1.) The Bruins win the Stanley Cup!!!
I grew up with hockey in my blood. I was too young to remember the 1972 Bruins team, which was their last squad to raise the blessed Cup. My early memories of my father clearly include my father and his passion for hockey. The NHL playoffs were like a high holy holiday in our house. I remember an extremely passionate home... yelling, cheering, swearing. As a child, it was electric! I played street hockey all the time. While in the 5th grade, one of my closest lifelong friends, Jack, by accident, knocked out a front permanent tooth during one of our daily street hockey events. This led to several surgeries and a variety of forms of fake teeth which lasted right up until just before my wedding in 1993, when I had a permanent solution finally implemented. While I wore the gap in my mouth as a badge of honor, there was also an aspect of it that added to some of my insecurities while growing up.
When my family moved from New Jersey to Rhode Island when I was in the 6th grade, I decided to start playing ice hockey. I was never much of a skater, but as a big kid, I became a pretty good goal scorer by planting myself in front of the other team's net, and waiting for my wingers to feed the puck to me, so I could plant it in the back of the net. I studied the strategy of hockey. I remember watching Bruin's games on channel 38, before we had cable, and constantly adjusting the rabbit ears to tune in the games. I was able to follow the puck though the TV was covered with snowy reception. Through playing hockey and watching hockey, I began to know hockey and love hockey.
The Bruins always seemed to have a good team. Year after year, I always had hope that their toughness would be enough to push them over the top and win a Cup. It was obviously not to be though. Through the years of O'Reilly, Milbury, Bourque, Neely, Moog, Oates, Janney, etc..., I always believed, and was always crushed year after year. In the early 90's, when I lived in Chicago, I split Blackhawk season tickets with some guys I knew through work, just so I could go to the Bruin's games when they came to town. When we moved back to Massachusetts in 1993, I began to look into season tickets for the Bruins, so that I could split them with some friends and enjoy my team on a more regular basis. I got my seats, nosebleed seats, but perfect for seeing a hockey game, and held onto them until the year after Karl was born. I saw so many great games during that span, despite the fact that the Bruins were generally a lousy team in most of the 90's. The past 10 or so years have been frustrating as a hockey fan. There was the work stoppage several years ago, that really left a sour taste in the fans of the game. But as a game, hockey is too good to be kept down for long!
For the Bruins, the last several years have once again brought that spring feeling of hope back in my life. My buddy Darren and I have been growing the playoff beards every year. Unfortunately though, the beards have been shaven far too early in each of the past few years. Once again, this year brought about that anticipation that makes hockey the greatest team sport on the planet. From day one, I knew that this team had talent. There were, however, some question marks. Last season ended with a horrible collapse against the Flyers, in which the Bruins blew a 3-0 series lead. It was a painful off-season for me. One other area of concern was the toughness of the Bruins. I remember watching a game a few days after my surgery last year, in which Mark Savard was brutally hit in the head. The most disturbing thing for me was watching the lack of a response by the Bruins team. Not standing up for a teammate does not generally make a good team.
But this was a new year, and with a few changes, I was confident that the toughness would return. And man, how correct I was! Through this entire year, I watched this Bruins team, led from start to finish by the amazing Tim Thomas in net, battle their way to a division title. Along the way, it became obvious that this team was not only talented, but also tough! Three regular season games jump out as standouts to me- one against Atlanta, one against Dallas, and one against Montreal. In all three, the Bruins played an old-time, tough, and skilled style of hockey- Bruin hockey! The Montreal game in particular was one of the most enjoyable sporting events that I have ever witnessed!
Then mid-April hit, my beard started growing, and the playoffs began! It amazed me how a team that has been virtually ignored for years, was suddenly the belle of the ball. The media and the region were talking hockey, and I loved it! Lucic, Bergeron, Recchi, Thomas, Krejci, Horton, Chara, Thornton, Marchand. These guys captured our imagination and hearts. First, they fought back against Montreal, being down 2-0, yet clawing back to win the series in 7. Then, they took a measure of revenge against the Flyers, sweeping them in 4 straight. I was lucky enough to have been there for the deciding game 4, and the Garden was nothing short of electric! Then they battled the talented and scrappy Tampa team, finally winning in 7. And on to the finals they went! Virtually nobody gave the Bruins a chance against the Canucks. And after they went down 2-0 in the series, it didn't look good. But they fought hard, and held at home in dominant fashion. Game 5 and 6 were splits, leaving the Bruins playing in Vancouver, one game, for the Stanley Cup! If they could play a tough style that had gotten them this far, they had a great shot at winning. And as fortune would have it, they did! The Bruins absolutely dominated the Canucks in game 7.
