Okay, I'm making this one a half-chapter, if you will, because I'm guessing most people who bother to read any of these won't be too interested in this one. This post is pretty much all about hockey.
I've told some people on project that I haven't missed the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998. By that, I mean that I watched at least one game of every NHL Finals series since 1999. That's right, from Brett Hull cheating to win the Stanley Cup in overtime in '99 to the Los Angeles Kings barely squeaking into the playoffs and then dominating last year, I've seen at least one game in every finals.
From Ray Bourque lifting the Cup with the Avalanche after a 22 year career, as well as some of the older captains to receive the Cup (Rod Brind'Amour, Dave Andreychuk, Nick Lidstrom), to the young captains such as Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews, I remember those Cup ceremonies.
From the legendary goalies winning the Cup (Martin Brodeur) to the relative no-names at the time (Antti Niemi), and every goalie in between (Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Cam Ward, etc.), I've seen goalies take over their series and make huge saves when needed.
From the marquee matchups like Chicago/Philadelphia to the matchups NBC probably cringed at (Ottawa/Anaheim, Edmonton/Carolina), I've seen teams that hardly see each other in the regular season play their hearts out, adjust on the fly, and perform at new levels just to hold the Stanley Cup.
In fact, I saw the Stanley Cup - that massive, 30+ pound trophy that probably can't pass as a carry-on in an airplane - awarded each of those years except in 2000.
But, in 2013, I'm in San Diego on a summer project with Cru. We don't have TVs and our evenings are pretty busy. That being said, my Stanley Cup Finals watching streak may very well end after 14 years and 13 Finals (no Finals in 2005; stupid lockout). In a year where several playoff games have gone to double overtime and the two teams in the Finals are consistently two of the game's best, I may not watch a game.
It's of my own choosing. I'd much rather spend time with this awesome community of brothers and sisters in Christ than watch hockey. If I do watch hockey, it'll be because a bunch of us want to go catch a game. If that opportunity comes up, of course I'll go!
If the streak ends, though, I couldn't think of a better reason for the streak to end. After the Stanley Cup Finals end, I'll do another post that says whether the streak stood or ended. I know nobody cares a ton about this, but hey, it matters to me, and it's a decent part of my San Diego Summer Project story. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes!
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