I’ve been a Bruins fan for a long time.
Just to give this little hockey sweater some scale… my shoes.
And I don’t have particularly large shoes.
This little wool sweater would have shrunk a little, I think, but nevertheless I have been a Bruins fan for a long time.
Kudos for their first Stanley Cup in a long time.
UPDATE 16 June:
Over at CatholicVote, Tom Hoopes has an excellent reaction to the reaction in Vancouver.
“The World is trying to experiment with attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide.”
— T.S. Eliot
The Eliot quote is from his essay “Thoughts After Lambeth” (1931).
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This Bostonian is happy. More importantly, our bishop won the bet with the bishop of Vancouver. The Archdiocese is up $100!
Congrats to the Bruins from a Vancouverite. And my sincere apologies on behalf of Vancouver for the stupid behaviour of many citizens of this great town who, as I type, are setting fires and breaking windows in downtown Vancouver. The images on TV are sad…
Yep, they sure did, and now there’s riots in Vancouver.
Prayers for the police having to deal with them. Time to bring out the Tasers.
A prayer please… so that the mayhem downtown Vancouver does not escalade.
Paulo, the mayhem probably would have occured either way. Always did in Edmonton on Whyte Ave.
To the Bruins: As much as i wanted the Cup in Canada, you trounced the Nucks enough times that it would be a little unfair for them to take it.
Father, that is very funny, thanks for sharing. That sweater must bring back some pretty good memories. Congratulations to the Bruins!
Update: Vancouver Police is bringing out the horses. It is an interesting phenomenon: the proliferation of smart phones and their cameras is pretty much fueling the hooligans – the crowds move, cause some mayhem, and a voyeur crowd on the periphery takes photos and make videos, fueling the drunken egos of said hooligans.
Paulo, I’m not a fan of either team (“au contraire, as the man in the channel ferry said when asked if he had dined”). But a friend from Vancouver who is a fan of my home team says they have great hockey fans, but half of the Canuckleheads don’t know much about hockey or anything else. You and he have my sympathy tonight…
Sorry to keep on posting on this but… Update… The Bruins decided to NOT return to their hotel. When we riot, we riot with gusto! Actually, what I see on live TV here is a “Facebook” or “YouTube” riot: idiotic youth burning vehicles and shooting videos of themselves doing stupid stunts on the burning cars. My apologies, my apologies, my apologies. Truly disgusting; truly stupid. Lord, have mercy.
Sorry, but I couldn’t root for the team whose fans gave us Ted Kennedy. But when it’s all said and done, I always like to watch the guys skate around with the Cup, even if I didn’t want them to win.
I had enough. The idiots are looting department stores, now. So ashamed. Saint Paul Hospital in “code orange” lockdown to deal with possible mounting casualties as the night unfolds. S-T-U-P-I-D.
I didn’t really have a team to root for since neither the Anaheim Ducks nor the LA Kings were in the running…but I have a soft spot in my heart for the Boston Bruins, since their farm team is in Rhode Island. (My family is from Rhode Island)
The more important theme here is that ICE HOCKEY MATTERS IN THE US!
Congrats Bruins!
As a Vancouver born Canadian I was glad to see the Bruins win the cup. (I like underdogs) You also have to love the Tim Thomas story. Drafted in the 9th round he didn’t even play in the NHL for another decade. Only last year he was fighting for his job. (Although I did like to point out to my son that Luongo would bless himself before each game, something one sees a lot of in soccer but in hockey not so much.)
Curious Father? Why did you save that hockey shirt? Did you play as a child?
Cool Bruins jersey, Father. We have a viewing of Miracle on Ice coming up soon. Have heard firsthand from those with experience that hockey as coached in an earlier time featured less checking than we are used to now. I wonder if that is apparent to longtime fans?
Congrats to the Bruins. And to Tim Thomas their stellar goal keeper. He hails from my hometown of Flint, MI (Davison)…. And we had a Heisman Trophy winner from here a couple of years ago… not bad says I.
How does a Minnesotan become a fan of the Bruins? The old North Stars weren’t around back then?
“How does a Minnesotan become a fan of the Bruins?”
Although I have never had the pleasure of visiting Minnesota, I’m reasonably sure that the existence of Bruins fans in that fair state (at least for a certain generation) can be summed up in two words: Bobby Orr.
Congratulations on your Bruins’ victory, although I have to admit, I was rooting for Vancouver. I hope it’s not too long before my team wins their first Stanley Cup in my lifetime (not to mention win their first playoff series where I’m old enough to remember it happening).
Mixed feelings about the outcome of last night’s game: wanted the Canucks to win, because a Canada-based team hasn’t won the Cup since 1993 (Montreal Canadiens). OTOH, the Bruins deserved a win also, since they’ve been cup-less since 1972. Also, there was a Bruins player hailing from my home province of Newfoundland, Michael Ryder. So it wasn’t too bad, I guess. As the Damn Yankees song says: “Wait till next year, and hope”.
About the riots: Amen to what my fellow posters have said. Totally wrong, and a slap in the face to the beautiful city of Vancouver.
