In The Beginning There Were The Adirondack Red Wings

I became a Wings fan during the first game I went to. It was a Calder Cup playoff game in Glens Falls, NY and ADK was down 3 games to none against the Hershey Bears in a best of seven series. It seemed highly unlikely that the wings would be able to come back to win the series but they won an exciting game four and a fan for life! During the next 10 years I watched players like Kris Draper, Keith Primeau, Randy McKay, Darren McCarty, Chris Osgood and many more pass through Glens Falls on their way to Detroit and it's thrilling to see some of those guys still wearing the winged wheel.

So now that you know I'm a wings fan you're probably wondering why I would choose a picture of Hossa, in a Pens uniform, sitting against the boards, sagging in defeat after the Stanley Cup Finals. Well, the answer is simple, while watching the finals I was not only impressed with Hossa's play but I was also impressed with his reaction to losing. I remember seeing that photo and thinking, wow that is an amazing photo, it totally captures the moment(pain) for him. And I genuinely felt for the guy. And then, of course there was all the talk of him sifting through offers and I hoped that he would end up in the red and white - but you can't imagine how excited I was when I saw the headline! I know there are wings fans (and others) who think that he's only coming to Detroit for a season, to get his cup, and then head for the bank, but I think they are wrong. Once he gets a taste of what it feels like to hold that cup over his head he won't be leaving Hockeytown - my bet is he stays for the rest of his career. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am :)


Now I just have to figure out how to customize this blog thingy :)