
But it is now not only played in the colder
countries of Europe and North America, but in many areas of the United States,
including Phoenix, where the Kings will try to close out their dream of beating
both the number one and two seeds to win the prize.
I first became interested in the game through my
father. He followed the sport, mostly in
the papers and occasionally on the radio, since Mason City, Iowa is a far cry
from most established teams. However, my
mother often spoke of how he had gone to a Blackhawk’s game when he was in
Chicago for the Midwinter Dental Meeting.
I doubt if it had anything to do with the cold, but he came down with
pneumonia and came close to death from the experience.
While in the Navy I found myself able to take my
boys to games in several locations: we saw games in San Jose while stationed at
Moffett Field, in Washington, DC while stationed in the nation’s capital, and
both in Anaheim and Los Angeles while at The El Toro Marine Base. Perhaps it was the variety that resulted in
their having a general interest rather than the passion of a fanatic fan.
But, back to the Hamburger Hamlet. What I heard that gave me the reason to
intervene in their conversation was this gentleman saying he was a Red Wing
fan. Now I have had several friends,
including two young ladies, who were avid Red Wing fans. Not too unusual, since the Detroit team has
won the most Stanley Cups of any U.S. team (11) and is third in the number of
wins, following the Montreal Canadiens (24) and the Toronto Maple Leafs
(12). The NHL started the year Detroit
formed a team, in 1926, with six teams participating: Red Wings, Canadiens,
Maple Leafs, Rangers, Bruins, and my dad’s Blackhawks.
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Pavel Datsyuk - 2008 |

Instead of banning the fan action, they now enforce
that linesmen assist in removal and that any twirling occur only at the Zamboni
entrance where remnants can be carried off the ice.
A second fan tradition of the Red Wings is the
singing of “Don’t Stop Believing”, Journey’s longtime hit, which is played and
sung toward the end of the game, when the team is winning. The music is paused early in the song, the
sound system is muted, and the crowd, as one chants, “Born and raised in South
Detroit.”
Aren’t fans great?
Are any of you passionate about your sports teams?
Oh, and I’m thinking that the Kings might start a
tradition of throwing a Kardashian on the ice at playoffs. We seem to have an abundance of them, and
they are probably at the game.
Next post should be informative. I’m writing an article on what has happened
to chewing gum in the last ten years.
Come on back!
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