I would’ve preferred a Canucks win, but as an Avs fan I can’t say I was particularly partial to either team. I’m glad that your team won though Fr.!
“Sorry, but I couldn’t root for the team whose fans gave us Ted Kennedy”
I completely understand the sentiment, but enough already with the guilt by association! Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say ” I couldn’t root for the team from the state that gave us Ted Kennedy”? I’ve spent too much of my adult life explaining to folks I’ve encountered in my travels that “WE DON’T MUCH LIKE HIM EITHER!”
(I’m not terribly thrilled by his successor, but I keep reminding myself that at least he’s not a Kennedy, and that at if nothing else his seat would count toward a potential majority for the less-objectionable party in 2012…)
Having been a B’s fan since the days of Orr, Espo, et al I was glad to be able to enjoy hockey again. Not simply because “my” team won, but because it was HOCKEY, as opposed to that odd mutation that became prevalent for a few years (i.e. the “trap”). And it was good to see the refs just let them play and not call every little shove or grab (and ignore the dives and flops!). And as an old goalie I thoroughly enjoyed watching Mr. Thomas!
Father – I, too, would be interested to hear how you became a Sox fan and a B’s fan, maybe it’s time to invite you to Providence again…
Seeing as how it’s highly unlikely there’s going to be any football this year (do NFL players really need a union?), this is the perfect comfort for those of us having to suffer. Awesome win!
Now here’s to hoping the Sox can pull off another WS win.
Request a picture of you in the jersey, if you have one. [Nope.]
Inexcusable as this is, I can at least understand frustration giving way to rage. The trend of fans rioting and looting when their teams win is, on the other hand, incomprehensible.
I was hoping the Canucks would win. I am very disappointed in the way the “fans” carried on. What a disgrace. Our Dallas Stars may be in a slump, but the hockey fans here have a lot of class and have respect for our team. I can’t imagine that happening here.
I wonder what my cousin, Maurice(The Rocket), may he rest in peace, would think about ANY Canadian team’s fans acting in this way.
“I can at least understand frustration giving way to rage.”
So, is it bad (really bad) sportsmanship or sheer barbarism?
An interesting quote from Eliot, Father. Upon reading it I dimly recalled that it was 1930 when the Anglican Communion became the first Protestant denomination to change its position on contraception from “it is a sin against God” to “it is not a sin against God.” Checking on the ‘net confirmed my dim recollection. I would imagine that Eliot was responding, at least in part, to what that change in teaching presaged.
Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer
Paulo: I remember the riots not too long ago in Toronto, over the economic summit. Idiots and troublemakers are attracted to potential media attention like moths to a flame. I’m sure they weren’t all ‘nucks fans.
That said, I think the police took it a little too much in stride. Civic leaders were almost strutting about how the learned from the Olympics, and how they were now going to be the shining example of riot prevention with great community outreach beforehand. Big egg on their faces. What they failed to realize is that the people most likely to riot, alcohol-enhanced or not, don’t really care for police, anyway. It’s not like they want to get to know their “enemy.”
That said, I hope they arrest all the knuckleheads involved and let them cool off in the gaol for a while (not just a fine and some community service). The bonus of the media age is that while the knuckleheads get to see themselves on tv and Youtube… so do the authorities. Book ’em Danno!
Congrats to the Bruins-even though I wanted Vancouver to win [sigh].
Wow, 39 years ago they last won the Cup! I was in my senior year in high school then! And I didn’t really like the Bruins back then…you know, Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Wayne Cashman as examples.
I hope that Canada someday gets the Cup back!
The riots were a disgrace in Vancouver. I saw some videos on YouTube of when Canada clinched the gold medal in hockey in last year’s Olympics. Now that was wonderful-the joy was contagious!
Oh, and your little Bruins jersey is cool, Father Z! So, how big are your feet, if I may ask?
Just curious…. ; ) [and ducks]
The quote from Elliot summarizes quite nicely my own thoughts on this disgraceful incident. This level of selfishness, although not new in any account, can only be understood when appreciated from a position diametrically opposed to Christianity. I did stupid things in my youth – who didn’t? – but there was always the little voice of my conscience, nagging, pulling me in the right direction. These kids, the ones involved on this, were not taught anything about conscience. They cannot recognize that which they do not know. I am an educator, and today, more than ever, I realize how monumental is the task ahead of me in my corner of the globe. May the Holy Spirit inspire me.
Somewhere my mother still has my Bobby Clarke jersey and my little sign that read: “Boston can eat beans from a can while Philly sips champagne from the cup”. I didn’t like the Bruins then and I don’t like them now. But, as a hockey fan, one has to love the way their goalie, Tim Thomas, played throughout the season and especially in the playoffs. Good goal tending, like good pitching, wins championships.
Chloesmom: We’ve (Canucks) been cupless forever…so 1972 isn’t that far back.
Another Happy Bostonian stuck in Kalifornia…
Father, have you seen the Bruins’ bar tab? It was a good night to be a bartender.