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Cover Story

Man Power: We Like Mike

When it came time to choose the face of the Dallas Man, there could be only one: Mike Modano.
By D Magazine |

Go ahead. Stereotype Dallas men. Say that we’re all cut from the same cloth—or, if not from the same cloth, at least from the same textiles manufacturer. Tell us that we’re all rich bastards only in search of young mistresses. Tell us we’re cheesy, Blackberry-having junior execs just trying to find the next one-night stand. Tell us we only like fantasy football, fake boobs, and cheap beer. Go ahead. It’s easy to stereotype. We did (see “Field Guide to the Dallas Man”).

But here’s a secret about all of those guys who fit so easily into those stereotypes: we don’t like them as much as you don’t. Those guys make us all look bad. The stereotypes become caricatures, and nobody wants to cozy up to a caricature.

Take J.R. Ewing, for instance. J.R. is a Dallas man. He’s strong, virile, and able to pull off the cowboy-hat look, even when he’s in formal attire. But he’s not a real Dallas Man. For one thing, he’s not real. The character has become so iconic it’s helpful to remind ourselves of his fictitiousness every now and then. But even if J.R. were living and breathing and if Southfork were more than just a tourist attraction, he’s not the kind of Dallas Man we admire. He’s ruthless and conniving. Masculine character traits, to be sure, but so is jock itch.

No, the true Dallas Man holds himself to a higher standard. He has integrity. He is a man of his word. He knows when to hold doors open. He asks you questions because he wants to know—and listens patiently to—your answers. He knows how to dress (see “Men à la Mode”). He remembers your birthday. He doesn’t gossip. He cooks meat outdoors (see “Objects of Desire”). He watches football but doesn’t make a big deal about it. He apologizes when he’s wrong—and does make a big deal about that. A Dallas Man lets you buy him a beer, only if he can pick up the next round.

Fortunately for you (and us), Dallas Men are breaking the mold of stereotypes in boardrooms, courtrooms, and locker rooms all over the city. They are rich men, like Gerald Ford, Ray Hunt, and Ray Nasher, men whose wealth can be measured in millions but whose worth is somehow more than that. They are men who fight for causes the way Mike Boone has championed public education and Don Williams has encouraged development in the southern sector. These Dallas Men can be men of the cloth, like T.D. Jakes and Mark Craig, or they can be public servants, like Ron Kirk once was and George P. Bush is destined to be.

There are Dallas Men whose Dallas Manness is not easily defined, but neither is it questioned. Herb Kelleher? Of course. Lee Trevino? You bet. Ross Perot, maybe, but only if you count Gene Street. We also offer for your consideration the following Nelsons: Byron, Don, and Donnie. Guy Mezger more than Larry North. Pat Summerall more than Dale Hansen, but not by much. One-named men, like Troy, Dirk, Nolan, and Tatu. Too many Cowboys to mention; a couple of cowboys, too.

T. Boone Pickens, now there’s a Man. Blackie Sherrod still is, Jim Schutze is more and more each week, and Beck Weathers always will be because he lost his nose to a mountain. Phil Romano seems like a Man, but he’s too goofy. Mark Cuban could be one if he ever decided to grow up. And don’t forget Kidd Kraddick. (We’re kidding.)

Dallas Men are many, but when it came time to choose the public face of the Dallas Man, there could be only one. He is a man who speaks softly and carries a big stick. He is Mike Modano.

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He is white teeth, tousled hair, and 5-o’clock shadow. He is a flit through the neutral zone, mercurial in the crease, and lethal from the top of the circle. He is stylish, talented, confident, dignified. Tough yet graceful. Kids idolize him. Ladies swoon. Guys nod their collective approval. He is a Dallas Man. He is the Dallas Man.

Dallas Stars President Jim Lites said it best: “[Modano] has a wonderful kind of clean-cut persona. He’s a hockey guy that’s got all his teeth. He’s a bachelor. He’s a millionaire. He’s all those things that all of us wish we were in some way.”

To think, we almost lost him. Our Star almost became a Bruin or, worse, a Blackhawk. In early August, Boston and Chicago were offering Modano more money for fewer years, but Mo said no. He and the Stars finally, thankfully, agreed to terms on a five-year, $17.25 million contract. He’s ours, and he will be until he’s 40.

The 35-year-old’s future in hockey is now certain, but the future of hockey itself is less so. After a lockout lasting longer than a year, players and owners have reached an agreement, but now the fans must decide if they’ll forgive them. The NHL has updated the rules and promised a wide-open, more exciting game, one designed to showcase skill players such as Modano. Time will tell if the sport can pick up new fans without alienating the purists.

We caught up with Modano in late September to ask his thoughts on hockey’s reincarnation, the upcoming season, why he stayed, and what it’s like to hit middle age.

D Magazine: How is hockey going to get casual fans back?
Mike Modano:
Now that it’s a partnership—it never was before—there’s a responsibility of players to promote the game, to try and make it exciting and fan accessible, to do all the things we never did before. It’s revenue-generated now, and 54 percent of it goes to the players, so there’s a little bit more of an incentive for the players to go out of their way to promote the game, sell the game, get the fans back. In the past, there never was. There was no incentive.

D: What sport do you look to that has it figured out, that the NHL can learn from?
Modano:
It’s tough to say. Hockey’s a tough sell for TV. It’s tough to watch from home. I think the big thing that’s going to help it is high-definition. HD is totally different from your normal screen. You can see whole sections and zones of the ice, see the plays developing.

D: What did you do besides golf during the off season?
Modano:
I spent the holidays in Detroit, went home to Detroit for Thanksgiving and Christmas, which frankly hasn’t happened in 20 years. Last time I spent time there was when I was 14 years old.

