As I mentioned in my last post, Tuesday marked the anniversary of the Raptors' game seven win that was the first big moment in their championship run. Memorial Day is coming soon, and that was when we went to Toronto to attempt to witness the conference final win.
During the day Tuesday, there was a Sabres' replay on TV. It showed the Sabres' clinching OT win in a four-game sweep over the Boston Bruins in 1993. That was in the thick of my fandom and marked the Sabres' first playoff series win in 10 years. It was amazing how quickly the fast heart rate came back when I was watching the OT period. And the joy when they scored was still so thrilling. But I definitely got nostalgic for the names and faces, and seeing the old arena again made me happy. Earlier in the day a Buffalo radio station posted an hour-long video of footage compiled from a few of the last hockey-related events at the Aud, including a logo unveiling and the final game, both of which I attended in April 1996. Seeing old footage from the concourses (complete with fans in Starter jackets--haha), the standing room only section in the orange seats, and the classic retro lobby made me both happy and sad. I spent some of the best times of my life there, and yet knowing we can never go back is sad. But those memories are the best. Later in the evening, another Sabres' replay was on, this one from my parents' season ticket era--the Sabres' 1975 Stanley Cup Final run. Once again, my beloved Aud was on full display, every name was one I grew up with, and it was absolutely classic old school, helmet-free hockey. All of that was the foundation of my eventual path to hockey fandom many years later.
Ultimately, all of those memories led to a career in sports. And despite lots of seasons and lots of sports along the way, it took until 2007 for my championship dreams to come true. Well, sort of. I mean, there were a couple early Buffalo Bandits championships as a newbie lacrosse fan, and I had enough of a connection to the Rochester Rhinos soccer team that I was able to celebrate a couple of their championships with the staff, but it took until after my sports career ended to really feel connected to a championship team. And then it happened a bunch!
Since I've done this frequently before, I'm going to try to stick with lesser shown pictures or fun little memories that have stuck with me all these years.
In 2007, I hopped on a plane to Phoenix about 30 hours after booking my flight--my first solo flight, no less. I was only a year removed from my stint in sports, and the staff was still good friends of mine so I had to be there with them to see this team that had come so close, so many times, as they finally seemed to have put it all together enough to win. Phoenix was a whole different world compared to Western New York. Not only was it in the 90s, but the terrain was completely different. I was in love with these flowers outside the hotel.
And these cacti we saw after the game were so cool!
The game itself was amazing, and I will never forget the feeling as the clock ticked down and I finally realized what it felt like to win the last game of the season! It was unforgettable. Being on the turf for the cup presentation was amazing!
I was worried about Craig finishing his broadcast and getting down from the press box soon enough to celebrate, but he made it quickly and I was so happy to see him with the cup!
We were excited to get a photo of us together!
After the absolutely blissful celebration by the hotel pool, we went out to a bar and I guess I was already silly enough to insist on a picture with the Captain...
I'll never forget the joy of seeing that group of guys win. We'd come so close before, always with a downfall. This time they did it and I never would have forgiven myself if I didn't go.
By 2012, a lot had changed. I was six years removed from sports, Craig won another championship with the outdoor lacrosse team (but I had to miss it due to a newborn Jacob), we had a three-year-old child, and the team's ownership had changed. The team had gone through a roster overhaul that led to a bit of a rough patch, but it had slowly rebuilt itself. That regular season was actually pretty rough, though, to the point I remember wondering why I was so worried about winning a game because it wasn't like we were going to win the championship! The joke was on me, I guess! A less-than-.500 team turned it on for the playoffs, and due to some good luck, ending up playing another surprise team in the championship game--and somehow we had the better record and earned the home game!
I'll never forget the day of the game. My parents came into town for the game, and it was a gorgeous spring day. We went geocaching downtown before the game and got to explore one spot I'd never been. St. Joseph's Church in Rochester was a popular church in town for decades before a fire in the 1970s gutted it. The remaining tower and walls were preserved and turned into a public garden. The gates were locked that day, but it was still a stunning sight through the fence.
We looked for another cache in an urban park adjacent to my work parking garage. I fell in love with these flowers.
The game itself was crazy, with the Knighthawks coming out flat early on and making a big second half comeback to win. We were thrilled, of course, and I was so happy for the fans who got cheated out of a home win in 2007 when the circus sent us to Phoenix. I caught this picture as we were cheering on the postgame celebration. My dad was always so mystified by Jacob's quiet manner during Knighthawks games. He would watch games intently and yet rarely cheered. Sometimes he seemed to be a Knighthawks fan, but more often he wasn't. Always a rebel, I guess. Even still, he got a bit of a kick out of the championship win, and I think my dad was just urging him on to fully express some happiness!
