Goalkeepers and goaltenders in all kinds of sports play a unique role on a team. While other players have to communicate and strategize with one another as they play, a goalie just has one job—keep the ball/puck/etc. out of the goal. A hugely important job, but pretty straightforward.
When their team is on the other side of a field or rink, goalies watch and wait. Since their teammates know and trust that they’re watching the action, they don’t really have to interact with anyone most of the time. And while they can’t totally zone out, they have all kinds of time to themselves while the action is happening far away.
Have you ever seen what happens when a person—especially someone who likes to talk—has a whole lot of time to themselves and no one to talk to?
Meet Nick Weston, who is giving everyone a glimpse into a world most of us only watch from afar and never get to hear. Weston is an amateur hockey player from Vancouver, Canada, who has become a TikTok sensation with his mic’d-up goalie videos under his nickname, Nick the Goalie.
Do you remember the snowboarding 4-year-old in a dinosaur costume who coined the phrase “I’m a stuck-a-saurus!” and won hearts with her adorably entertaining monologuing? Nick the Goalie is like that, only as a grown man playing a team sport.
People love Nick the Goalie’s wholesome self-talk as he performs his goalie duties with gusto. (Though he often wears a Vancouver Canucks jersey, he doesn’t play for a National Hockey League team. As he explained to CTV, he gets brought in to play goaltender on various local league teams.)
His videos have even been shared by ESPN and the NHL, and the comments on his videos are as fabulous as his running commentary.
Watch:
@nickthegoalie_1 Mine! #hockey #goalie #nhl #hockeyboys
“This is how I imagine a golden retriever’s internal monologue. He’s SO excited, I love it,” wrote one commenter on Reddit.
“Only reason I gravitated towards the goalie position, other than my hatred of running, was my need to constantly sing to myself. Can relate so hard,” wrote another.
A whole thread of soccer, field hockey and lacrosse goalkeepers, as well as baseball catchers and outfielders, confirmed that this is exactly what they do—monologue, monologue, monologue.
@nickthegoalie_1 I COULD’VE DROPPED MY CROISSANT 🥐 #hockey #goalie #nhl #hockeyboys
The wholesomeness and hilarity of his self-talk is hard not to smile at. The singing, the squealing, the trash talk to no one in particular—it’s all just so delightful.
@nickthegoalie_1 This video is a lot to take in #hockey #goalie #hockeyboys #nhl
Even people who aren’t that into ice hockey are commenting with how much they enjoy his videos. As one person wrote, “Ok fine I’ll watch sports if I can get this insider commentary for every game.”
So much fun. Recently, Weston has been using his social media fame to raise money for the Canucks Autism Network in addition to sharing the sport he loves. For more videos like this, you can follow Nick the Goalie on TikTok, YouTube or Instagram.