The Olympics received a shot of celebrity power as NHL
players arrived in Nagano and proceeded to the Olympic
Village. A crowd of 3,000 met Wayne Gretzky upon his
arrival (Mark Hermann, NEWSDAY, 2/11). The Canadian and U.S
Olympic hockey teams drew the "largest estimated crowds
since Tonya Harding arrived and said she didn't do it" (Gil
LeBreton, FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 2/11). In Houston, Bill
Sullivan notes the hockey players willingness to live in the
Olympic village under the header, "NHL Stars Are Satisfied
To Live As Village People" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/11). In
Minneapolis, Dan Barreiro calls the team's village living a
"refreshing departure [that] should debunk the notion that
the NHL's participation in the Olympic hockey tournament
merely will imitate the NBA's in basketball" (STAR TRIBUNE,
2/11). In Detroit, Mitch Albom: "Here were the NHL's
brightest stars, milling about for an hour like normal folk,
talking, joking, not about whipping the world's hind end,
but of their first meals at the Olympic Village, of sharing
bathrooms, of looking forward to mingling with bobsledders
and skiers. Millionaires acting like Olympians? Now that's
a dream" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/11). Eric Lindros: "You
live in the village and eat with all the other athletes.
You get to have lunch and congratulate someone when they win
a medal. And make new friends" (PHILA. INQUIRER, 2/11).