As the final seconds counted down, I became very emotional, thinking of my dad, and all the frustrating years that I had believed, only to have my hopes dashed. As a lifelong fan of hockey, this was the pinnacle. This made all those years of frustration and heartache worthwhile. Non-hockey fans won't get my level of emotion. After all, it is only a game, and I don't own the team or even work for the team. I know. But I have always had a high level of admiration for hockey players and their work ethic. As a kid, that was what I wanted to be. To be able to raise the cup above my head on the ice was a childhood dream. I never had the skill level to achieve that dream, so the next best thing was to root for my Bruins. It took many years, but it was so worth it!
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| Here come the Cup! I was crying while taking this shot. |
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| Mark Recchi. One of my all-time hockey heroes. |
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| Karl and Maggie at the Championship parade |
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| Karl and I waiting for the Bruins on Duck Boats |
One of the best things about this win for me was fact that my son enjoyed the win as much as I did! Throughout the playoffs, he made a deal with his mom- as long as he got up the next morning without an argument, he could stay up and watch the games. And he did. Every game! Watching Karl's enthusiasm for watching the Bruins was contagious. Every time the Bruins scored, Karl and I high-fived, and jumped around like little kids! A few days after they won, my family and I went to Boston with our great friends Mark and Julie, and a million other Bruins fans, to watch an amazing Duck Boat parade! Thanks to Mark and Julie, we ended up on the rail in Copley Plaza, and cheered our hearts out! It was so much fun for me, and hopefully, I am helping to build some positive memories of hockey for him.
2.) R.I.P. Big Man
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| C doing what he did best |
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| D and C |
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| Me and C |
During the set, the Big Man remained seated, and needed quite a bit of assistance getting on and off the stage. He was in obvious pain, but the level of professionalism shown was awesome. My particular favorites played that night were "Paradise by the C", "You're a Friend of Mine", and the Steve Smith classic "I'm Huge" (the actual video I recorded is below). It was a high energy set, and the crowd ate it all up! Clarence seemed sincerely touched by the love and enthusiasm shown by the crowd. After the show, he had his chair moved to the side of the stage, and took the time to individually meet anyone who wanted to meet him, taking pictures and signing autographs with everyone. Upon meeting him, I was struck that a man who had achieved all he had in his life, could still be so down to earth and decent. My only regret of that evening was that I hadn't brought my son with me, as Karl had chosen to play the saxophone in middle school after he had seen Clarence play live with Bruce Springsteen. Karl actually asked me, in a very respectful way, whether there was now an opening for a new sax player in the E Street Band. It made me smile! But despite that regret, I did get to meet this icon of music and culture, and it ranked as a huge thrill for me.
January 25, 1985. That was the first time. The beginning of a musical journey, and a start of the musical eye-opening of my soul. I went with Darren, Vickie, and Sue to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live at the Providence Civic Center. We were high up in the building, on Clarence's side.The distance from the stage didn't matter in the least. For those four hours, I witnessed the best ever. I have seen hundreds of concerts over the years, and the E Street Band is far and away tops among them all! Not even close!
Over the next 25 or so years, I have managed to see Bruce Springsteen (mostly with the E Street Band) close to 30 times (sad, huh?). I figure that the average length of the shows I have seen is about 3 hours long. So, if you think about it, I have been in the same room as the Big Man for more than 3 whole days of my life. So I suppose it is natural that when I heard of the passing of Clarence, that I was very sad. I didn't know the man personally, but in a way it felt like I did. Clarence was always the loyal friend to Bruce. I related to Clarence because of his large stature, and because I always felt that, at least on stage, played the part of a good friend and a great person. That is what I always wanted to be. But as the years progressed, and Clarence's health woes increased, I also related to the fact that being older and big is not a good combination. And upon his passing, I was also painfully reminded of a quote that was said to me years ago by a close friend, "You don't see many old, fat people."
Every time I saw Clarence Clemons was a joyous occasion. A Bruce Springsteen concert for me is a celebration of life, of love, of friendship, and of music. I was able to get my son to 4 Springsteen shows with me, and even managed to get my daughter to one. They were immediately hooked. Who knows what the future of Bruce Springsteen's music will be. I have no doubt that the E Street Band will rise again, as it did after the passing of Danny Federici a few years ago. However, without the Big Man holding court each night stage right, it will never be the same. Clarence's passing is a reminder to me how important my friendships are in my life. Had I just gone to see these shows alone, it wouldn't have been the same. Thank you, Clarence, for reminding me how blessed I am in my life to have the friends I do, and how I need to rededicate myself to keeping those bonds strong.
I will always have his music to inspire me.
Rest in Peace, Big Man.
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