It was a Saturday morning in March.
The time ? 7 : 30 am.
The place …? Le Centre Bell , Montreal , Quebec , Canada.
I entered the shell that holds the corporate boxes and the ten dollar hotdogs to get away from the cold and the rain. As I veered to my left – a grim reminder of why I was here. There , directly in front of me and much larger than life , a huge photo of Mike Cammalleri .
As the rain dripped from the edge of my nose , I reached into the safe and dry confines of my pocket and removed a tissue. I wiped away the rain and the tears that were beginning to emerge from my eyes as I realized the task at hand would not be pretty. Suddenly , without warning , the reality of my promise broke through and pierced my red , white and blue brain.
” I must put on a Leaf jersey …” I thought with more sadness than Charlie Sheen’ s mother. ” The dreaded Leafs’ jersey …!”
As I glanced through the window toward Centennial Plaza , I tried in vain to avoid the plaques commemorating the retired Canadiens’ sweaters. I felt that somehow I was betraying my heroes – especially by sporting a Leaf jersey directly in front of them. Like a moth drawn to a lightbulb – my eyes could not avoid the numbers that have been deemed off – limits to any current or future member of Le Club de Hockey Canadien.
# 2 – Doug Harvey , # 9 – Maurice ‘ Rocket ‘ Richard , # 4 – Jean Beliveau , # 10 – Guy Lafleur . To name a few …
It was then as I calculated all the Stanley Cups , the Conn Smythe Trophies , the Vezinas , the Art Ross’, the Calders , the Lady Bings , the Jennings etc … , I came upon a realistic and heartwarming conclusion.
By placing a Maple Leaf Jersey on my back and standing in the middle of a legacy of champions , I would be doing the Leafs and their legions of fans a tremendous service. It is not often that a blue and white sweater with Canada’s most identifiable tree appendage arrives this close to a Stanley Cup.
” When small children see this photo…” I thought with a smile . ” I will be creating dreams that may one day become reality ! ”
As I waited for my photographer , a new found hope had erased the despair that clouded my brain. It was as if Darryl Sittler had replaced Alex Kovalev in my memory and my energy increased ten fold . I was about to remove the Leafs’ away jersey and don it right there and then yet luckily , a cute girl approached. The combination of her beauty and my realization that I would not have a Gaston Gingras chance of a date if I was sporting a Leaf jersey , left the sweater promptly where it belonged -hidden away .
When hockey writer and historian Mike Wyman showed , it was a welcome relief as now I knew the moment had arrived . The two of us approached the large monument with the Habs’ logo on top in the middle of the plaza. It is dedicated to all the players that at one point in time , sported the famed sweater of Les Canadiens de Montreal.I removed the jersey from it ‘s carefully wrapped bag , the price tags blowing in the wind as the ‘ new car smell ‘ blew brief pleasure into my nostrils. The sweater had to stay in tact as a return to the store was imminent – ‘ little kids with dreams or not.’
I pulled the jersey over my head , the hair on the back of my neck being the sole obstacle to it ‘ s comfortable placing. People on their way to work passed by and their double takes went well with their Tim Horton double doubles . Some stopped and wondered – others just stopped. A Leaf jersey on an evening when Toronto is in town is odd but usual. A Leaf jersey on a Saturday morning when the local hockey team is enjoying Pina Coladas on a beach in Tampa is well … , just plain odd.
I paid no attention to the charlatans. They were not aware of the good that I was about to accomplish. Like the people that mocked a young Guy Lafleur as he snuck into his boyhood arena or the folks that thought Patrick Roy was nuts for talking to his goalposts. They were unaware of the greatness before them.
The entire photo session lasted five minutes ( two – if you subtract the time needed for putting it on and the removal ). A photo says a thousand words so a two minute time frame was sufficient enough for all those creep ….er Leafs kids.
As I stated in my earlier story . I’ ll take my lumps as a man. Cammalleri was not traded , I was wrong .
Thanks for your continual support and soak it up …you will never witness this again !
Special thanks to Mike Wyman for waking up so early and enduring the cold and rain , all the while battling a cold ….thanks Mike.
Special , special thanks to the guys and girls at Play It Again Sports in Kirkland for the sweater ! ( I swear that hole was there , really ! )
This goes out to all my displaced cousins living in Ontario and rooting for the wrong team. You know who you are – go get help !
Habs – Lightning ce soir in Tampa at 7 pm edt. Bolts by the Bay Keara will knock your socks off , then you should read what she has written ….
Too Many Men on the Site will amuse you and allow an insight into the world of the NHL…..
Be Good …. Only 26 wins away from a Stanley Cup !