Hockey Night In ... Texas?

This evening I realized that you can take the Canadian out of Canada, but you sure can't take Canada out of the Canadian. I found myself planted on the couch, screaming madly at the television, yelling crazy things like offside!! ... icing!!! ... defense!!! and GET BACK IN THE NET YOU PSYCHO!!! Yes, tonight I realized how much of an affect Hockey Night In Canada has actually had on my life over the years.

The funny thing is that when I was growing up my sister and I would groan when my dad would turn the channel to the hockey game. In fact, over the years we would continually find ways to get him to change the channel assuring him that we could definitely catch the third period because really that's where it would all count anyways. It used to work ... sometimes, it was all a matter of who was playing. Its not that I didn't have an appreciation for the game, but to sit through three periods of stressful action and my dad yelling at the television screen was not always what I considered a great way to spend a Friday or Saturday night. But that intro music from Hockey Night In Canada and Don Cherry's crazy comments on Coaches Corner have managed to bleed their way into my subconscious and certainly into some great memories of my childhood. In fact, one of the greatest accomplishments of my childhood was achieved with endless hockey games in the background. That's right, with goals and offsides and icings in the background, I officially mastered the cartwheel in our living room in Edmonton. I would make a running start in the hallway that led into the living room which had a nice open space where I was free to execute my gymnastic feat. (It was winter, which in Edmonton can start as early as October, and I had to be ready for summer, when showing off your cartwheels was seriously linked to how cool you were).

So yes, the little hockey fan in me was born many many years ago, when I was probably seven, back in the days when Wayne Gretzky still played for Edmonton and in my mind the Edmonton Oilers were the best hockey team in the world! In fact, Wayne Gretzky once parked his car in front of my parent's delicatessen and this was HUGE news, for us anyways, my dad even shook his hand. And then alas, the trade happened. Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, and as he sat there in that press conference crying about how sorry he was to leave Edmonton, I cried too. If he loved us so much then why was he leaving? I was young and I didn't understand the concept of million dollar deals yet.

And so over the years I became a playoffs fan. You know, perhaps not the most dedicated fan, but come playoff time I would really get into the games and especially if a Canadian team was making good progress or better yet, playing for the Stanley Cup. There have only been two teams that I could ever consider myself a 'fan' of, the Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, mainly because I grew up in Edmonton and then when we moved to Hamilton, Toronto was the closest NHL team to us. Since moving to Texas though my hockey watching has been rather ... limited. It would seem that despite the success of the Dallas Stars in past years, hockey does not in general draw a big crowd, or at least not where we are at. But tonight, tonight was different, game 5 of the finals between the Caroline Hurricanes and ... you guessed it, my old home town, the Edmonton Oilers, was on and I can honestly say that I was almost the entire game.

Chris, I am sure, at the beginning thought that I was crazy. I was getting all nervous, yelling at the screen. See, if Edmonton had lost tonight, the Hurricanes would have won the cup, this game was crazy important. And I'm not going to lie, I not a fan of hurricanes right now, still a little bit of a touchy subject actually! But really, as if I wouldn't cheer for the team that made me like hockey in the first place!

Okay, so like I said, at first, Chris was like "she is out of her mind" ... but then by the middle of the third period even he would throw in his own little gasps and groans when things were not looking good for Edmonton. And then ... OVERTIME. I hate overtime!! Craziness happens in overtime, everyone is seriously desperate and in hockey, whoever scores the first goal in overtime wins. This is why they call it sudden death! So, naturally craziness is happening, poor Tigger is freaking out because I am yelling at the players every two seconds ... and then ... it happened, Edmonton scored!!! And Chris and I, almost as if in unision, screamed our heads off with pure joy!! Final score : Edmonton 4 Carolina 3. Game 6 will be played in Edmonton and this means that they still have a chance to tie up the series and go on to Game 7 and win the cup!!

So ya, tonight, on a hot night in Texas, I felt a little more at home. And though it might not have been a Hockey Night In Canada, our little Hockey Night in Texas had its own charm. Even Chris who isn't much of a sports guy got into the game. And I was reminded of what a carefree childhood I had lived with the hockey game going, my dad yelling at the players and the refs and me perfecting the art of the cartwheel. And of course, I ended my hockey night high with a lively post game discussion with my dad about the whole thing! Yup, I'm still a Canadian ;)