Sections

'M' leaders meet nation's leaders

A couple hundred feet away, a little girl pressed her face between the bars that separate the public from the privileged, and Hilton realized what a special moment he was having.

"When I came here before, I never thought I would be shaking his hand," Hilton said. "I never thought it would be at a personal level like this."

by the Vice President. He never pictured he would get to say "hello" one-on-one. He never ever imagined himself hugging the trophy at a ceremony honoring the NCAA hockey champions.
Until Monday, many Wolverines probably never considered exactly what they had done.

Hilton and his teammates still say the win hasn't sunk in. The fact that they won Michigan's first national hockey title since 1964 isn't lost on them. But the magnitude of their feat needed to be outlined by a "higher authority" to become really significant.

"This is the first time in awhile that the Michigan fight song has been played here," Vice President Al Gore said. "As you know, it's not how big or talented you are. It's how you compete. And this year, no one competed better than the University of Michigan."

The players listened. They nodded, with their sweaty hands folded in front of them, and took in every word with more concentration than they would at a Red Berenson chalk talk session.

These Wolverines, who can strut around campus all they want, were now timid kids.

"I'm in awe just being here," Michigan captain Steven Halko said.

It's not that the Wolverines are usually cocky, arrogant and obnoxious. For big time athletes, they are truly far from that.

It's just that when you see other kids your age wearing jerseys with your number on them, it's hard to have perspective.

Monday's trip solved that problem. Ironically, on a day that put them on the nation's highest pedestal, the players were as humble as ever. They walked around Washington among thousands of tourists, and the only things that made them stand out were their suits and their trophy.

What they did - on the ice and in the nation's capital - was special, and as Kevin Hilton dozed on the bus while riding home, I'm sure he knew it.

It may not sink in when thousands of fans tell you you're great, but when the Vice President does, even a national champion can be in awe of just being there.

- Nicholas J. Cotsonika can be reached over e-mail at cotsonik@umich.edu.