obsessed with yang chow fried rice.

Let me talk about just how special this scene is.

(As if the change to softer music didn’t clue you in already.)

It seems to emphasize how valuable and central Adam Banks is to the Ducks, contrary to what people say that he is a Hawk and can never be a true Duck.

Coach Bombay picked Jesse, Guy, Dwayne, Fulton and Adam for the arduous task of taking the penalty shootout for the team to win the gold. PSO situations are always nervy and highly stressful affairs so you have to make sure you pick the most skilled and experienced players on your team who can handle the pressure. According to research, the team’s best player is always the fifth shooter. They are the ones who take the most nerve-wracking shot in the order which also happens to win (or lose) the game. This is the privilege that the Coach has bestowed on Adam, he trusts him that much to pull through for him and the team. And Banks delivers in spectacular fashion, with a move that I to this day find so badass impressive.

It’s not enough for teams to get by through fun and heart alone, you have to have that reliable standout guy to make sure you get there. People argue that Charlie Conway is the team’s heart and soul and he is all the team needs to get somewhere, but I’d say they need Adam Banks too. D3 proves that Charlie couldn’t do it alone, he needed Adam for the Ducks to fly.

ETA:

Before Adam glides away to take the game-winning shot, he looks at his bench and we are shown three people who are supposed to be very important in his life offering him encouragement like a hero seeking acknowledgment: Charlie, Miss McKay and Coach Bombay. Charlie we understand immediately because he’s the only teammate who has openly accepted him to the Ducks’ fold and could quite possibly be his closest friend on the team. Bombay is his coach who has recognized his talent right away and perhaps because of that saved him from the rotten system of Reilly’s Hawks. But I was always confused and slightly annoyed that McKay was even part of the picture, until a recent revelation has revealed that she in fact had a significant part to play in his life. It turns out that in the books, McKay and Banks had a heart to heart conversation concerning his father and from the looks of it Adam gained something from it. So there you have it.