Ok, now hockey - Rangers vs. Islanders (aka Good vs. Evil)...Teemu Selanne, still with serious wheels at 41...Bobby Orr flying through the air after scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal...Bobby Baun breaks his leg in the second period of the game six of the Stanley Cup finals, and returns in overtime anyway to score the game winner...Lanny MacDonald's moustache...some scrawny kid named Gretzky, not a fast skater, not a hard shot, not very strong - but still obliterated all of the scoring records...insanely loud arenas in the playoffs...the national Anthem singer in Edmonton, during the 2006 Stanley Cup finals, singning two words - 'O Canada' - then holding up the mike as the entire crowd finishes the song...Don Cherry's suits...Jim Hughson saying 'Great Save, Luongo'...the immortal CBC voice of Bob Cole, still going strong after all these years...the Broad Street Bullies...bumper sticker - Only Jesus saves more than Bernie Parent...the intensity and elegance of Hall of Famer Brian Leetch...Mark Messier threatening TEAMMATE Kent Nilsson in Edmonton, that Messier will break his legs if he doesn't play harder...Playoff beards...Jack Edwards calling a hockey fight...Mike Richter stopping Randy Wood on a penalty shot in the 1990 playoffs - I was a young girl holding my ears, because the crowd was hurting them...In that same series, James Patrick throws the only check of his entire life - and he almost kills Pat Lafontaine of the Islanders...the ridiculous skill of Mario Lemieux...arena goal celebrations - the fog horn in Chicago, the song at the Garden that has no words but everybody sings, the HEY! song, etc...rookie goalies leading teams to Stanley Cups...the absolute hatred for the other team, that does not exist in any other sport - Yankee fans dislike but respect Red Sox fans - Ranger fans absolutely despise Islander fans, and everything they stand for...the Miracle on Manchester...MATTEAU! MATTEAU! MATTEAU!...Hockey Night in Canada...the NHL Winter Classic...summer hockey when your team is still alive in the playoffs...the Octopus in Hockeytown...the rats in Miami...fans drowning out the national anthem with applause...Ray Bourque finally winning the Stanley Cup...the Stanley Cup...the incredible bravery of guys who go down to the ice to block shots...an interview with Mike Richter, where the interviewer can't get a word in edgewise...the emotion of Alex Ovechkin...the Rangers center-ice stick salute to the crowd after victories...the cuteness of Henrik Lundqvist...Barney knows hockey...Jacques Lemaire, who could probably gather 20 of us and bring us to the Stanley Cup finals...Marek Malik's crazy stick-between-the-legs shot during a shootout...the Sedin twins doing things only twins can do together...Pavel Bure on a breakaway...Lemieux and Jagr on a two-on-one...the Primeau brothers getting into a fight with each other during a game, and one of them calling their parents in between periods to tell them...Eric Staal hitting his brother Marc earlier this year - hard enough that we were afraid Marc broke a couple of ribs...Olympic hockey, where teammate plays against teammate with all the intensity of the Stanley Cup finals - then a few days later they're teammates again...guys you love to hate - Claude Lemieux, Darcy Tucker, Sean Avery, Patrick Kaleta, Jarkko Ruutu, Esa Tikkanen, Chris Nilan, Tyler Nash - unless they're on your team...the honor of hockey fights...the 'C' of red in Calgary...Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! in Montreal...First Mike Milbury and then Don Maloney absolutely running the Islanders into a hole they're still not out of a decade later...being in a Canadian city during hockey season, where NOTHING else matters...Ron Hextall redefining the position of goalie...the HEXTAAAAAAL chants that you can still here echoing at the Garden...line changes during play, that can decide a game...pretty often the last two minutes of a game takes TWO MINUTES...power plays...shorthanded goals...the sound of the puck clanging off the post...playoff overtime...a Jarome Iginla wrist shot from the slot...watching game seven of the 1994 semifinals against the Devils - this will be either the greatest or worst sporting day of our family's lives, depending on the outcome...we're all watching together, my five brothers, my mom, my dad and me...winning 1-0 almost the ENTIRE game, the Rangers of course allow the Devils to tie with six seconds left in regulation - SIX SECONDS away from the Stanley Cup finals, and it's ripped from us just like that...my mom starts crying, and goes upstairs to go to sleep...I'm crying too, but I stay downstairs to suffer through to the end...one overtime, many scoring chances, a couple of posts, but no goals...second OT, each team has more scoring chances, Richter and Brodeur are amazing, and FINALLY - Matteau happens. The puck hits the back of the net, and it's bedlam in our living room. My brothers and my dad, who did not always get along, are falling all over each other. I jump into my dad's arms at first, then sprint upstairs to tell my mom. We had 12 stairs, and I think I touched three of them on the way up. I run into her bedroom and leap onto her, waking her up with my screaming. I'll never forget those hugs. It's around midnight but the phone starts ringing, and doesn't stop for hours. It was so crazy, knowing there are people in some houses in your neighborhood in hockey anguish, and others celebrating like we are. The next day people are calling WFAN, guys are comparing the game to what it was like being in Vietnam, and women are comparing it to what it was like giving birth. Crazy.
That was of course immediately followed by another seven game series of anguish with the Canucks, the Rangers almost blow a 3-1 series lead and barely hang on in game seven. A month to remember.
Sandra
