ESTERO, FL – The conference finals have started for the coveted Stanley Cup, the pinnacle of hockey greatness. Everyone has their favorite team. Many families are drawn together, plan activities, and dress crazy to get into the spirit. Whether it’s watching the Stanley Cup playoffs, the World Series, or the Super Bowl, what makes us sports fans go a little crazy in the head? What makes us act like children? What happens when it actually divides a normally sane family into not just in two, but sometimes into three separate fractured parts? I live in such a house. Being the female lead of the house, and representing the best team, I feel that the home advantage is mine. I am a long-term Detroit Red Wings fan (even though I hail from Chicago – sorry Hawks) – Not! My husband is a Carolina Hurricanes fan. My brother, who is living with us, is the eternally hopeful Chicago Blackhawks fan. So, you can see that this set-up is definitely not healthy, at least for the men in the house. On the nights when the Wings and Hawks are playing, we sort of have a ritual to offer the hockey gods. I set up my good luck charms: My Red Wings pillow, wall banner, beanie bears (listing by all of the years the Wings won the cup), a Stanley Cup replica, and my Al the octopus. My brother wears his Hawks t-shirt and has his recording playing, to my great annoyance, “Here Come the Hawks”. But of course, in my own humble opinion, nothing will actually help them beat the Wings. Than there is the situation with my husband. His team is playing against the Pittsburgh Crosby’s, aks the Pittsburgh Penguins. His Carolina Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup banner is temporarily hanging above the big screen TV in the living room. Note, I said temporarily. I wouldn’t normally let him do this but he will be devastated enough when his team loses. See, I do have some empathy. Actually, I do hope that Carolina wins the Eastern Conference since I don’t want the Wings to embarrass the Penguins again in the Cup finals. Actually, one of my friends (yes I do have them) is a Penguins fan. He ragged on me all throughout the playoffs last year. Every time I saw him he was wearing his Penguins tie. He actually spent good money and took his family to see his Penguins get pulverized by the Wings during last season’s finals. What a waste of money! I told him his team would lose, but he wouldn’t buy it. I briefly met the Carolina Hurricanes Head Coach Paul Maurice when he was in his first stint with the team back in the fall of 2002, the year the Wings beat them in the Cup finals. The Canes were playing an exhibition game against the Florida Panthers at Teco Arena (the previous name for Germain Arena in Estero), where the Florida Everblades of the ECHL reside. At that time, the Panthers and the Hurricanes were affiliated with the Florida Everblades. I was watching the pre-game skate and stood next to Maurice who looked at me and said “I don’t want to see any more red jerseys”. Yes, I was wearing a Red Wings home jersey. I have a huge selection of them. As one of my co-workers once said to me, (who is a New Jersey Devils fan) “One can never have too many hockey jerseys”. Right now, everyone in my home says their team is the best and is going to win. We are glued to the big screen TV every night of the playoffs. I don’t outright laugh at the poor guys, but I do have that smug, arrogant, knowing smile on my face. All I can say is, “Go Wings”! Contact the author at Sharon.Weatherhead@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.