, 2011


Pretty sure banks would line up to loan her the tax money until after the first of the year. Unless she makes over $56K a year, she would get all of that back, and then some. A $30,000 windfall is about a year's salary for the average Joe. If she's over 59-1/2, I doubt the IRS would even make her pay it in just to get it back again.

The State of New York, however....
posted by halfbuckaroo at 3:15 PM on December 27, 2011


I'm pretty sure that was actually Borje Salming.
posted by srboisvert at 3:36 PM on December 27, 2011


Shouldn't she have immediately been clotheslined by some enforcer immediately after making that shot, or am I misunderstanding the game of hockey?
posted by Ron Thanagar at 5:23 PM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


Good for her, no way I could have made that shot as I have a complete lack of skill and dexterity.
posted by arcticseal at 9:40 PM on December 27, 2011


Watching her shoot, I was wondering if she plays golf?
posted by jb at 9:54 PM on December 27, 2011


Ah, YouTube commenters, you never let me down:

God put His miracle skill to work. No other explanation Buia! atheists... :P

"God, why did you let all those people die in that tsunami?"
"I was helping some guy in Jersey putt! I can't be in two places at once!"
posted by obiwanwasabi at 12:44 AM on December 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


Thanks, Joe in Australia and ericb!
posted by sotonohito at 6:45 AM on December 28, 2011


See also: UK man wins £250k by winning the "crossbar challenge" - kicking a rugby ball from 100ft away to hit the crossbar of a pair of rugby posts.

"Job Centre worker Stuart Tinner, who lives at home with his parents, hit the bar with an amazing shot from 30 metres - and all he wore on his feet were socks!

The competition was held at half-time during Saracens' 24-23 victory over South Africa at Wembley.

The 24-year-old, who plays hooker for Welwyn RFC fifth team in Hertfordshire, was the first of three supporters picked at random from the 46,000 crowd after applying to take part in the competition by text message."
posted by MuffinMan at 7:17 AM on December 28, 2011


"Not to bum everyone out with reality but a friend of mine is in the car biz and I asked him about the whacky contests once and they have special insurance in case people win."

The idea of contest insurance is funny to me.
posted by hellslinger at 12:39 PM on December 28, 2011


This is completely irrelevant to the post, but am I the only one who thinks the term "hockey stick" sounds odd?

It rivals my amusement at learning the big hole in guitars where the sound comes out is technically called a Sound Hole. Or that the scientific name for the moon is, uh, The Moon.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:05 AM on December 29, 2011 [1 favorite]


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