When Wayne Gretzky was nine, he met his idol, NHL Hall of Famer Gordie Howe. When his dad asked him how it was, Gretzky replied that Howe was “bigger and better and nicer” than he could have imagined.
“As my dad would say, ‘You don’t get paid any more to be nice. That’s just how life is. Respect people. Treat people the way you want to be treated,’” Gretzky said during “Defining Greatness,” a conversation at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas with BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt.
During the conversation, Gretzky talked about his idols growing up. He loved watching Larry Bird and Magic Johnson going at each other on the basketball court, while John McEnroe facing Bjorn Borg in the fifth set of a tennis match was sublime.
Gretzky sensed their love for their sport and when he found himself in the seventh game of a Stanley Cup final, he channeled their passion.
“We’ve dreamt about this as kids our whole life,” he told his teammates. “This is where we want to be. This is where you want to be and embrace it. I was fortunate enough that I understood that.”
When he was young, Gretzky’s father also told him, “I don’t know why the good Lord blessed you with a passion for this game of hockey. You’re going to get to see the world. You’re going to meet so many great people. You’re going to have so many memories.’”
His father encouraged him to dedicate himself to the sport and Gretzky took his advice.
“I tell people this: The best athletes in the world, and I mean this in a nice way, are really selfish,” Gretzky said. “And to be the best or be the lead, you have to be selfish, and by that I mean you have to be dedicated to practicing hard, to preparing well, to getting into a routine.
“The people around you have to understand that. So before I got married, it was my parents and my siblings, and then when you get married, your wife has to understand that. Everybody sort of takes a back seat for every athlete to be successful. And it’s not only you; it’s the people around you that become so imperative. And I’m fortunate through my folks, and then of course my wife and kids, that was part of my life.”
Gretzky admits he didn’t always give good advice. His dad coached youth hockey in his hometown of Brantford, Ontario, and one day when he was sick, Gretzky volunteered to fill in. By then, he’d reached superstar status and thought he’d sign some autographs and take pictures with the kids.
But a coach at the rink asked him to speak to his team of seven-year-olds. Gretzky at first demurred, then decided to talk briefly to the kids and their parents.
“I said, Welcome to Brantford. I love our city,” Gretzky said. “I grew up playing hockey in this ice rink when I was a kid like you guys. Enjoy yourselves and have fun.’ And then I stopped and said, ‘And remember, you guys are seven. Doesn’t matter who wins or loses. It’s how many goals you get.’”
The assembled parents just stopped and stared.
“Folks looked at me and stared,” Gretzky said, telling the parents, “I told you I wasn’t the guy.”
When he got home, his dad asked him how it went. Gretzky replied that they asked him not to come back the next day, to which his dad replied, “I knew you were going to do something stupid.”
