There Stands Mason Like a Stone Walll!!

We here at As the Birds Thrash really enjoy a good pun. Well, goaltender extraordinaire, Chris Mason has a name that makes word puns almost as easy as he makes a blocker save on a high wrister to the stick side. In thinking about this past weekend's games and the team's recent accomplisments, the play of Mr. Mason quickly comes to mind. And so does that of legendary Confederate general, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who acquired his famous nick-name at the First Battle of Bull Run (sorry Southerners, I'm from New York so I'ma gonna call it Bull Run!) when he stood defiantly on his horse in (photo courtesy of Beau Harbin) the midst of a frenzy of fighting and whizzing bullets on top of Henry House Hill.

For a time Saturday nite, the Thrashers' goal-mouth did seem to resemble the "Triple H" in Manassas, VA on the day of the fateful battle that further propelled a shaky Union asunder. Indeed Chris Mason, who probably knows very little about the Civil War seeing as how he is from Red Deer, Alberta in Canada, stood tall and defiant in front of his net and in the midst of flying frozen projectiles whose frequency seemed relentless during a daunting 40-minute assault by San Jose's "Jumbo" Shark brigade. But Chris Mason would not let his troops break and run. He plugged the gaping hole in Atlanta's defensive line and rallied his men like the Virginians rallied around their beloved Stonewall Jackson. If only General Johnston had had (Thearon Henderson, Getty) the services of General Jackson at his disposal to aid his hopeless defense of Thrasherville against a determined Tecumseh Sherman.**

**Editor's Note: Please do not interpret this statement as a reflection of my "rooting" interest in the tragic struggle to save our country from the tyrrany of slavery and a mis-directed cause to preserve a way of life that did not protect the interests and well-being of ALL men & women.

Of course, it does seem a bit trifling and pathetic to compare an historical American tragedy with a hockey game that took place in San Jose, CA some 150 years later. But the play of Chris Mason has certainly injected a sense of inspiration into my hockey-rooting soul and it is obvious that his tremendous play in the face of adversity has helped to foment a growing sense of belief and confidence among his teammates and coaches. The recently conquered Western Conference foes would probably express much of the same shock and dismay as Union General McDowell, who arrogantly proclaimed victory before the "Stonewall Brigade" took that hill and won the day. We can only hope that Chris Mason will remain steadfast (and healthy) in his fearless quest to bring a new outlook of hope to the city of Thrasherville and its hockey-loving denizens.