Fallen Hawk

Just when I was ready to launch into a study on the role of the English muffin in the Revolutionary War, I find that YAB has a larger purpose. Sure, it would be interesting to find whether or not this Thomas we hear of allied his breakfast food with the Redcoats or the Minutemen, but that'll have to wait. Please, if it would so please the readership, remove your hats in a moment of silence. For we have lost a true competitor.

Lane Smith, an actor for many years, died yesterday at the age of 69 after a long-term battle with neuromuscular disease, more commonly known as ALS. Smith spent most of his career on the small screen, with recurring roles in Lois and Clark and a slew of Lifetime-esque flicks. Early in his career, he grabbed roles in Network and Red Dawn, but it was in 1992 when Lane Smith made his pivotal mark on the acting profession. For Lane was cast by director Stephen Herek to play the villain in the sports genre classic, "The Mighty Ducks." Not that hockey fans needed another reason to grieve, but today we spend talking about Lane in tribute.

Coach Reilly, we are going to miss you.

Here's the thing. Lane Smith's portrayal of Jack Reilly is not what drew millions to have seen TMD in its 13 year existence. No, that would have been Coach Bombay and the Ducks. While the Ducks may have been unconventional in composition, they did the best with what the residential confines of District Five gave them. But ask any GM of the National Hockey League this: What are the key elements of winning hockey team? They'll respond simply with a laundry list of positions the Ducks managed to fill: a sniper (Fulton Reed), a gifted scorer (Adam Banks), tough-as-nails defensemen (Dave Karp), an agitator (Jesse Hall), an a moderately skilled player with a huge heart fo the game (Pacey Conway). Ok, so they lacked stellar goaltending, but they made up for it in the intangible "hijinx" category. Did the mid-90's Red Wings have hijinx? I think not. (In fact, Igor Larionov hasn't even smiled in 22 years.)

But with such a winning combination assembled under the banner of the Duck, one needs an even more menacing favorite to put them in their place for 90 minutes before they can fulfill the "Vindicated Underdog" role, so crucial in a sports flick. Said favorite would be the Hawks, the team that Bombay played for as a kid, coached by a man who's been coaching them for 400 years - REILLY.

Lane Smith made the "Mean Coach" archetype believable, and he's the lynchpin to the whole movie. Where Ed O'Neill in Little Giants and Robert Duvall in Kicking & Screaming failed, Smith succeeded. A movie coach villain must be sinister and never show a point where they turn to the good side. Even if truly inspired by the Ducks' come-from-behind win, he CANNOT appreciate their ways. He can be respectful to the winning coach, and even congratulatory, but a coach villain cannot be expected to be turned into a noble coach after one Conway triple-deke.

Man, Lane Smith just had the look. The slicked, every hair in its place look. The black leater jacket with the intimidating Hawk logo emblazoned on the back. And when things were going well, he even invokes the Dracula-inspired collar flip-up. A coach villain must be as cool as he he is hated. This is where the Iceland coach in D2 fails. Never cool. (I honestly think that this one character difference is what makes D1 far better than D2.)

And what about his strategy? A coach villain is going to play dirty, whether you want him to or not. And most likely, the refs are going to magically not see whatever wrongdoing transpires. His strategy is designed to bring the underdog to their core before rising to glory. Had Reilly not sent McGill to cross check Adam Banks on the breakaway, the Ducks would have won, and skeptics could attribute the win to them having Banks, a former Hawk. Reilly HAD to get him out of the game, so that we could see the original Ducks come together to win.

In most youth sports, the head coaches most often have a kid on the team. I can only think of one time in my youth that I knew a guy without a kid on the team. Well, in the world of coach villain, this only heightens his legend. Reilly coached a well-oiled team of kids, none of which were a Reilly. He didn't coach to be close to his son, he coached for the W. And in the eyes of an underdog, this is a far more imposing reason to overcome.

Yep, Coach Reilly, despite being a Hawk, is the heart of "The Mighty Ducks." Thanks for the performance, Mr. Lane Smith, and God Bless.