It finally happened. Al Montoya, the Phoenix Coyotes backup goaltender made history Wednesday, as he became the first Cuban-American to play in the NHL.
Not since Jackie Robinson’s debut at Ebbets field in 1947 have we seen racial barriers crumble the way they did in Denver on April 1, 2009.
Will you remember where you were when it happened? This must be part of the dream Dr. King told us about in 1963. Little Cuban boys and little Cuban girls playing hockey with their Canadian and Eastern European counterparts; the NHL has finally abandoned all of its clichés and stereotypes to become a utopia of racial and cultural harmony.
All right, lets get real. Montoya was born in Chicago, which is almost like the Northeast where Cubans (or Chicagoans) playing hockey isn’t the cultural turning point Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic is making it out to be.
My grandparents are from Ireland and I’m half Jewish. Maybe someday, I’ll make headlines for being the first Irish-American Jew to win the Kentucky Derby.
Unfortunately it is understandable. This is the only interesting hockey news coming out of Glendale these days, but lets stop inventing drama where there is none. Montoya shut out the Colorado Avalanche. That’s news. The Coyotes actually won a game. That’s news. A kid from Chicago playing goalie? Not news.
