Agreed... but he'll win Canada the Gold Medal so I'll give him a pass until March!
Agreed... but he'll win Canada the Gold Medal so I'll give him a pass until March!
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
Welcome....I agree prog and hockey two of my favorite forms of entertainment!
So true... And here in New York with as many hockey fanatics as we have the Rangers still get less coverage then the Knicks, Yankees, Mets, Giants & Jets on top of all the other sports.
Being a 22yr member of the NYPD sometimes had it perks and back in 94' not only did I get to work most of the playoff games on the run to the cup but the victory party for the Rangers at the Waldorf Astoria a few days later was something a life long Ranger fan could only dream of. Those guys were the most humble down to earth professional athletes you could ever meet. They invited us into the party and we took photos with them while we were hoisting cup. Mike Keenan and Rod Gilbert one of my all time favorite Rangers are party animals. What a night something I'll never forget!
Awesome!!
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
Yes it was definitely awesome and cool but it was really all about timing and luck. 54 yrs to get that point and I happen to be stationed in the perfect location when it all happened. It was a great time to be hanging around in midtown there were cup sightings almost every night in those first couple of weeks.
The one thing that really sticks in my mind was how personable all of them were and there insistence that we come in and take the photos. The only guy that didn't want to be disturbed and I don't mean this in a negative way as it's totally understandable was Messier. We were asked not to approach him and of course we adhered to the request.
I have a photo of me in my uniform holding the cup hanging in my family room as a reminder of one of the best nights ever.
What a great souvenir!
I have found sports celebrities in general to be good people. My husband and I used to get invited to to a Special Olympics fundraiser. It was one of those $400 a plate deals. His company used to donate to the silent auction and get free tickets, we were lucky to get a pair of tickets for a couple of years running. The place was swarming with athletes. Every one of them was fantastic to meet…except for Darryl Sittler. Sittler was either extremely shy or just a huge snob. There was a designated time that he would come out for pictures, and people would line up, other than that he never spoke or interacted with anyone.
Too bad Lino isn't here anymore to treat us with his brushes with fame tales
Vinny, my Dad was good friends with former MSG Head of Security Dennis Ryan (rest in peace). You're most likely familiar with him? Anyway they were both Elks members and Mr. Ryan brought it to the lodge. My Dad has a cool pic kneeling next to that '94 cup.
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
Yes Scott I sure do remember him he was the recently retired Chief from my job always to be known as "Chief Ryan". I believe since 9/11 they now assign uniform personnel inside the garden but back in 94' we were assigned to outside perimeter mostly for scalping and to make sure all the fans made it inside without getting ripped off and then we went in to see some of the game after all this was the once in a lifetime legendary run for the cup! The Chief would usually stand down in the corner behind the glass where the Zamboni was stored. As long as you kept low profile like not being scene on tv or blocking anyone's view he left us alone. He was actually at the party the night with the photos and we were a little nervous about going in as there was about 200 people in the room with the cup just sitting up front on the dais next to the Con Smythe trophy that Brian Leetch was awarded that year. The players along with Mike Keenan and the GM Neil Smith assured and encouraged us that it would be fine to come in and it all turned out well as they walked us right up front and handed us the cup. The funny thing is this was before cell phones cameras so when we realized the opportunity that was developing we found the nearest pharmacy and bought one of those disposable cameras in which I still have all the negatives from that night. That 94' team were truly the heroes of the city at that time!
Great stuff, man! I believe Mr. Ryan's son, Bernie, still works the penalty box.
Funny story I'm sure you could relate...
During that '94 season I was working at a swim club. I took care of the property and stuff. In addition I was the night watchman. I had to work the night of Game 7 against NJ. My hours were 8PM-3AM so I was going to have to tape (haha "tape") the game and watch it when I got home...Hell no! My nervous excitement couldn't handle the wait. There was a little TV there and I had a cheap old VCR. So what I did was had my Dad tape each period and drive it down to me during the breaks . Had some friends with me too. Dad was good holding the expressions but I knew something was off when he came down with the 3rd tape. Well I watched it and then Zelepukin scored that gut-cruncher with 7 secs left. I was so pissed off that I ran to the diving boards and belly flopped off the 15 footer. No joke...it had to be done Good thing I wasn't working at a gun range, eh? Anyway, two tapes and 30 near heart attacks later, as we all know, "Matteau, Matteau, Matteau!" eventually happened and we went bananas. Lots of drinking on the job that night
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
That's a funny story especially the plunge good thing you didn't get hurt and your dad bringing you the tape of each period is so awesome sounds like a great man.
I bet most Ranger fans will never forget exactly where and who they were with when that tying goal went in as much as the night they won it.
I'll never forget where I was and it had something to do with jumping as well I was working a 4x12 as a sergeant on patrol I tried to get assigned to the game but it didn't work out as everyone wanted to be there. During the night I kept trying to catch as much of the game as I could plus over our police radios guys were constantly giving scoring updates. In the middle of the 3rd period we got a call of a "possible jumper" on the roof of the Marriott Marquis hotel at 45th & BWY. Sure enough there is a sick individual up there by the railing threatening to jump to his death. Now I have to call the Captain and our emergency service guys with all their repelling equipment to the scene. There we are all on the roof some 50 stories up and the emergency service guys are working on saving this guy and the game is winding down and the Captain who probably responded from the game I knew from years earlier when I first started and he was an out an out diehard Ranger fan his blood probably bled blue We hear 2 minutes left, 1 minute left, broduer is on the bench coming out of our radios and were giving each other high fives ......going to the finals! Then the dreaded goal which at first seemed like a joke but then realized it was true. I'm telling you the captain looked like he was ready to now jump we were in complete shock and utter disbelief.... Thankfully are emergency service guys did a great job in subduing the jumper and he was removed to the hospital and we all got out of there. I wound up seeing most of the overtime until it's conclusion after that with much nail biting.
Here's Exhibit #2 for why Canada is different than the USA. I give you, a normal can of Coke Zero:
Sens Coke Zero.jpg
(Every can sold in Ottawa looks like this! It's not a limited edition or anything. They look like this from October to April!)
Last edited by rottersclub; 12-08-2013 at 02:56 PM. Reason: user error!
Another close-call win for the Leafs after their scary slide this past week or two.
In other news, looks like Orpik got his head punched into the ice and was taken to hospital. Nasty stuff.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1016604/pe...-on-stretcher/
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
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Last edited by rottersclub; 12-08-2013 at 06:20 PM.
For some reason, I can insert pictures with a URL but not if the file is on my hard-drive. Of course it looks fine to me.
How about this?
http://s943.photobucket.com/user/rot...eZero.jpg.html
Last edited by rottersclub; 12-08-2013 at 08:13 PM.
Very cool can!
While I agree that hockey front page news is more widespread and daily news in Canada where expectations are much greater. It has come a long way here since the 1980 Olympic team defeated the Russians. I don't feel that the committed fans in the US are any less passionate about their respected teams it just doesn't get the same media coverage as our numbers are predictably much smaller.
One thing The US organizations are doing is having some success as 20 yrs ago I don't think anybody figured that 93' Canadian team would be the last to win the cup and now the pressure is on to take another Gold medal
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