40 Years and I've been a fan for 30 of them.

I've never been one for conventional anything. Early as a kid I had to scramble to get my fix. While other kids were giving a shit about basketball and people were swooning over the Kentucky Wildcats, I was in the cockpit with A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. While kids my age wanted to be Johnny Bench or Pete Rose, I wanted to be like Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Dave Hawerchuck, Bobby Clarke,Phil Esposito, Brett Hull, and so many others. Yeah, I played local sports... Baseball and football, but I never wanted to be any of those players. Hockey has been in my soul for as long as I can remember. I remember when ESPN first came on. I was no longer forced to sit in the corner of highlight reel hell, I was now able to main-line it. Ahhhhhh, sweet addiction. Sitting up 'til 1AM or later because of the knuckle biting single, double, and triple-overtimes. I saw Ron Hextall score that kick-ass goal. Actually, Hextall is one of my all time favorite hockey players. Long before I ever got to see a hockey game, I was listening via shortwave to the Flyers. Yes, I said shortwave radio. Like I said, I've been a fan all my life.

How obsessed was I? I graduated high school in eastern Kentucky, I played football for my high school. My class ring has a hockey player on it. Yeah, I'm a fan, from the sticks where people had no idea what hockey was and didn't/don't know that icing doesn't only happen on a cake.

Over my lifetime, so far, I've been torn. Some of you may remember when we had divisions, instead of this East/West shit. When the Blackhawks were in the Campbell -Norris-Central Division and the Flyers were in the Patrick Division-Eastern Conference. There were many other configurations, but we don't need to go into the intricacies of that as this time. Anyway, back to the being torn business. I'm a Blackhawks/Flyers fan. Yeah, I know, and I don't want to hear it. It's the way it is and it will never change. While I always admired the speed and ability of the "Red Menace", the finesse and heart will always belong to my two teams.

A lot of shit has happened in the these last 40 years... I thought that we were sunk not too long ago, and it seemed that many people didn't care. I'll save the rant about how we need to restructure the league for another post. There really isn't enough time or space for me to expound on my love for the sport and all that it has brought me in my life. It was tough being such a fan, and not having a single person to discuss my favorite sport with. It's still tough. The only reprieve that I was ever granted was when I lived in Pittsburgh... I don't remember a day that passed where we didn't discuss hockey from all eras.

So, as he season opens, and my Blackhawks have lost and my Flyers have won their respective openers, I'll stop attempting to explain my love of the sport to you, as you'll never get it if you're not a fan, and if you're a fan, you already know. I now have a son to pass all of this on to, so I am no longer alone. He'll probably end up a Bruins fan or some shit. ;D

GAME ON!!

LET"S GO FLYERS!!!
Sorry guys, I had to take down the Flyers 40th Anniversary vid. It was overpowering everything else on the blog. Yeah, I know, it hurt me too.