When we finally made it out on the floor, I took this picture. The stuffed hawk had a bit of a mystique that year. After Craig bought him, we just seemed to keep winning. He took him to Toronto for the upset playoff win, and we made sure to bring him for this one. But when we were losing at halftime, we left him with Craig upstairs and sure enough, things changed! This was when Jacob and the hawk were reunited on the turf!
Once again, we had to get our traditional photo together!
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| Note: I was wearing the same outfit as 2007 |
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| Look how little he was! Almost 4 and barely taller than the cup! |
One month later, I got pregnant, and one year later, Carter was a few months old. The Knighthawks had another mediocre regular season, only finishing .500. However, they got hot just in time for the playoffs (again) and by some miracle they won two playoff games to make the finals. Ironically, their opponent, the Washington Stealth, had an arena conflict much like we had in 2007. But instead of giving the game to the road team as happened that year, the league moved the game to another arena nearby, which maybe-not-coincidentally became the team's new arena the following season. I once again debated badly (this time with two kids in the mix) if I could pull off a trip out west. This one turned into a debacle involving a bad last-minute Priceline booking, a lot of time on hold resulting in no sleep, and standby flights, but somehow I made it.
I figured my best bet to make sure the trip was worth it was to have one guaranteed fun thing as part of the trip. Had I known at the time that Chihuly Garden and Glass had opened in Seattle the previous year, I probably would have gone there. But somehow I missed that and ended up in Tacoma instead. In 2006, Craig and I took a train from Seattle to Portland, and we ended up on the tracks in this picture. I happened to look up as we passed under the bridge on the left, and I recognized it as something I had seen previously--a whole bridge full of Dale Chihuly pieces! I made a mental note then to someday come back and see that, and this made for the perfect opportunity.
All of the free outdoor art was stunning. I don't think I posted a picture of these the first time around, but these were glass columns that had water sheeting down their sides and back into the ground.
This is an example of what was up on the bridge. Cubby after cubby of beautiful vase-like objects.
As if that wasn't cool enough, the ceiling looked like this:
As I was on the bridge, I noticed in the window of the domed building in the picture above something that looked a bit Chihuly-like. I ventured over and found a treasure trove of pieces. I've posted the stunning multicolored chandelier before, but I don't think I've shared much of this window full of red reeds...
And I love this view of a giant metal circle that had these pieces woven throughout...
It was an unforgettable visit, as planned, and the game hadn't even happened yet! After a long drive to Craig's hotel in British Columbia, we had a really nice night--probably our first alone since Carter was born. We took a walk, had a snack, and enjoyed the view from our hotel.
After no sleep the previous night (and three months of newborn parenting), I slept like a log. I fell asleep early and woke up early, but those nine hours were bliss. I was able to do a glorious morning run along the water, and later a walk to photograph the sites and the flowers along the path. It was such a pretty area.
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| You can barely see it, but there are snow-capped mountains in the distance. |
The game itself was a little different because the staff had changed by this point and I was only friends with a few of them, so my game-watching company wasn't quite as familiar. But after a closely contested game, we once again came out victorious! And yet again, we got our picture on the turf...
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| Still the same outfit, but between shrinkage and post-baby belly, I had to add a tank for length by then. |
By 2014, the Knighthawks put together a much better regular season, second to only one other team in the league. Unfortunately, the league changed the playoff format to two games + a deciding mini-game if needed. By some miracle, the #1 team got beat in the first round, which left the Knighthawks in the championship with the third best team and home field advantage. And thank goodness, because their road game in each round wasn't good, but thankfully they did well at home. The first round came down not just the mini-game, but to overtime of the mini-game. After losing the first game of the championship in Calgary, the Knighthawks had to win game 2 and the mini-game at home to take the title.
Once again, my parents were in town for the game. It was a very exciting night, and the Knighthawks won game two pretty easily. They went down in the mini-game 2-0 pretty quickly, but miraculously crawled back late and took the lead with less than a minute left. And after that...pandemonium!
This win was significant because Jacob was finally into it and cheering for the Knighthawks, which my dad really enjoyed!
And little one-year-old Carter was just starting to walk regularly, and I loved him standing in awe on the turf!
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| Look at those tiny little Nikes! |
Carter loved playing with the confetti once he got tired of walking around...
Craig and I went out late again that night to celebrate with the team and fans. I was so tired and somewhat hung over the next day, and I still laugh at this dramatic Instagram shot I took of the remains of a napkin that Carter got a hold of. I was a bit too tired to bother stopping him.
Since we didn't get an on-turf shot with the cup that year (that postgame celebration was a bit different), I figured I should share a couple shots from the formal celebration we had a few days after. Look at tiny, happy Carter with his little stick!
And one of my favorite family pictures ever...
It was really fun looking back at these pictures and the original posts. There were some really great memories from these very special years. I am really missing playoff sports and any sort of travel right now, so it was nice to think back at the awesome experiences we've been able to have over the years. I hope more are in our future, but hopefully they're worth the wait!
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