The 68-year-old orthopedic surgeon anxiously waited and hoped that he would get the call for the Olympics. He lobbied Team USA and Wild general manager Bill Guerin to be the physician at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, when he half-jokingly told his boss not to be afraid “to pull the old guy out of mothballs” and return him to international competition.
Dr. Boyd hoped the 4 Nations nod would provide the glidepath to Italy and what he believes is “the penultimate sporting activity on the planet.”
“I mean, it harkens back to my childhood,” he said. “Growing up, I always had to watch the Olympics no matter what. Summer or winter, it didn’t matter.”
Although Dr. Boyd was named to Team USA’s staff Sept. 17, he said it didn’t fully sink in that he was going back to the Winter Games until he arrived at the Olympic village last week.
“You see all the different countries represented, and people walking around in their colors and in their own swag,” he said. “And the boys electing to stay in the village, as opposed to at a hotel, I mean, I think at that moment, it was ‘Wow, we’re really at the Olympics.'”