It's been such a long time...
Cam Neely did it. He sunk the hook in and set it deep. He set the standard for what I expected of the Bruins.
Too young to remember with any clarity the glory days of the late 60's to mid 80's, I'd missed the bus on the Orr/Espo reign and its transition to the Lunch-pail gang. I came in, compared to many of the fans I knew, late in the game.
I remember no Stanley Cups toted around by members of the spoken B's, no parades, and no beer splattered on public officials on still chilly spring days.
All I remember was hope; motivating, encouraging, frustrating, maddening hope.
Then came the famous press conference where Neely tearfully announced he was retiring. Still only in his early thirties, the physical abuse he endured for so long had taken its toll. Cam could no longer be rebuilt.
I cried with him, as did most Bruins fans. We knew it was coming but that maddening hope constantly whispered in our ear, "It's Neely, he'll come back, he always comes back."
An era ended for many, but by now the hooks were in too deep. For better or worse, I was now a full-fledged Bruins fan. If I only knew then the torture I'd be subjecting myself to in the coming years, perhaps I'd have tried harder to escape, but I didn't.
Now, I'm cautiously glad for it. The Bruins are rebuilt into something new and old; they have potential.
- B/R Ticket Guide
That little hope-demon is back on my shoulder, edging me on once again. Trying to twist my sensibility and reason. "This could be the year" is whispered in my ear and embedded in my brain with each overpowering win.
If hope can trigger madness, then I'm a full-blown lunatic. The Bruins can do that to you.
No team has done this to me in the post-Neely era. None. Go on all you want about the pre-lockout Bruins that Jacobs foolishly strip-mined, they don't match this team.
This team has something...special. Like a group of neighborhood kids that always hung out together, grew together, fought together, these guys are a unit, one body.
Is this the YEAR? Probably not. And it's probably unrealistic to expect that from this still young team in two years maybe.
But the hope-demon is strong. Those who'd abandoned the team during the darker times are starting to come back. The herd is growing after years of contraction.
Though only a quarter of the season is completed, some are already uttering "2009". The young and foolish haven't been calloused and hardened yet, the experienced fan knows better...sometimes.
What is it about this team? What is that element that was missing in all those previous incarnations?
They don't have the Greatest Defenseman In The League anymore (Chara's good, but no Orr, Park or Bourque). They don't have a known top-gun big name goalie. There is no runaway goal-scoring leader, and the coach is, of all things, an ex-Canadiens coach!
What do they have?
Three actual, functioning offensive lines. Scoring depth this deep is rare in Bruinsville, as one or two lines at the most had to shoulder the load.
They have youth; tons and tons of promise and potential.
They have a new GM, and ties to the Sinden monarchy are being toppled and burned.
They have toughness. Wow, do they have toughness. Thanks to the onslaught of political correctness that has beset the game of Hockey, the Bruins are, by comparison, equals of the mid-seventy's "Big Bad Bruins".
Best of all, they have heart. They're active in the community, open to the fans, and they will stand up for each other whenever needed.
Fans' shoulders are starting to sag as the demon is getting larger and more insistent. He feeds on hope and his belly is still not full.
Soon the hope-demon will die, vanquished by a new demon. Expectation.
Of the post-Orr team that lusted to hoist the chrome candy-dish, this is the one that has the best shot of not only holding it, but keeping it. Let the hope-demon rest in peace, as soon he will no longer be needed.
2010.
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about 1 month ago
I am a life long Bruins fan. I saw my first game in October of last year, 0-0 shoot out win vs the Rangers. He the son of a Maple Leafs fan, Cam called to me. On the eve of the night that they hang Roy's 33 in Montreal it strikes me that it has been a long time since I believed like this. Neely had 16 career goals against Roy, none of them any bigger than the third period marker in 1991. This Bruins team has captured my imagination quickly much the same way as the 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992 teams of my youth did. We'll fight you with the same effort and enthusiasm every night from puck drop to final buzzer; as a fan that's truly all I was out of my team. When I saw the billboard that said, "We want it as bad as You!" I knew we had finally turned the corner the Bruins had realized that their long suffering fan base hadn't left, it was was simply starving for a reason to believe. Starting with standing pat at the trade deadline and Charelli addressing the troop, saying these are our guys, this is who are you are going to war it, through and emotional 7 games against Montreal was a glimpse at a team that was starting to do the little things right, and more important starting to believe in each other.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks Davis. Ah...Neely vs. Roy, what a time that was. Roy recently said "I feared no one" but I had a sneaking suspicion that the vision of Number Eight steamrolling towards him occassionaly haunted his dreams.
Let's hope these new good-times keep rolling.
about 1 month ago
Nice take on the Bruins, Revo. My Bruins fanship really grew during the Big Bad Bruins days, when street hockey/ice hockey interest exploded in New England.
I think your analogy about "neighborhood kids that always hung out together" has merit. I keep reminding myself how young the season is, never mind the team. So far, so good.
from about 1 month ago
High praise from an old-school B's man. I appreciate it.
How many kids do you think ended up with the name "Bobby" or "Derek" during those heady times?
about 1 month ago
Let's just say that the kids named "Derek" come from wilder parents...
from about 1 month ago
Well said.
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