Stanely Cup coming to Cole Harbour!

It's an exciting day planned for me, my 4 year old daughter and all the devoted hockey fans in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

Let me back track a bit …

The Saturday Night tradition in my home as a kid growing up in a small town centered in the middle of Nowhere Nova Scotia was the ceremonial adjusting of the rabbit ears to see the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast clear enough to make out the puck on the ice.  I can't count the number of times my Father orchestrated our movement around the room to maximize the reception and spending the evening sitting in one spot on the floor because to sit elsewhere would adversely affect the picture.  When the prevailing weather didn't allow that level of clarity, you could imagine where the puck was by the angle of the camera and the position and reaction of the players.  Who played Saturday nights pre-NHL-expansion?  Montreal or Toronto.  Dad was a huge Habs fan and in the traditions of Canadian hockey fans ... since he was, so was I.

I was a huge Hab fan … back in the day of Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, Steve Shutt , Larry Robinson, Bob Gainey  and Scotty Bowman on the bench.  I digress!  Then I went of to university, where I had my first exposure to cable TV and a wide variety of teams to watch and cheer for.  It wasn’t long before the Habs fell into a drought.  At the same time, the newly formed Ottawa Senators were on fire.  The migration was a painless one.

Fast forward to 2005.  A young home-town hero is drafted into the NHL with promises of greatness and glory.  He took the team on his shoulders and lifted them from the basement position to the play-offs in his second year in the league.  His team built a winning team around him and their hard work paid off with a well deserved Stanley Cup Championship.

All this leading up to our exciting day today.  Equipped with all our Penguins paraphernalia my daughter and I will be enjoying a tailgate party followed by a parade to celebrate Sidney’s birthday and Stanley Cup victory.

Looks like Lord Stanley and Sid will be paying tribute to our fighting boys by flying onto one of our Navy ships in a Sea King … good luck with that!  Wear your water wings just incase!!  Apparently after the parade and festivities Sid will be heading to the local Children’s Hospital to share the cup with the sick kids … now there’s compassion and class!

My final thoughts on the big day … Ovechkin fans eat you heart out!!   :wink: