During the Nixon era, when detente crept into the national vocabulary, cultural and sporting exchanges were promoted as stepping stones to cheerful coexistence. One such exchange was a U.S. tour by the Russian national hockey team, known in those days as the Red Army team. All was bliss until the Russians flew into Philadelphia, a city whose fans have been known to boo the safe landing of an opponent's plane. A national sports magazine captured the spirit of the series between Philadelphia and the Russians in a front-page photo showing a Soviet player being clubbed over the head with a hockey stick by a Philadelphia player. The Russian's face was smashed and grimacing against the plexiglass, the incident proudly captioned: Detente, Philly-style!
In Canada, where hockey is the preferred opiate of the masses, the National Hockey League (NHL), helped by a generous dose of corporate sponsorship, created the Hockey Hall of Fame. The $25 million facility, which opened in June of 1993, is housed in the Bell Canada Enterprises building in Toronto and features "the world's greatest collection of hockey artifacts." Honest.
The purpose of the facility, according to Craig Campbell, assistant manager of the Resource Center and Acquisitions, is to "bring hockey to life for its visitors," and it boasts 51,000 square feet of exhibition space to facilitate that process. Celebrating both professional and amateur hockey, the Hall of Fame also serves as a museum and a repository for historic hockey stuff.
As you enter, you are greeted by a huge screen featuring an eight-minute video loop of Great Moments in Hockey. It leads to the centerpiece of the Hall of Fame, the Great Hall where images of inductees hang in plaqued deference amidst a cache of trophies, cups and other spoils including the coveted Stanley Cup. Eight PS/2 touchscreen stations provide visitors with multimedia images, player accomplishments and information on the various awards displayed throughout the hall. An AS/400 backs up the image bank and, should a PS/2 fail, the desired image would automatically be routed from the AS/400.
From there, visitors enter a display area featuring Famous Goalie Masks, which goalies started wearing when they ran out of famous goalie teeth. The floor is a clever plastic composite made to look like the ice in a hockey rink, minus the slip.
A right turn brings us to a life-size replica of the Montreal Canadians locker room, minus the smell. Call me jaded, but I'm moving on to the North American Zone, where a visitor can find his/her favorite NHL hockey-playing city on one of four PS/2 touchscreen displays, and call up pictures of the team that plays there. An AS/400 serves these images directly.
For anyone who wants the near-death experience of having a hockey puck slap- shot at his face at 90mph, there is an imaginative attraction that transforms guest into goalie. With pads, gloves and a stick, you stand in front of a net facing a television monitor. Your goaltender image is projected on the screen while players skate toward you firing an assortment of shots which you strain to block. You quickly begin to understand the rationale behind the Famous Goalie Masks exhibit. Your saves and misses are tallied on screen. It's low- tech virtual reality and about the only computerized attraction that does not run on IBM equipment.
The more cerebral can match wits with an AS/400 which serves up obscure hockey trivia questions to eight competitors seated before PS/1 clients. Individual scores are flashed on a six-ton electronic scoreboard also controlled by the AS/400. The scoreboard flashes statistics, summaries and of course scores from games around the league. And for the news-oriented fan, there are the infrequent though doubtless compelling "fast-breaking hockey bulletins."
Among the more esoteric displays are a hockey broadcast booth; a modest one- wall display of famous women in hockey (the only one I could think of was Wayne Gretsky's mom and she wasn't there); and a cultural exhibit featuring a replica of a circa '50s Canadian household sitting around watching hockey. Finally, a cultural activity I could learn to like.
Craig Campbell's favorite display is The International Zone, where Canada's hockey exploits against the rest of the world are chronicled. His voice turned fervently nostalgic as he recalled the details of the '72 Summit Series.
"Summit Series?" I asked, thinking this was maybe one of those obscure trivia questions.
"Where're you from?" Craig got suspicious.
"Oregon," I replied.
"Oh," said Craig, suspicion confirmed.
The Summit Series was evidently the Mother of All Hockey Matches played between the Canadians and the Russians.
"Who won?" I asked, further endearing myself to Craig.
"Canada," he answered without having to look it up. "Six games to five."
Skating toward the exit, the visitor encounters a 3,000-square-foot retail store. Whether selling hockey merchandise or food, all of the point-of-sale terminals throughout the facility are attached to an AS/400, as are terminals dedicated to administrative functions. Additionally, an AS/400 supports all of the users and business functions associated with this multimillion-dollar enterprise.
But from a technological standpoint, perhaps the most amazing unseen detail behind the Hockey Hall of Fame is this: All of it, from the various touchscreen client/server multimedia applications, to the giant scoreboard and trivia games, to the point-of-sale terminals and the business and administrative applications-all of it runs on a single AS/400 E45.
Kathy Taylor, a Toronto-based IBM senior systems engineer, designed and installed the system in about two months. A token-ring attaches the individual components of the system. A business partner, The Leading Edge, provided the multimedia elements. To date, the AS/400 has enhanced the experience of more than 300,000 hockey fans who have visited the Hall of Fame since it opened less than one year ago.
I don't remember for certain, but I think the Russians ended up beating Philadelphia in the Detente Series. If I'm a little vague, it's because my principal connection to ice is through a cocktail glass, and I was nearly 40 before I discovered what a Zamboni machine was. But though I live in temperate Oregon, I nonetheless hold a vivid hockey memory which-after more than a decade-still has the power to amaze and inspire me.
It happened during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. An overmatched American hockey team skated into legend, besting the highly favored Russians for the gold medal. A jubilant and incredulous Al Michaels, broadcasting the game to the nation, counted down the final seconds screaming. "Do you believe in miracles?" To this day, that moment remains among the most memorable experiences in sports that I have ever witnessed.
Victor Rozek has 17 years of experience in the data processing industry, including seven years with IBM in Operations Management and Systems Engineering.
With thanks to Craig Campbell, Kathy Taylor and to the indefatigable Rachel Postlethwaite.
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