In 1993 the Los Angeles Kings went to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first (and only) time in their history. Even though they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games, it was a magical season. Especially for me because that was the season that I became a hockey fan.
However, somewhere between college, The Great One's retirement and a hockey strike, I stopped watching the game. I stopped that is, until the Winter Olympics started 2 weeks ago. Between Curling, Short Track Speed Skating and Hockey, I've logged a lot of ice time these past 14 days. It's been great...especially the hockey.
So today for the Gold Medal game between Canada and the U.S. I went to Nick's at the Pier to watch it with some friends. The place was packed, the game was on nearly every screen and people were into it big time. When Zach Parise tied it at 2 with 24.4 secs left in regulation, the place erupted.
All of a sudden I had more then just a few friends, everyone in the bar was my new best buddy, and I theirs. High fives, hugs, shots, USA chants...it was a great moment. That's the moment I'm going to remember when I think about the 2010 Gold Medal game, because that's the moment that united a bar full of random strangers, most of whom probably weren't even hockey fans.
And people wonder why sports are so popular.
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