#GoHabsGo

This past Thursday, I attended a Montréal Canadiens game! It was the first time I had seen them play since December 2002, and it was my first opportunity to see them since their amazing 2010 Stanley Cup run, which perfectly coincided with the retirement of Shawn Michaels, and since that time, my interest in hockey has risen proportionally as my interest in wrestling has diminished.

Habs fan since 1993.

Since June 1993, Montréal Canadiens have been *my* team. Not my hockey team but my favorite sports team, period. Granted, I rarely watched sports in high school or college, so there was no strong competition to be deemed my "favorite," but the Stanley Cup has always gotten my attention over the past 15 years, and when the Montréal Canadiens made the playoffs, my interest doubled or tripled.

My adoption of the Montréal Canadiens started when my sister and I were home alone on a Friday evening, and the only movie we could mutually agree to watch was "The Mighty Ducks." She and I did not have many common interests, so it made sense that a family film could hold our enjoyment. The next night, I was home alone on Saturday night flipping through the channels while there was a real hockey game on ESPN, and I quickly recognized the LA Kings so I started to watch. I figured the LA Kings were my favorite hockey team because (A) I loved a lot of bands from LA, and (B) they had Wayne Gretzsky, who was my favorite hockey player -- by default, because I couldn't name another one.

Therefore, I stopped on the channel to cheer LA Kings. They were down on the scoreboard, but they were determined to tie the game. At one point, they had opportunity after opportunity to shoot on goal, and with every shot I cheered "GO! GO! GO," but the more they failed, the more I was blown away by the opposing goalie. Although the Kings continued shooting on goal and I continued yelling "GO! GO! GO!," my loyalty had turned around completely. I was no longer cheering for the Kings to score a goal and tie the game; now I was cheering for the goalie to continue these amazing saves and win the game!

Pre-game warm-up on 11/10/11.

Through that exchange, I learned another hockey player's name: Patrick Roy, who instantly became my favorite hockey player of all-time (a distinction he still holds today). I cheered Roy and the Canadiens through the rest of the game, despite the Kings successfully tying it up, and I celebrated their overtime victory when the game ended. Not nearly as proudly as the droves of Canadian fans who clearly loved the sport and the team more than I did, but in terms of bandwagon fans, I was on board!

Two nights later, there was another game between the same teams. This was my first exposure to a sports "series." The concept excited me to no end since this Stanley Cup series appeared to be the Super Bowl raised by seven degrees! The only sport I learned in Oklahoma was football, and it was required knowledge in our school, even if there were no classes for it. I guess we learned the basic rules of football through osmosis if nothing else. Maybe it was in our town water supply.

Conversely, hockey was not a well-respected sport in Small Town, Oklahoma. It wasn't actively disrespected, but it was mostly ignored, so it was fair to say that the sport was passively disrespected. Regardless, I was watching WWF wrestling every weekend and Monday nights, so hockey was at least a step in the right direction into the wide world of sports.

I had a friend or two feign an interest in the Stanley Cup finals, so I could discuss it with them between games, which meant I had a reason to watch the games: cheering "my team." Therefore, I was extra delighted when "my" Montréal Canadiens went on to win Game Four. And, when I say "my" Montréal Canadiens, they were exclusive to me at my school. No one was a Canadiens fan, not even the other dozen (give or take) fans of hockey. Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, and LA Kings were the most popular teams in my hometown, but no one there cheered Canadian teams. Except me now.

After watching two great hockey games, I was ready for the third, except this time, if my Montréal Canadiens won the game, they would win the cherished Stanley Cup. I could not wait! Unfortunately, my anticipation far exceeded the excitement of the game. Montréal Canadiens won easily, and that was that. No more hockey. The full season started up several months later, but hockey was rarely on TV, and when it was, it was usually the Stars, Blues, or maybe Kings, so I never watched. I also lost interest in the Canadiens season through the newspapers once I learned that the almighty Patrick Roy was not flawless and that he did not win every game.

