I had the privilege tonight to witness Jaromír Jágr take sole possession of second all-time in NHL history in points scored. Those of you, when asked to describe me, might use the words “hockey” and “obsession” in conjunction, and you’d probably be right. I’d like for you to indulge me in justifying my obsession in celebration of a momentous occasion in the history of my favorite sport, and of one of its best players.

The reason I love sports, and hockey in particular, is because it is the ultimate embodiment of human’s ability to overcome. In a top tier hockey match, a spectator will find men or women endowed with the highest levels of strength, focus, mental toughness, drive to succeed, and technical proficiency all working in conjunction with one another at lightning speed with precision and grace. The act of pushing a rubber disc into a 6′ x 4′ net itself is a trivial one — and ultimately an unimportant one in the grand scheme of the universe — but the purest and most idealistic of hockey fans understand that when the puck crosses the goal line, it signifies more than what initially meets the eye.

A goal in a game of hockey is a culmination of many things: teamwork, physical and mental strength, willpower, and technical acumen. The emotions that surge over a fan after watching a beautiful goal or a hard-fought win are less about the act of the puck crossing the goal line, but rather the knowledge, appreciation and excitement, in knowing that this small, futile act is the result of multiple colossal individual efforts. The years of training, pre-game planning, hard skating, digging in the corners of the ice, placement of sticks in passing lanes, and all over the other sacrifices and technicalties, minute or grand, are in service of that puck crossing a 2 inch red line into the back of a red steel net, and that goal represents not just a point on the scoreboard, but also all the sacrifice and attrition that it took to generate it. The act of scoring one goal takes so much from so many, so when an individual comes along who can do it again and again, that individual is worth celebrating, as a sportsmen and as a person, and as someone who has given so much in service of greatness.

When an athlete like Jaromir Jagr breaks a record like the one he broke tonight I can’t help but become philosophical, nostalgic, and proud. Not just proud to be a hockey fan, but to be a human. Jagr is a 44-year-old man who has played in 1663 NHL games since 1990. He grew up in totalitarian Czechoslovakia, hockey the only escape from the oppressive poverty instituted by his own government. The only way out of Kladno in 1989 for Jaromir Jagr was through hockey, and he shoveled pucks into the net until he found himself drafted into the NHL and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, willing his way to freedom by exerting his will on a dense rubber disc and those who push it over a slick, cold surface.

For twenty-six years Jaromir Jagr has continued exerting his will over the puck, and shown the world that he is strong, driven, and skilled enough to achieve great things. No matter who was against him, no matter which behemoth goaltender guarded the net. No matter how fast, strong, young, or talented the other team was, you better believe Jagr was going to score. He’s suited up to play 1663 NHL games, and he’s scored more points than 5647 of the 5648 other players to ever play in the greatest hockey league that ever was. Over the almost 100 years of NHL hockey, Jaromir Jagr has been an active participant in 1888 goals, either setting them up or scoring them himself.

He is the definition of a dominant athlete, a consummate professional, an impassioned battler, and a role model. In an industry where men ten years his junior are considered old and useless, and men in their physical prime lack the talent, Jagr has proven time and time again that he is a supreme talent, and that he still has what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of competition. At age 44, Jagr often engages in fights with his body, battling with it to keep it in NHL shape, something that often calls him to the gym at 1:00am, hours after finishing a game.

Athletes like Jagr are the reason why people love sports, and why we appreciate those who succeed in them. The rink, field, court, and pitch are microcosms for the struggles that we all face every day, and those who can defy limitations and shatter expectations in the face of adversity, setbacks, and aging itself not only represent their sports, but rather the entirety of human struggle and triumph.

That is why I watch hockey, that is why I love watching Jaromir Jagr, and that is why I want to work in sports. It’s not just a game. It’s never just a game.