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It takes a special breed of person to be an ice hockey goaltender (as one, I should know) and while a goalie’s job may seem simple, it is arguably one of the toughest in all of professional sports. Stop a hard rubber disc a few inches in diameter with your body even as it flies at you at speeds in excess of 100 mph.
Not exactly the kind of job people jump at to take, but young Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings has proven his worth in the playoffs, keeping the Wings alive against the mighty San Jose Sharks. Ford Performance Group profiled Howard who, in a long tradition of Detroit goaltenders paying tribute to automotive heritage of the Motor City, had a classic Mustang painted on his goalie mask.
The Detroit Red Wings have the most post-season playoff appearances of any professional North American sports team, including the much-ballyhooed New York Yankees. Goalies have always used their helmets as a means to convey their personality (and occasionally to strike fear into the hearts of opponents) via vibrant artwork. Howard went to noted mask artist Ray Bishop to have a Mustang painted on his mask.
The interview reveals that whole our 27-year old goaltender has never owned a Mustang himself, his father owned a classic cherry red ‘Stang, and Howard is a huge fan of the Eleanor Mustang from Gone in 60 Seconds. Howard hopes to own a Shelby Mustang once he has “all his ducks in a row.” If the Wings can survive two more games against the Sharks and then go on to win the Stanley Cup (as they have already done 11 times) then that nice fat bonus check should be more than enough to buy a Shelby (or two.) Make sure you check out the whole interview and oh yeah,; Go Wings!
