My Cup Run Highlights

What a ride. I was actually starting to believe that I would never see this day. It still really hasn’t sunk in for me yet. I’m not sure how interesting this will be for my readers that I don’t know personally, but it was something that I had to put up.

Some of my highlights from the 2011 Bruins Cup Run:

Bruins beating Montreal in OT in Game 7. Took me a full 2 minutes before I could even believe it happened. I called it my Stanley Cup and it was the biggest Bruins victory that this guy ever witnessed up to that point. My apologies to TommyGun who watched a bunch of that first round with me, and to my guitar and plant pot that didn’t make it through. Thank you to Guiness for helping me through that series.

The dying seconds of Game 7 vs. Tampa when I realized that the Bruins were going to the Cup. A pretty special moment for me.
Walking down to Kits beach with my Bruins jersey on just before the Finals started. When the first group saw me and started booing, the entire beach literally turned and booed. Was a wild thing to experience. Actually pretty damn intimidating and nerve wracking.
Landing in Boston on game day with a plane full of Canuck fans. Because I wasn’t cheering and chanting, I got approached by three fans who were convinced that I was one of the Green Men.
Passing through the Montreal airport on my way to Boston and seeing a stand full of Canadiens gear. Seemed pretty symbolic for me.

Going to Game 4 with my brother-in-law who is a Celts fan that did the drive down from N.B., Canada. Getting in to that arena and seeing the pre-game hype still gives me the chills. The 8-1 ass kicking was a party that I’ll never forget.

Meeting up with my brother and sis-in-law just outside of Hurricane O’Reilly’s before Game 3 who also did the drive down. O’Reilly’s was the bar that didn’t allow any Canucks fans in (to any people that bitched about that in social media, please get a life). We had initially planned to go to our favorite place called Four’s but it got taken over by Canuck fans. I got my brother to try to order me a Vodka and pineapple. The bartender’s response – “Sorry, cranberry is the gayest juice I have.” What a wicked scene on the street. The energy was something that I had never experienced before. Literally, everybody is talking to everybody. The hype is out of control. The bro and sis-in-law got caught up in it and ended up grabbing scalpers for $200 outside the game. Awesome.

Getting to talk to all the people inside the arena. Pretty special to watch a Bruins game with true hockey fans that understand the game and share the same passion for the Bruins that I do.
Awesome bumping in to old friends during the Game 3 celebrations. May have had a few too many bevies that eve. My apologies to my bro-in-law for having to hold my hair…..oh, and carry me home.
Walking around Boston on the off day between Game 3 and 4 and seeing all the people coming over to chat. Even without the jersey on, I have never seen such a friendly big city before.
Getting to chat with Doug MacLean before Game 4. He was running late and tying his tie in the window. Told him that both my families were from PEI as well and we chatted quickly about him being the guy who originally drafted Adam McQuaid.

Got to meet Ray Ferraro and Darren Dregor. A couple of great hockey guys.

Seeing the older lady on Jumbotron before Game 4 sitting by herself an hour before the game by herself reading the paper. Original Six teams have fan bases that really know what hockey is all about and it goes generations deep.

Hearing the ovation that Boston gave Nathan Horton on the Jumbotron in Game 4 after having his dream taken away by a concussion, after waiting years to get in to the playoffs. Seemed to spark the team.
Hung out with Trent Whitfield and Jamie Arniel at the W after Game 4. Bruins taxi squad.
Awesome partying with all the Canucks fans that made it to Boston for Games 3 and 4. It’s amazing how you keep bumping in to the same people throughout the series in both cities. The energy was something that I’ve never felt before, including the Olympics. An awesome experience for us all.
Chatting and messaging with my Sis who followed everything all throughout. It was awesome to hear the stories about all the people and Bruins fans who were living vicariously through my Cup journey. Also awesome watching my nephew play with the Bruins hockey set that I gave him. Brainwashing one little fan at a time.
Getting to sit down with my folks when I got back to NB and listening to how closely they were following the Finals. My entire family all agreed how difficult it was to watch CBC given how biased the broadcast was. I think CBC may have underestimated how many Bruin fans there are in Canada. A little disappointed. Thankfully NBC showed a feed as well, so I didn’t have to watch it on mute, like I did for Round 1.
My walk to Rogers Arena for Game 7 with my Bruins’ jersey on. Watching all the raucous on West Georgia all day from my office actually made me a touch nervous to do the solo mission. Lots of people grabbing my jersey and knocking my hat off. Streets full of people booing the hell out of me. Also lots of people saying that they admired me for my courage. Ha. I kept the feet moving pretty quickly.

Watching the Game 7 warmup with Johnny Boychuck’s Dad, down on the glass. Awesome to see his excitement level and talk about how great this was going to be for Johnny when he gets back to regular season hockey. He pointed me out after the game and gave the high five. Must have been my lucky hat.
A puck came over the glass in the Game 7 warmup and hit me in the arm. Boychuck’s Dad beat me to it. I was kind of expecting him to hand it over to me, but no go.
Sitting next to a longest standing Vancouver fan that I have ever met during the Game 7 warmup. Was a fan for over 50 years – yes, before they were even the Canucks. He was sitting in his season tickets with his son. More than happy to talk to a Bruins fan.
Getting to touch the Cup. Security kept pulling me off the glass, but I finally got Chara to stop and let me grab it. An amazing life highlight.

It’s hard to put in to words the energy that is in the air around both Vancouver and Boston during the Cup Finals. Perhaps the greatest part of all of this for me however, was all the love I felt from friends and family from all over messaging me throughout and congratulating me after the win. It was pretty special and well worth the wait.

My tip to you: If your team ever makes it to the Finals, be sure to make it to as many games as you can and take it all in – worth every penny.