If you've been paying attention to my blog over the past two months, you'd know that I'm a major hockey fan, and I very much love my team, even though they've been not-so-lovable losers through most of their existance. I've rooted for the Lightning in their darkest years, going to games and cheering them on even in the seasons where they only won 18 or 19 games. I was thrilled when they started to turn it around last season, since, being a Tampa Bay area sports fan, I sort of assumed that the Lightning would be terrible for years like the Bucs were, and well, when you live in this market, you sort of get used to losing seasons. I've said for years that whenever the Lightning finally made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, I'd do whatever it took to get tickets, and all along I thought that day would not come for many years. That made it extra sweet when I walked out of the Tampa Bay Lightning box office early Monday afternoon holding two tickets to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Don't ask just how much I spent to get standing room only tickets, because I'm sort of embarrassed to admit just how large a chunk of change went on my credit card, but I'd said for years that I'd spend whatever I had to if the Lightning ever made it to the Finals, and well, that's what I did.
When my sister and I walked into the St. Pete Times Forum for the game, what was going through my head over and over was "I can't believe I'm actually going to watch the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals!" There is nothing in sports that is quite like the Cup Finals--the World Series can't hold a candle to it, neither can the Superbowl, and the NBA Finals certainly can't compare. You've got over 100 years of history and tradition behind it, and even if the Lightning are a pretty new team, in playing for the Cup, they, and the whole area, are joining into the flow of history and tradition and there's nothing like it in any other sport.
Unfortunately, the Lightning lost in game 1, and even though they lost big, anyone who has followed the team for any length of time would have been able to tell you that the team that showed up wasn't the team that got them to the finals, and I walked out of the arena confident that if they would play in game 2 the way that they had shown themselves capable of playing when they put in 100%, Calgary wouldn't have a chance. In game 2, it looked to me like Calgary played pretty much the same way that they had played in the first game, but the Lightning showed up and played they way they can play when they want to, and Calgary couldn't stop them. I'm fairly confident that the Lightning are going to go into Calgary Saturday evening and continue the domination that was evident in game 2.
By the way, memo to Barry Melrose: Andre Roy's last name is pronounced "wah" not "roy."
Posted by kathryn at Mayo 29, 2004 04:27 AM | TrackBackAfter game 4, the rality of this Cup Finals has finally started to set in for me. The victory in game 4 I believe to be the most important in Lightning history for a number of reasons. It wasnt the prettiest of victories but it proved that the Lightning will not fold, Down our top goal scorer Fedetenko and our #2 defenseman Kubina, the team showed that you can batter and bruise them but you cant frustrate them. Win or lose every TB playere has shown themselves to be champions. As a group they have answered every question and every doubt, from the Lightning arent physical enough, and the Lightning would crumble after a few major injuries. Even in the face of a Calgary Flames team that seems to come unraveled when they cant score, every TB player has kept his composure and focus.
Posted by: Dan Clark at Junio 1, 2004 07:10 AMI'd definitely agree with you that game 4 was the most important game in team history. I said before the game that I thought that the best possible situation was for the Lightning to win it in a close game because in this series it seems to have been easier bouncing back from blowouts. So, hopefully since it was such a close loss, Calgary isn't going to bounce back as easily and the Bolts can get game 5.
I like watching physical, hard hitting hockey, but what the Flames have been playing has degenerated into back alley brawling and I hope the refs can keep the game in control so that nobody else gets hurt.
Posted by: kathryn at Junio 2, 2004 12:18 AM