ST. PETERSBURG — For Jim Craig, it was the Miracle on the Water.
"I caught a 193-pound tarpon last year in Egmont Key, so that was a lot of fun and something I always wanted to do," Craig said. "Knocked that off the bucket list."
As for his memorabilia from the 1980 Miracle on Ice U.S. Olympic hockey team, the famous goaltender recently put up 17 items for auction in New York. Valued at more than $5 million, the lot includes his gold medal, his jersey and mask from the improbable semifinal win over the Soviet Union and the flag draped over his shoulders after the finals win against Finland.
The auction runs through June 17.
Craig, now a motivational speaker who talks to companies about "how and why great teams win," moved to St. Petersburg four years ago with his wife. He will turn 59 at the end of the month and said he has one birthday wish:
"If the Lightning are in the Stanley Cup Finals. Wouldn't that be great?"
Craig talked to the Tampa Bay Times about his life in St. Petersburg, his advice for the Lightning and why he decided to sell his prized possessions.
What brought you to St. Petersburg?
I have family that's in the area. I work as a motivational speaker and am constantly traveling, and I love the airport, I love the area. It's beautiful. We live right near Fort De Soto, so I get to bike ride, fish and do everything we like to do. The people have been very, very nice. So it's been a wonderful transition for my wife and I.
For someone who grew up in the Northeast where hockey is an entrenched sport, were you surprised by the Tampa Bay Lightning's success here?
I wasn't surprised that the Original Six would have a lot of people who settled down here who enjoyed going to games. But what was so refreshing was the Lightning's professionalism and how they just made a world-class organization. Having played with the (Boston) Bruins and (Minnesota) North Stars, they don't have to work as hard to get the fans going. Here, they created Thunder Alley, "Be the Thunder" and got quality people to run the organization. They just did it the right way. I'm so proud of the way they have done it. They've created a wonderful event that really tries to grow the fan base, caters to younger fans and does a great job to get the fans going. I would hope that other organizations appreciate the professionalism of the Lightning.
As a motivational speaker and someone who has played in these kinds of situations, what advice would you give to the Lightning heading into Game 7?
I think the Lightning are very resilient. They've been there, they know what it takes to win. They have tremendous character players. They have depth because of the major injuries. They're not going to lose. Someone is going to have to beat them.
You have to believe that you're going to win. That's the most important thing. You have to be prepared, which they will be, and then you have to execute and trust everyone to do their job. No one person is going to win this, it's a team that's going to win this. Just take one shift, one period at a time, enjoy the moment. All good players rise in this type of situation. Most of all they have to have fun. You know, when my teammates and I played, we never thought of losing, we prepared to win, and I think that's a big part of the psyche we need to have.
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Explore all your optionsWhy did you decide to put your possessions from the 1980 Olympics for sale?
When we lost our teammate Bobby Suter, a lot of us realized we're getting older. For over 35 years none of my stuff has been home. It's been in the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Sports Museum of America. The loans came up and the stuff was getting back to me. Instead of putting the burden on our children of who is going to get the medal, who is going to get the flag and who is going to get the jersey. Our motto is family first and we thought we could set up a trust fund for our kids and maybe our grandkids if we have them someday. And we really want to help out charity.
More than that, I didn't feel comfortable having it in the house and displayed for security reasons. My wife and I have such respect for the flag and the historical artifact it is, and we thought to have people enjoy it rather than having it in a drawer tucked away or a safe. I wish I was in the financial position to just gift it, but I'm not.
What would be your preferred destination for the items?
I was looking for a person who has the means to take it and have it on display so when people come to an area they can see it for many generations. I would love to see the flag in the White House someday. Wouldn't it be great if (Lightning owner Jeff) Vinik had a place in Tampa in a new hotel or in Amalie Arena and people could come and see it? That's kind of what we're hoping for. I had a discussion with his people and I think they floated the idea around. But I don't know if that's in their plans.
Certain people love the mask, and certain people want the medal, and certain people gotta have the flag. It'll be interesting.
Information from the Associated Press was used in to this report. Contact Steve Contorno at scontorno@tampabay.com. Follow @scontorno.