But when the season ended and the Stanley Cup Playoffs started, then I tuned in! It was not just to cheer the Canadiens either. I cheered the New York Rangers all the way to the Stanley Cup in 1994, and I cheered the Detroit Red Wings to the finals in 1995 (by which point, the team was so beaten down that they were disappointingly swept in four games). But, still, the Montréal Canadiens were *my* team, and they always came first. I got my first Montréal Canadiens jersey for Christmas in 1994 (technically, I got it four days before in order to wear it to an Oklahoma City Blazers game, which was my first pro hockey game).

Jeremy Dion & Patrick Gates 

In December 1995, an interesting situation happened. Patrick Roy (known to me as "St. Patrick of Montréal") abruptly left the team to join the Colorado Avalanche. While I was disheartened immediately, the plus that I would have another team to cheer was in the back of my mind. And so began a few years of cheering Colorado and Montréal equally. I always said if they met in the Stanley Cup finals, then I would cheer Montréal, but unfortunately, that situation never developed. In fact, for several years, if it weren't for Patrick Roy, then I would have had no reason to even *watch* the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After Patrick Roy retired in 2003, I realized that Canada had not won the Stanley Cup in 10 years. Thus, I found another team to cheer in the playoffs: any team from Canada! Sadly, I have followed Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, and most recently, Vancouver Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals, but none of the teams have brought the Cup home to Canada. Throughout that disappointment, the silver lining has been the same: maybe the Habs can do it next year!

The 2010-2011 season was the first time I followed an entire NHL season, primarily because Montréal was first or second in its division through the season. I even won tickets to a Phoenix Coyotes game in October 2010, which happened to be their last game before facing Montréal, so I called it a scouting mission. It was no substitute for watching Les Canadiens in person, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I would get my chance.

Habs & Yotes: Ready to face-off!

That opportunity came on Thursday, November 10, 2011. Unfortunately, I had school Thursday nights so there was a bit of a question mark whether I could actually attend. Luckily, my class session for that evening was light, so I made plans to skip class to attend the game. Except, it had been so long since I had been to a game that I wasn't even sure how to plan it. I invited my neighbor who was the only hockey fan I knew under the promise that if she cheered the Habs with me, then I would get us tickets to cheer the Kings (her favorite team) later in the season. Unfortunately, she declined so my one idea went to waste. Therefore, I wound up doing the same thing I did in December 2002, and just showed up at the box office an hour before the game.

I was skeptical about trusting scalpers since I was decked in my Montréal jersey. Fortunately, once I got to the arena, I realized my apprehensions about wearing the opposing team's attire were greatly unfounded. A large number of people were there to cheer the Habs as well. I bought a decently-priced ticket, and again my apprehension returned, fearing that buying a good seat would increase the likelihood of being the only Habs fan among die-hard Coyotes fans. But once I got to my seat, I realized there were more people wearing Montréal shirts and sweaters than Phoenix. Rationally, it made sense: we had to wait two years to see our team whereas Phoenix fans could see the Coyotes play over 40 times a year.

However, none of the Habs fans came to see their team lose, myself included. Therefore, we were disheartened when the Yotes scored a little over 5 minutes into the game. Montréal had been on another losing streak, so disappointment became part of cheering the Habs, and it almost felt like a small victory when the first period ended without giving up any more goals.

The second period went much better! Montréal scored around the halfway mark, and then they got another goal before the period ended. We entered the third period up 2-1 with spirits high. Unfortunately, the Coyotes dashed those hopes by scoring a game-tying goal earlier in the third. While the excitement of the fans died out, so did the the spirit of competition on the ice (or, maybe it was the other way around). The Habs had a couple more scoring chances before regulation ended, but they did not net another goal, and the teams went into overtime.

Montréal Canadiens celebrate!

The last time I saw the Coyotes play, they lost in overtime, so I knew that Coyotes were not a real threat until a shootout. However, I was not sure about Montréal. They had a few overtime losses and a couple overtime victories, but with three top players scratched from the game, it seemed as though we were low on assets. Fortunately, the Canadiens netted a goal from an unlikely resource (Josh Gorges) to win in overtime, and the area where I was seated (with whom I had already gotten to chant "Go Habs Go" and "Olé Olé Olé") erupted in celebration. Again, myself included.

In the end, it was the closest experience I could have to a game in the Bell Centre without leaving Arizona.