How NC State legend Jimmy V’s timeless message inspired Hurricanes hype video
The Carolina Hurricanes elevated their game in reaching the Stanley Cup Final on the ice, and the Canes’ creative team did the same.
With approval from the V Foundation and ESPN, a video was produced and posted on social media Monday featuring inspirational words from the late Jim Valvano tied to the Canes’ quest for a Stanley Cup and those seeking it.
The response? Phenomenal, Cato Cataldo, senior creative director for the Hurricanes, said Tuesday.
Valvano coached N.C. State to an improbable national championship in 1983, but is just as well known and revered for his valiant fight against cancer, which claimed his life in 1993. The video includes scenes from Valvano’s indelible ESPY speech in which he invoked the need to take time each day to laugh, think and be moved to tears. And, famously, “Don’t ever give up, don’t ever stop fighting.”
Canes players are shown as they go about their every-day hockey business but also with family, in old family photos. There’s laughter, reflection and emotion.
“A lot of times you look around for celebrities or athletes, but this time it came to me what if Jimmy V was alive and the power of his messages, and it just struck me that what if we were able to piece together a video that used his speeches and his ESPY speech …” Cataldo said Tuesday.
“And we just wanted to show our players just as people and not just hockey players. We wanted to show them as husbands, as fathers, as sons, as friends. Our video team does a great job of capturing the guys off the ice in those in-between moments, and family members gave us some photos and videos to work in.”
The creative team earlier posted a video with former goalie Cam Ward reflecting on the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run and other memorable moments. Another video is scheduled to be released soon, Cataldo said, as the Canes pursue the Cup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The feedback on the Valvano video has been overwhelmingly positive, Cataldo said. By Tuesday afternoon, it had 760,000 views on X.com.
“Especially on social media where it can be so toxic, with a lot of negativity, I have not seen one negative comment or message,” Cataldo said. “Everything has been ‘It has been extremely heartfelt or ‘I’m crying’ or ‘I love this team and loved Jimmy V.
“So it’s been really good to put something out in the world that has a positive impact. I’m really happy that it came together, really proud to be able to honor Jimmy V the way we did in such a moment as big as this.”
