I was at a bookstore yesterday and I went to the cashier to buy a hockey records book. She asked me "Does it matter that the bag is see-through? Is this a gift?".
I don't expect people to be psychic, but when people first hear that I am a hockey fan, I see the look on their face. It is another look all together when I say that I have played hockey.
I read a book last year called "Cold Cocked: On Hockey" by Lorna Jackson. It was to be about a women's perspective on hockey. I was very excited when I read the back of the book, she made a comparison: only great hockey players come from Ontario, is like saying only great country singers come from Nashville. For the most part that's where my agreement ends. She later went on to talk about how women wearing a jesrsey is like being "intimate" with their favourite player.
Why should me wearing a jersey be any different than a guy? I wear a jersey to support my team, because I love the game. Maybe she has only met the "fashionable" female hockey fans who like hockey because it is the "in" thing to go.
Hockey History Notes:
The Stanley Cup was donated by Fredrick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston. He was the Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893. The cup that he donated was purchased for about $50 and was originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup.
The first team to engrave their roster on the cup was the Montreal Wanderers after winning in 1906-07.
There have been several engraving errors over the years. In 1937-38 Boston Bruins' Pete Palangio's name appears twice, once spelled correctly and once incorrectly as PALAGIO. The Toronto Maple Leafs won in 1962-63, the team name was spelled LEAES. The Boston Bruins had a similar error in 1971-72, their name was spelled BQSTQN Bruins. Another series of errors happened when the Montreal Canadiens won 5 consecutive times from 1956 - 60. Jacques Plante had his name spelled different each time.
The current presentation cup was made in 1963, and is authenticated by the Hockey Hall of Fame seal that can be seen on the bottom of the cup when players lift it above their heads. The replica cup that sits in the Hockey Hall of Fame was created in 1993.
The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Towel Power
I guess it seems fitting that I start my first blog on the first day of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Being the first home game for the Vancouver Canucks means that "Towel Power" is in full swing.
Towel Power started with Roger Neilson in the 1982 playoffs against the Chicago Black Hawks in the Conference Final. (Hockey History Note #1: The Blackhawks were usually referred to as the Black Hawks until 1986 when they officially chose the Blackhawks spelling). It was April 29, 1982, the Canucks were losing game 2 of the series 4-1 to the Black Hawks. Roger Neilson was annoyed with the officiating in the game. He put a white towel on the end of a stick in "Surrender" to the referees. The players joined in, putting towels on their sticks when they were sitting at the bench. When the Canucks returned to Vancouver, fans brought their own towels to the game. Towel Power was born. The Canucks went on to win the next three games to win the series 4-1. The Canucks faced the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals. The New York Islanders had won the Stanley Cup the past 2 seasons, they would win again in 1982 and a fourth consecutive time in 1983.
I guess I will finish my first blog entry with a few history notes.
The Victoria Cougars won the Stanley Cup in 1925. They beat the Montreal Canadiens 3 games to 1 in a best of five series. All the games were played at the Patrick Arena in Victoria. The Patrick Arena (built by Lester & Frank Patrick) was located in Oak Bay at the corner of Cadboro Bay Road & Epworth Streets. The arena opened on December 25, 1911 and was the first artificial ice arena in Canada.
The Victoria Cougars are the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. The NHL took full control of the Stanley Cup in 1926 after the WHL folded. The Victoria Cougars would make it to the Stanley Cup finals in 1926, they lost to Montreal 3 games to 1.
When the Western Hockey League folded in 1926, two new NHL franchises each bought the rights to a now defunct WHL team. The Chicago Black Hawks bought the rights to the Portland Rosebuds and the team that we now know as the Detroit Red Wings bought the rights of the Victoria Cougars. The Red Wings franchise were called the Detroit Cougars from 1926 - 1930, they then changed their name to the Detroit Falcons and became the Red Wings in 1932.
Towel Power started with Roger Neilson in the 1982 playoffs against the Chicago Black Hawks in the Conference Final. (Hockey History Note #1: The Blackhawks were usually referred to as the Black Hawks until 1986 when they officially chose the Blackhawks spelling). It was April 29, 1982, the Canucks were losing game 2 of the series 4-1 to the Black Hawks. Roger Neilson was annoyed with the officiating in the game. He put a white towel on the end of a stick in "Surrender" to the referees. The players joined in, putting towels on their sticks when they were sitting at the bench. When the Canucks returned to Vancouver, fans brought their own towels to the game. Towel Power was born. The Canucks went on to win the next three games to win the series 4-1. The Canucks faced the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals. The New York Islanders had won the Stanley Cup the past 2 seasons, they would win again in 1982 and a fourth consecutive time in 1983.
I guess I will finish my first blog entry with a few history notes.
The Victoria Cougars won the Stanley Cup in 1925. They beat the Montreal Canadiens 3 games to 1 in a best of five series. All the games were played at the Patrick Arena in Victoria. The Patrick Arena (built by Lester & Frank Patrick) was located in Oak Bay at the corner of Cadboro Bay Road & Epworth Streets. The arena opened on December 25, 1911 and was the first artificial ice arena in Canada.
The Victoria Cougars are the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. The NHL took full control of the Stanley Cup in 1926 after the WHL folded. The Victoria Cougars would make it to the Stanley Cup finals in 1926, they lost to Montreal 3 games to 1.
When the Western Hockey League folded in 1926, two new NHL franchises each bought the rights to a now defunct WHL team. The Chicago Black Hawks bought the rights to the Portland Rosebuds and the team that we now know as the Detroit Red Wings bought the rights of the Victoria Cougars. The Red Wings franchise were called the Detroit Cougars from 1926 - 1930, they then changed their name to the Detroit Falcons and became the Red Wings in 1932.
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