"What Does 'Retro' Mean to You?"

[jfaly 69]

Tobias Weiss has heard of American coaches being eccentric in ways that are certainly uncommon in his home country of Germany, but he had never expected this.

 

It had occurred after Weiss’ 4th practice with the Bulls, a practice that was otherwise standard. The team ran drills, Weiss did his best to hustle and improve his ability to play. It was only after practice was over that Weiss was hit with the ‘American difference’.

 

“Nice work out there, Weiss.”

 

The rookie nodded and smiled slightly, it was always good to be praised for working hard.

 

“I’ve got a question for you, and you don’t have to answer now.”

 

A pit opens in Weiss’ stomach, nerves settling in. It’s not often a good sign, when your coach is giving you a prompt that you don’t have to answer instantly.

 

“‘Retro’. What does that word mean to you?”

 

The pit closes as quickly as it opens, and it replaces the anxiety with confusion. Retro? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

 

The coach smiles, and chuckles at Weiss’ clearly scrambled thoughts. Weiss is trying to find words that aren’t just ‘What the fuck?’ to answer the coach.

 

“Don’t worry, kid. You can give me the answer whenever you want. Preferably before you get drafted, though.”

 

The coach winks and walks away before Weiss can even string together a coherent thought.

 

---

 

When Weiss gets home that night, he barely gets changed before he opens his laptop to start reading. Is there a history in Houston around retro concepts? What’s the question? How can he give an answer if the question doesn’t make sense?

 

Eventually, Weiss decides that this is a personality test. His answer is going to tell his coach what kind of player, and what kind of person he is.

 

So, what does ‘retro’ mean?

 

The question rings throughout Weiss’ mind for days to come.

 

Retro makes him think of the psychedelic 60s, where vibrant colours flowed and the music of the time began to incorporate loud and distorted tones. Retro is a concept so deeply ingrained in looking towards the past that it makes Weiss sick, weirdly.

 

Tobias Weiss has always focused so heavily on the future, how he wants to represent Germany at an international level, how he wants to win a Continental Cup, how he wants to lead his teams from the blue line. How was he supposed to look into the past when the future was all he had ever cared about? All he wants, all he hopes and dreams of is in the future.

 

He finds himself looking at the Houston Bulls teams of the past, specifically the Season 68 team. They won the Founder’s Cup that year, and have failed to see that success in a modern era.

 

What made that team from years long past special?

 

He looks to the defense, Khalabib Stiopic won the Skylar Rift trophy that year for the Bulls, and he realises that maybe there’s some sense to the coach’s sheer madness of a question.

 

Stiopic didn’t have a storied VHL career, only playing a total of 128 games across season 69 and season 73, but his VHLM career certainly paints a different picture. He was a phenomenal offensive defenseman in Houston’s cup winning season, over a point per game, 8 game winning goals.

 

There was clearly a reason he helped the Bulls win a cup, even if he couldn’t find his footing in the VHL.

 

Weiss finds himself drawn away from himself as a player, and he begins reconstructing his view of the game he loves.

 

Hockey isn’t all about the future, because you can’t even really guarantee it’ll come. It’s not even truly about the past, the ‘retro’. The past is gone, and you can’t ever get it back. Weiss figures that ‘retro’ is bullshit. Who cares about the past when the present stares you in the face every day that you wake up. Who cares about the future when you’re not certain it’ll come.

 

---

 

Weiss goes into the next day with a newfound clarity that he’s never had before. The Bulls face off against the Marlins that day.

 

Weiss plays his heart out, he blocks 2 shots that game and he grabs his first point on an incredible Viktor Jensen goal. He remembers his teammates clamouring around him and patting him on the back, especially since that goal tied the game up 2-2.

 

The Bulls still lose that game, but Weiss looks at the taped up puck in his hands and realises that it’s all in the past. He can’t do anything about it now.

 

He goes up to his coach as they leave the locker room.

 

“Retro means complete bullshit.”

 

His German accent bleeds through the cursing, and his coach looks stunned for a second before he laughs.

 

“What’s led you to that conclusion?”

 

Weiss collects his thoughts and does his best to make sense in a language he barely knows.

 

“Retro is the past. You can look back on it kindly, but it’s still over. You can’t do anything important when you focus on the past.”

 

The coach smirks, looking at Weiss in the eyes.

 

“You’re saying you can’t learn from the past?”

 

Weiss shakes his head.

 

“No. You can learn, you should learn from the past. You just can’t focus on it. Would we be doing anything productive if we focus on this loss? I can learn to be better, but if I stay stuck in this game, I don’t get better.”

 

The coach has a twinkle in his eye as he listens. Weiss can’t really figure out what it means, Americans still don’t make much sense to him.

 

“People base their whole personality around retro. Some Bulls fans still focus on that Cup like it’s the only good thing about this team. We’re 20 seasons removed from that Cup. Why stay stuck in the ‘retro’ when there’s the present, no?”

 

The coach laughs again. It sounds positive, jovial almost.

 

“I like this answer. Definitely… Different. I ask every rookie what they think of certain things. I’ve never gotten an answer like that. You took the abstract and made it more abstract. Aren’t Germans meant to be the analytical part of Europe?”

 

Weiss shrugs.

 

“Not sure. American stereotypes are lost on me.”

 

The coach smiles at Weiss as he walks away.

 

---

 

Tobias Weiss was unfamiliar with the concept of ‘retro’ before he came to America, especially from a personal standpoint. He had always been somebody looking to the future like it was guaranteed for him. Being asked to examine the retro, and therefore the past, taught Weiss a lot, both about himself and about his team.

 

The Houston Bulls were a Cup winner 20 seasons ago, but Weiss hopes they can be cup winners this season. Looking towards the retro Bulls only showed him a theory, a team with a defenseman who wasn't unlike himself, and a team who showed they could win it all.

 

Why bother caring for the retro when the present stared him in the face every morning, though?

 

(1178 words, claiming for weeks April 24-30 and May 1-7)

[jfaly 69]

Claim for May 1-7