Ultimate Heroes

My first blog.  Ever.  I want it to be about something special and significant in my life.  Everyone knows that my family is the most important thing in my life.  They shaped my life, my morals, and my way of thinking.  The second most influential group in shaping my life would be my friends.  From the title of this blog, you might think that I would be writing about my parents, siblings, or good friends.  However, I’m not going to blog about any of these groups because I don’t think this is the right place to get all sentimental.

Being a Chinese person who grew up in Canada, I was lucky enough to enjoy the best elements of both cultures.  In particular, Chinese TV shows and hockey provided me hours of entertainment each day throughout my childhood (which lasted well into my 30s).  So it should come as no surprise that many of my childhood heroes come from TVB and the NHL.  But who are my “ultimate heroes”?  I would pick Wayne Gretzky (not my favourite player, though – that honour belongs to Wendel Clark) and Guo Jing (main character of the Legend of the Condor Heroes).

Wayne Gretzky was the best hockey player when I was growing up, perhaps of all time (debatable – possible subject of a future blog) and Guo Jing was the best fighter in China.  Each sport has its “best player” but what sets these two apart from the other “bests” is their humility.  They didn’t go around telling people how good they were.  But everyone would line up to tell them how good they were.

They both knew in their heart that they were the best but they would use that knowledge and their skills in a good way.  They would not act as superior beings to others because of their superior skills.  A good example is how Gretzky never thought he was bigger than the game.  He knew that he needed to play well for his team to win.  He knew his responsibility as the best player was also to be an ambassador of the game.  And he did that by helping the game to grow in the US and Europe (hockey camps and friendly tournaments).  He also contributed whenever Hockey Canada came calling.  After all that, he always had time for reporters.  When did you see Gretzky ever get mad at a reporter or refuse a question?  Don’t bring up the famous rant of 2002.  That was a planned move by The Great One (possible subject of a future blog).

“The Great One” is the nickname bestowed upon Gretzky by the media and his peers.  As I said, when you are truly great, others will compliment you.  As with Guo Jing, everyone called him “Dai Hup”, which means great hero.  He spent the majority of his life defending China against the Mongolians and earned the respect of everyone in the country.  One of my favourite scenes is at the end of Return of the Condor heroes when Guo Jing was given the title of “Ultimate Hero”.  Of course he said, “I am not worthy of this honour.”  Then his nephew, Yeung Guo (who by this time had become a great hero and top fighter himself) said, “Uncle, if you cannot be called a hero, then no one in the world can be a hero.”

These two ultimate heroes give me a chance to teach my daughters the lesson of modesty.  You don’t need to tell anyone that you are good at math or soccer or dancing, or anything at all.  If you are truly good, others will see it.  If you brag, people will just think you are a hot shot.  But when others compliment you, then it is much more meaningful and special.

Big Oh