D: Which part of your golf game needs the most work?
Modano:
I’d say my driver.

D: Really? I’d think that’s the most slapshotesque.
Modano:
Yeah, it kinda comes off looking like a slapshot and it goes all over the place. It goes far and hard, but it could be two fairways over.

D: So are you like my dad? Do you buy a new driver every other month?
Modano:
Oh, no. It’s the Indian not the arrow.

D: Did the team do a good job staying in shape during the off season?
Modano:
I think so. I think the guys knew it was pretty important to do that, so they worked hard and did what they had to do. A lot of them skated, went off to play somewhere. So they knew it was important. It’s tough to sit around for a year and step back into it in June and July and be ready for training camp [in September].

D: Did you consider playing internationally?
Modano:
I was thinking about going overseas. But for insurance purposes, it was too expensive to cover my contract. I just figured, Forget it, take the time, relax, hang out, get ready for the World Championships in the spring. So that was basically all the competition I had between that and the World Cup the previous August. 

ON HOCKEY PRANKS: “One guy stuck a lobster in my suit bag—we were in Boston—and I didn’t know it until I unpacked it in Montreal. We sent it down to room service and they cooked it for us.”

D: The rules changes are tricky because you make all these strides to get new fans, but the purists look down upon it and, for instance, think shootouts to break ties are ridiculous.
Modano:
It’s going to be a little give and take on both parts. The purists are going to want a little more of the aggressiveness and the hitting and making it difficult to move. But 70 percent of the players in the NHL were successful at that. Only time will tell if they’re able to adapt to a more wide-open, puck-possession game that could generate goals, and that’s what people want to see. They want to see creativity and pretty goals and high-scoring games. That will attract the new fan. So for everyone we lose, we might gain another one or two down the road.

D: We’re only in the pre-season, but did you make your first shootout?
Modano:
No. [smiles] Goalie made a good save. [laughs]

D: Why not just stop 20 feet out and let it rip with the slapshot?
Modano:
Uh, no, can’t do that.

D: Try it during the pre-season. Just humor me.
Modano:
I’ll ask the guys and see what they think. I’ll get back to you on that one. [laughs]

D: Which is the best hockey movie: Slapshot, Miracle, or Mighty Ducks?
Modano:
It’s not Mighty Ducks. Slapshot is the ultimate. It’s a cult classic. It’s never gonna go away. That’s just the way it was. [pause] You know, a woman wrote it.

D: You’re kidding me.
Modano:
A woman wrote the script for Slapshot. The whole deal. The closest thing to hockey in this day and age—being on the bus, on the road, with the wives, in the bars.

D: How have you not burned out playing hockey for 20 years nonstop?
Modano:
Oh, you do. Some days you just get a little beaten down. That’s why I kind of think the year off was good to get away, because it was time. You’re running on fumes and you just need a time and place to get away.

D: That’s when you need to commit a vicious high-stick penalty and you get a five-game suspension. It’s like a vacation, right?
Modano:
Yeah. [laughs]

D: You’ve never had to scrap much, have you?
Modano:
I haven’t, thank God. I tried it once and it wasn’t too appealing. It didn’t turn out too well. It was a long time ago, my first year in Minnesota.

D: Did you drop the gloves?
Modano:
Yeah. Against Rod Brind’Amour.

D: And …?
Modano:
I figured out real quick that wasn’t my deal. You have to be a pretty unique individual.

D: What are some good hockey pranks?
Modano:
We flew a lot of commercial flights, so if anyone fell asleep on the plane, they got their tie cut off. Or if they took their shoes off, it got filled with Gillette shaving cream. One guy stuck a lobster in my suit bag—we were in Boston—and I didn’t know it until I unpacked it in Montreal. The good thing is, we sent it down to room service and they cooked it for us.

D: During trade negotiations you were reading everything about the cities you might be going to. What were you looking at? Cost of living? What were the other considerations?
Modano:
It was everything. People I knew in that town. I’ve got family in Boston and close to Chicago and Detroit. People who play there and my experiences when I’ve gone to play there, being in those buildings. The way of life there. Nothing was comparable to Texas and Dallas. It’s different and unique and really noticeable when you’re from Detroit and living in Canada and Minnesota and you come down here.

D: What about it?
Modano:
I just think the attitude, Southern hospitality. It’s almost like your own little country down here.

D: You’re 35. Do you feel middle-aged now?
Modano:
At times I do, yeah. When I see ’87 birthdates on training camp media guides, it’s a hit to the gut.

D: Are there other middle-aged conundrums? Getting out of bed, do you hear any creaks that you didn’t hear before?
Modano:
Not yet. Not quite yet. I try to take care of myself—eat right, exercise.

D: It seems like you’ve grown up a lot in just the last five or six years.
Modano:
I think you get to—I don’t know if it happens overnight—but I think you get to a certain age. And I know this is probably my last contract. As you get older, you value what you have a little more than you did when you were 18, 19, when you just wanted to play hockey, hit the bars, and have some fun.

D: Now it’s play hockey and—
Modano:
Hit the bars and have some fun. [laughs] Yeah.

D: Responsibly.
Modano:
Yeah, you’re not there when the lights come on in the bar. You’re home at a good hour. You want to have fun and enjoy it, but making the most of my last few years in the game is important to me and how I go out is important to me, because that’s how people will probably remember me. I think you value more what you’ve got when you get older and you treat it a little differently. You’re thankful for what you’ve been given.

D: Five years is a long way away, but how do you hope people will think of you?
Modano:
I don’t know. I get that question a lot. It’s a hard one. I think you’d rather be remembered more as a human being than what you did as a professional. How you treat younger players, fans, friends.

D: So, where are you off to tonight?
Modano:
I’m going home.

Click HERE to access the complete list of features from our Man Issue.

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