Blog - HF Member Why Raise Kane?

[Puckblocker]

WHY RAISE KANE?

The media and many fans are expressing shock and worry about the “wild” behavior of 23-year-old Chicago Blackhawk, Patrick Kane. Kane had been seen during the off season, carousing in various nightspots, block parties, limos and taxis. How could a renowned athlete in the baleful public eye behave so reckless?

This is unprecedented irresponsibility by a sport professional. Right? I think not.

Did you ever hear of pitcher David Wells? Wells, a fine pitcher, was also famous for his love affair with alcohol and loose women. He once pitched a perfect game while admittedly “half-drunk.” How could the Boston Red Sox have collapsed so horrifically last September? Since then, many stories from the players themselves have surfaced describing the gorging of booze, food and video game playing in the clubhouse.

Then there was Green Bay Packer All-Pro Fuzzy Thurston who bragged that BEFORE the famous Ice-Bowl game, he downed about 10 vodkas to stay warm. It's been publicized that Ben Roethlisberger elevates his game when injured, but his performance while drunk has not been properly evaluated. NBA star Ron Artest once confessed that he drank during the intermission of his games.

Beer loving major league baseball player Steve Bilko, was a pioneer of sorts. Bilko started a tradition of filling a bathtub with ice, beer and hot water, thus inventing the first beer sauna. Bilko sat in the beer “cloud,” continually inhaling multiple servings of “steam delivered” brew and also pouring many others “down the hatch.”

NBA player Ricky Davis is quite an imbiber too. Once while in Graceland the day before one of his best games of his career, he drank 19 bottles of tequila and almost set fire to the Elvis Memorial.

The great Babe Ruth was known for unparalleled pitching, hitting, drinking, smoking, eating and reportedly hired hookers by the bushel. He once ate seventeen hot dogs before a game and proceeded to belt a ball five hundred feet.

Master batting champ, Wade Boggs could also hit the sauce. He reportedly once consumed sixty-four beers on a long airplane flight, and that it was not the first or only time that he “locked lips” with multiple cold ones.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Donovan once was quoted as admitting, "We didn’t have steroids. If I wanted to get pumped up, I drank a case of beer.” The legendary golfer John Daily, is rumored to confessing that he consumed a fifth of Jack Daniels every day when he was Patrick Kane’s tender age. It was also reported that he had to be removed from a British Airways plane by security for harassing an attendant while inebriated. The two-time British Open winner has been in various alcohol addiction programs and gone through marriages like bananas...in bunches! He once had his swing coach quit because he thought that J.D’s primary objective was to get sloshed.

Perhaps the greatest athlete-drunk of all time was the professional wrestler Andre Roussimoff. Andre, known in the day as "The Eighth Wonder of the World," was also the first wrestler inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame. But, Roussimoff will mostly remembered more for his astounding drinking feats than his ring performance. Many dubbed him “The Greatest Drunk on Earth” after he swallowed 119 twelve-ounce of beers in just under six hours!! As to not be noted as a one-time fluke, Andre also downed 156 sixteen-ounce beers at one sitting on an episode of Legends of Wrestling. Afterwards he reportedly drank 127 beers in a lounge before collapsing in the hotel lobby.

Athletes do not have an exclusive on excess by any means. The great Winston Churchill was well known for enjoying a “spot” several times a day, leading to his great quote from a confrontation with a woman at a party.

A woman named Mrs. Braddock once called him out saying “You are drunk Sir Winston, you are disgustingly drunk. ‘Yes, Mrs. Braddock, I am drunk. But you, Mrs. Braddock are ugly, and disgustingly fat. But tomorrow morning, I, Winston Churchill will be sober.”

Most of the above noted revelers were well past Patrick Kane’s tender age but with a distinct advantage over the Blackhawk star forward. They performed their legendary carousing before the age of cyber space. That’s right, no hand held devices with which to take photos and video. How many other athletes, celebrities and world leaders would have become “famous” if they were surrounded with IPhone carrying witnesses?

In fact, how many of us could have received some unwelcome notoriety if our adventures as 23-year-olds had gone “viral?”

So the next time you see a photo or video of a hard partying Patrick Kane or any other young athlete, remember this before you express your dismay, disbelief or disgust. As we once did, his actions do not necessarily indicate that he’s out of out of control…rather he’s just acting his age!!

Patrick, when it comes to your detractors, think of this! Someday there might be a statue of you outside the United Center, but be assured that a statue will never be erected for your critics.

[jammer2]

I can vouch for the Andre the Giant part of the story. My ex-girlfriend's best friend was engaged to Andre the Giant for year or so. The tales of drinking in that relationship are legendary in our circle of friends. Don't ask me how the Giant hooked up with a 4'10 lady from Windsor Ont, but she has the rings and pics to prove it. Andre's hand would totally consume the beer bottle, a full beer for Andre would be like a little sip for you and I. He would quite often drink 3 cases in one night when coming back into town to visit her.

[flyercanuck]

@Puckblocker

I have no problem with athletes who drink. It's legal, and as long as you're not making an arse of yourself, who cares?

Here's where the problem lies with Mr. Kane. This guy clearly cannot handle his alcohol. He passed up playing for Team USA after his Hawks were eliminated then wore his "Kaner" shirt (see? douchebag) out for a Cinco de Mayo binge that left him passed out at the bar. And the incident with the taxi driver that he plead guilty to, beating and robbing him over TWENTY CENTS. A multi-millionaire beating a guy in a dispute over twenty cents???? That's just pathetic. Patrick Kane handles alcohol like a 7 year old spoiled brat would. The guy shouldn't drink in public...it's embarrassing.

[blesser09]

I can vouch for the Andre the Giant part of the story. My ex-girlfriend's best friend was engaged to Andre the Giant for year or so. The tales of drinking in that relationship are legendary in our circle of friends. Don't ask me how the Giant hooked up with a 4'10 lady from Windsor Ont, but she has the rings and pics to prove it. Andre's hand would totally consume the beer bottle, a full beer for Andre would be like a little sip for you and I. He would quite often drink 3 cases in one night when coming back into town to visit her.

hahah 3 cases? thats sick.