I wish I was a hockey player...

Everybody has dreams. I do too. As years go by, some dreams come true. Others turn out to be simply not realistic. Some of my dreams I haven’t given up on, though. But in the end, there’s always that one childhood dream of which you realize: it’s too late for that now. The ‘I wish I was a…’-dream.

When I was a little boy, I wanted to become a firefighter. Until my dad pointed out that it would not only mean being a hero by putting out fires or saving people. Also to get severely injured or even dead people out of burned cars. Hm. Not my cup of tea.

Next up: professional soccer player. Mission failed: my supposedly golden foot turned out to be more like one of rusty metal. In the end I only made it to the minor leagues after which I switched my ambitions to becoming a fulltime sports journalist.

And here I am! Dream come true.

By the way: another dream - becoming a millionaire - proved to be a bridge too far. My premonitions of the winning numbers in our national lottery caused huge disappointment week in, week out.

No luck in games means more luck in love, as they say. Hell yeah! I have a fantastic girlfriend. Too bad that she is in Sweden now, studying abroad for five months. However, I visited her for a couple of days recently, in the beautiful city of Västerås.

Yes, the city of Patrik Berglund, player of the St. Louis Blues.

He’s a European. Just like me.

He’s a hockey fan. Just like me.

He loves the Blues. Just like me.

He’s a player. And I’m not.

There you have it: the ‘I wish I was a…’-dream.

Growing up, I played a lot of NHL94 with my friends on our Super Nintendo’s (popular in those days). The first time, I ofcourse had to pick a team to play with. That team was St. Louis. The reason for it? That fabulous logo, the Blue Note.

It made me curious about how the Blues were doing in real life. I started following the NHL in general and the Blues in specific. I became a fan. In 2009 I visited St. Louis and attended a game. Later that year I went to Sweden to see the Blues beat the Red Wings twice in the NHL Premiere in Stockholm.

During those trips I met a lot of American and other European fans, I still read and watch everything concerning the Blues. Even if that means staying up late to see live games on the Internet in the middle of the night overhere in The Netherlands.

And every single time it hurts a little bit that I didn’t become a hockey player myself. Oh, I wish I would have had that dream when I was still a little boy.

Maybe I would have played in the pro league in The Netherlands, maybe I would have been picked up by the Blues as their next big European talent.

Maybe, just maybe, I would have played for the Blues by now.

Yes, just like Patrik Berglund from Västerås, Sweden.

For some things it’s just too late. I’m 30 years old now, dreaming of being a Blues player doesn’t make much sense anymore. No, maybe that dream of being a millionaire might still come true.

If so, I would be getting on a plane from Amsterdam to St. Louis every week, to go see the Blues. And yes, dear readers, you are invited!

I’ll pay!

* Reageren? Twitter: @GerardBos