Heartfelt Sentiment From My Husband

My husband posted this on facebook about This Team! I have nothing more to add.

"So I said I was going to post something heartfelt before Game 1. I think that it is appropriate to write a bit about this team. Not because I know they are going to win the Cup, I don't. And not because I think that they aren't going to get out of this round, because if any team can, this one can. But because I think that the time period from about 5:35pm on April 11, 2010 (the moment the the New York Rangers decided not to participate in a clutch, season saving overtime period to guarantee themselves a shootout win) until 9:34pm on May 15, 2010 (the precise moment that our team matched and made history following an epic comeback) I, and many of you, witnessed the most improbable and impressive display of relentless hockey this town has seen in a long, long time. It is when Peter Laviolette, Danny Briere, Claude Giroux and Brian Boucher said loud and clear..."We will not die."

I have been watching the Flyers my entire life. A life that is the length of the team's existence. The team and I, and many of my friends, grew up together. My life is defined by the eras of Flyers hockey. I remember the Cups. I remember 1980 like it was yesterday, spinning around in my basement listening to the "Flyers Fight Song" over and over and over again and then watching my Dad and Frank flip out over the botched offsides (I learned many new words that day). I remember Gene Hart's "ala Bjore Salming" and his joking with Chief about his playing days, Mike Emrick and Prism, staying up "late" and "drinking" with my Dad during the games. I remember Clarkie's bloodied face, MacLeish's hair, blade measurements, the "H" in Behn Wilson's name and Propper's guffaw. I can still see the LCB line crossing the blue paint, Hexy tapping his stick on the pipes, the orange and black room in our house and the serene look on Pelle's face as he lay in the ICU at Kennedy. I remember cheering for the '85 and '87 Wales Conference Champions, being let down time and time again by the early 90's teams, and riding high and crashing with the '97 team. Years, decades and scores of mostly highs and a few lows. Wonderful memories, nonetheless.

So thank you Dad and Frank for teaching me how to watch the game. I hope I am passing that on to my son in a similar way. And Clarkie, Reg, Rick, Moose, Hammer, Hound, Bernie, Dorny, Donny and the Watsons for teaching me how to love the game.

Thanks, Homer, Propper, Ben with an H, Timmy, Glen and the Rat. Pelle, Hexy, Poulin, Tocchet, Zezel, Brownie, Howe, Marsh and the Sutter Brutters. You are the guys we talked about in school the day after a game and the guys we wanted to be.

And hats off to Brindy, Johnny, Jonesy, Prims, Eric (s), Rex, Bundy and Gags. I will NEVER forget May 4 (and 5), 2000 and jumping around like a madman at 2:35am. I was so exhausted. You might have thought I was actuall playing!

So why is THIS team so special. I mean, after all of those names and all of those memories I don't ever remember having this kind of feeling about a team. Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental. Maybe it's my desire for the underdog to do the impossible. Maybe it's that I see myself in my boy and his love for the game. Or maybe it is just the right time, right place and right group of people. Think about it. Briere, Richie, Prongs always shwoing heart and never sitting back. Lappy risking his life to prevent a goal. That's why he's Sean's hero...and in a way, mine too. Gags, barely able to skate, orchestrating one of the greatest comebacks in all of sports history. Clood, Carbomb, Reemer, Carle, Ville Mays, Scotty and Kimmo getting the job done. Leighton getting us close, Boosh getting us there, Leighton getting us closer. And Lavvy, knowing exactly what to say, exactly when it needs to be said. If any fan thinks that this team doesn't have the heart, they need to be institutionalized.

And it's not just the players, either. I am enjoying this with old friends (John, Scott, Doug, Paul, Mike) and family (Colleen, Kim, Sean, Roman and Dad). Relatively new friends (Julie and Vern, Cool C, Ed, Kat, Chris, Jimmy, Henirk and Mark) and Facebook friends (too many of you!). And these are fans with heart. Fans who live and die and with the team.

I've tried to analyze it. I treid to figure out why this team is doing what they're doing and why I'm delighting in it so much. I've looked at stats, player bios, history and all of the hard evidence to find the answer. All I can come up with is that it's the right place, the right time and the right group of people...on all fronts.

Win or lose, I am having the time of my life!

Good night and good hockey."

Courtesy of Jack Manning