Gordon Bombay: Greatest Coach Of All-Time

By Justin Cheng

In lieu of the Stanley Cup Finals, where the Chicago Blackhawks will face off against the Boston Bruins, it has come to my attention that many people around the Bay Area simply do not care about hockey. I myself do not find anything interesting outside of the San Jose Sharks and toothless, testosterone-filled douchebags bashing each other's skulls. With some reflection, however, I have come to realize that hockey has had a bigger impact on people's childhoods than ever imagined, but how is that possible?

The answer: GORDON BOMBAY. This child hockey prodigy, turned lawyer, turned peewee hockey coach, turned minor league hockey player, turned Team USA representative taught us more practical lessons than George Feeny ever did. The three editions of The Mighty Ducks series -- which I must say are the greatest three movies of all time -- was very well the cornerstone of our childhoods, and this is why.








1) Taught Ethics

Bombay wasn't always the best coach, but Charlie Conway was the epitome of a great leader. When Bombay first joined the District 5 team, he taught tricks of how to get cheap penalties by flopping and hooking. Conway called him out like a boss. It wasn't until Bombay slept with Conway's mom that he concluded that cheaters never win.




2) Promotes Equality

To my knowledge, there are no professional Asian hockey players or a WNHL, so where else would you see a Chinese kid and two girls on the same team? Adding Kenny Wu, Julie "The Cat" Gaffney and Connie Moreau taught us that we can rise above any ceiling or stereotype.













3) You Can Be A Two-Sport Athlete

Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, Tony Gonzalez, Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez/ Luis Mendoza.  Nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it. Thank Bombay for recognizing game.




4) Child Abuse Was Okay

Sometimes we want to strangle our kids to make a point, which unfortunately, is quite illegal. In The Mighty Ducks, Greg Goldberg could not protect the net for his life.  It wasn't until Bombay used an off-the-wall teaching method to get rid of Goldberg's fears of things flying at his face.




5) The Importance Of Bromances

Nothing is more important than someone having your back in tough situations. Adding Dean Portman to the squad provided Fulton Reed with an equally talented enforcer and life partner.






6) Faith To Defy Physics

Keenan Thompson aka Russ Tyler was added to Team USA and was critical in their wins against Russia and Iceland. Bombay was smart enough to add this street hockey player from Los Angeles to dazzle us with his gravity-defying knuckle puck.

7) Taught Teamwork

Quite possibly the second greatest moment in sports movie history (#1 being Domonic Toretto's cameo appearance in Tokyo Drift), the Mighty Ducks were coached to work together, a life-lesson that we could all learn to appreciate.





8) Academics Is Still Important

Finally, let's not forget an important facet of our lives: education. Bombay always seemed to do things in an unconventional manner, as seen here while on an ice cream date with Iceland's hottie trainer. He seemed to make an educational experience out of nothing and proved to us that learning can be fun too.
































Thank you Gordon for all the life-lessons.

The Bayless Babbles is a sports blog is co-authored by UC Merced/ USC alumnus Justin Cheng and UC San Diego alumnus Brent Lee.

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