Word of the Day: Brooksisms

Brooksisms, noun: A terse saying embodying a general truth, or an astute observation by former US Hockey coach Herb Brooks.

Usage Example: Brooks once said, "You know, Willie Wonka said it best: we are the makers of dreams, the dreamers of dreams."

Word Origin: With the 30th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice" coming up next Monday, I thought I would take a look at the coach of that famous US hockey team, Herb Brooks.

Herb Brooks could be best described as a "tell it like it is" type of person. He wasn't afraid to speak his mind and make his players uncomfortable. It was all his grand plan to motivate his players and make them play at a level higher. Part of Brooks' motivation was to use catchphrases that he created over and over again.

One of the way Brooks motivated his players was by making fun Soviet Union players and coaches. Specifically Brooks would make fun of the Soviet Union Captain and at the time the best hockey player in the world Boris Mikhailov. Brooks would mockingly call Mikhailov, "Stan Laurel", the famous comedian from the group Laurel and Hardy.

Three of Brooks' players, John Harrington, Dave Silk, and Captain Mike Eruzione, kept a notebook of Brooks' favorite aphorisms that he kept repeating to a regularity that they made an impression on the players. Here are a few of the "Brooksisms":

- "You're playing worse every day, and right now you're playing like the middle of the next month."

- "Gentlemen, you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone."

- "Boys, in front of the net it's bloody-nose alley."

- "Don't dump the puck in. That went out with short pants."

- "Throw the puck back and weave, weave, weave. But don't just weave for the sake of weaving."

- "You look like you have a five pound fart on your head."

- "You guys are getting bent over and they're not using vaseline."

What else can you say about Coach Brooks? He was definitely an intelligent coach and a master motivator/button pusher. It was sad day when coach Brooks passed away back in 2003.

(Sources: Wikipedia, CNN/SI)