This week I have been following the Calder Cup Finals. The Calder Cup pits the Hershey Bears against the Manitoba Moose. They play in the American Hockey League that is the premier minor league of the NHL. While this series is most likely not going to be on Sportscenter’s bottom line it means a lot to me. The Hershey Bears are one of my favorite teams in all of sports because my dad took me to see them as a kid and I will never forget those times.
When I was younger my dad took me to a Hershey Bears game every winter. As a kid the city of Hershey is the best place in the world. It is a town that smells chocolate and has an amusement park and a hockey team. But unlike the big roller coasters I did not need to be “Twizzler-size” to go to a Bears game.
One year we went to a game in which the Bears took on the Albany River Rats. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about the game, who scored or even who won. But the real story was in the stands as my dad showed me how to become a fan. First of course he taught me how to find our seats that were unfortunately right behind a trio of fans that refused to sit down. As the game went on my dad tried to explain all of the rules of hockey to me. It got increasingly difficult for us to do so with the Albany fans on their feet. Of course I lost interest and wanted something to eat. My dad left me at the seats. When he returned he gave me the large soda. Little did I know that my little hands were not big enough to hold this drink. My tiny hands, the size of the drink and the condensation on the cup became a dangerous mixture. The soda slipped out of my hand and splashed around the Albany fans that had ruined the game for everyone in my section. The Albany fans eventually vacated the wet and sticky area and cleared the way for us to see. The section cheered and I was a hero. I was able to spend some quality time with my dad and learn more about the sport that I ended up loving.
It is ironic that the stories that make us love sports so much are often the stories that are not found on the front page of the sports section. Let’s change all of that today, please write in and let us know your stories. Share the stories that made you fall in love with sports and your families.
When I was in 2nd grade, my entire extended family and I went to an A's game after my First Communion. We sat there talking, when a ball was fouled back into the stands. My uncle caught the ball, bare handed, and gave it to me. All of us signed the ball, and gave it to my grandpa, as it was his first ball game after the strike, and we wanted him to remember it was about family and love of the game. It reminds me that sports unites people and families, giving us some common ground.
ReplyDeleteand by the way, the Hershey Bears closed out the Moose in 6 games Friday night. it is their AHL record 10th Calder Cup
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