The Stanley Cup will Stay in the U.S.!
Just finished watching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I was never a fan of either of the teams (Tampa Bay Lightning or Calgary Flames), but being a fan of the sport, and given that the oldest prize in all sport was definitely going to be awarded tonight, I had to watch it.
The Most Coveted Prize in ALL Sport, the Stanley Cup
Notice the American flag in the background...that's right, it's staying in the U.S.!!!
Some people are often surprised to learn that I am as big a fan of ice hockey as I am -- an unfortunate byproduct of the popular American misperception of the sport ("I was watching a fight when a hockey game broke out"). Hands down, at least in team sports, these are the greatest athletes on the planet -- each player must be quick, tough, smart, diligent, AND I dare say that it is the only professional team sport in which ALL of the players are in it for the love of the sport. How often do you hear hockey players in the news or doing some tasteless, dumb endorsements in commercials?
Not only do these athletes have to be in top shape (they have the fullest, and most exhausting regular season schedule in all sport), they are all absolute gentlemen. In the few occasions you do see fights breaking out, it is only because they are that passionate about their sport -- HOWEVER, unlike most athletes in other sports, they leave it all on the ice.
With that said, another reason why I admire these athletes is their determination and their commitment to their team -- I am fed up with hearing football, basketball, and baseball players whine every time they sprain this or bruise that (boo hoo hoo) -- when it's playoff season, hockey players grit their teeth (at least, what's left of them) and play with their broken bones, stitches in their faces, and any given injury that would make most other athletes crying to their mother and holed up in their hospitals or million dollar mansions.
That is aside the fact that the Stanley Cup is the most unique prize in all sports -- just because you win it once, you don't get to take it home to decorate your mantle, to show it off to some trashy girl you take home. There is only one Cup (save for a replica that sits in Hockey Hall of Fame) -- you're not going to find one of these show up at some yard sale or a pawn shop. In its entire 111 year history, you only get to keep it for a day. You do, however, get to leave your mark on it permanently -- every player that has won the Cup has their name etched into the Cup.
That said, in a silly sort of way, I'm happy to say that for the 11th year in a row, Canada will not have a Stanley Cup winning team. Listen, the U.S. lost the gold to Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics -- for which I got a lot of flack for because I was in London at the time, surrounded by Canadians in a sports bar off of Piccadilly Circus. The only rebuttal another American and I were able to come up with was: "WE GOT THE CUP!" And we STILL do!! Even taking into account there are only six Canadian teams in the 30 NHL teams, that is still pitiful, Canada, especially given that the sport was born in your country :P To quote Denise Richards in the cinema classic, Drop Dead Gorgeous (sarcasm, people, sarcasm), "as my mother used to say at Sunday supper, COME AND GIT IT!!!"
Nevertheless, this all does tie in with the Summer of '94 -- arguably one of the best years of my life thus far. How? In addition to all else that was happening then, that was the year that my team, the New York Rangers, won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years!
...with hockey season officially done, I'm at a loss as to what to do with myself for the next three months...
Labels: Hockey, Stanley Cup
All text © 2004
Posted @ 23:05
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