When the dream comes true, speaking is hard to do

One by one, the players are asked to describe their feelings.

But, "There are no words."

That is what you read at the end of the fabulous NHL commercial where winners are unable to speak when asked for their reaction to finally capturing a Stanley Cup.

They are moved to tears. They can't talk. There are no words.

Actually, the problem is it would take a lot of words to explain it, and at that moment it's impossible to verbalize the thought in just a few syllables.

Yes, it is the dream of every hockey player - from the time he first sees it on TV - to someday hold the Stanley Cup.

But not in his buddy's backyard or at someone else's party.

It's why no one in hockey ever touches it before they've won it.

It's not because they fear a jinx, but because there is only one first time, and they want to touch it for the first time on the day they've won it for themselves.

So it's a lifetime of dreaming in sudden reality, and decades of hard work come to fruition.

It's for all the teammates and all the coaches who helped and taught, and it's for the parents and family members who drove to the rink at 5 a.m. because it's the only time your team could get ice.

For the players themselves, for every kid who ever put on a sweater, it's literally a dream come true.

But that's also not why the words are so hard to come by.

It's because the trophy is so hard to come by.

The Stanley Cup is called the hardest trophy to win in sports, and it is.

After an 82-game season, it is some two dozen games of physical and mental torture, playing through injury and agony, all with the hope of somehow unearthing 16 victories.

It's not easy even for the best team, and the Hawks were clearly the best team this season.

But they could have lost to Nashville in the first round. They swept San Jose in the third round, but could have lost every game in that series.

In the Finals against Philly, they won three games by a goal, lost a game by a goal and another by 2 after an empty-netter.

Late in Game 6, with Antti Niemi down and out, Jeff Carter hits him in the face mask with a wide open net, or the Hawks never get to overtime and face a Game 7 when anything can happen.

That's how close it is, the difference between winning it all - and not.

And so when you ask a Marian Hossa after winning to offer his emotions, think of what's running through his mind in that split second as he tries to explain. He's thinking, "I was little boy in Slovakia when I first found out about the Stanley Cup.

"I played all those years in crummy rinks with lousy equipment and was lucky to get ice time. Who could have ever thought I'd make it to the NHL?

"My family sacrificed for me to get here, and even after I become one of the best players in the world and get to the best league in the world, I get to play on the best teams in the world.

"But then I lose in Pittsburgh when I have a chance to win it all, and so my choice for one year is Detroit, and I give up long-term money to do that because I just want to touch the Cup one time in my life before I die because it's all I've thought about since the first time I saw it.

"And then we had a 3-2 lead on the Penguins and we can't finish them off and who wins the Cup instead of me? My former teammates in Pittsburgh.

"Now, I get another chance here and I can't bear the thought of losing.

"After 13 years, you wonder if it will ever really happen. So this is the greatest day of my life, but what I feel more than joy is relief that I won't have to worry about it any more.

"I have so many people to thank, but I'm exhausted, emotionally and physically. I try to find words, but with everything in my head, I can say nothing."

That's what goes through a player's mind at that moment.

There aren't many Patrick Kanes who just show up here with all that natural ability and win a Cup by the age of 21.

Most players suffer a long time to get near the Cup, and most never get there.

Some come close and live with that pain forever, which is why you saw Jeremy Roenick cry Wednesday night.

So, yes, the Hawks are the Stanley Cup champs.

But you'll forgive some of them if there are few words, or none at all.

brozner@dailyherald.com