Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Again, the good 'ol days

It was funny that after my day alone at Roger's Arena my dad was telling the story of his first Canucks game.  My family has lived up the North End of the Sunshine Coast, at the end of Highway 101 in Powell River for four generations, ever since MacMillan Bloedel started what was the worlds largest Pulp and Paper operation in the early 1900's.

We were all visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Vancouver last weekend and dad after a couple of 1516's told the story of his first game, and it reiterated the fact that the accessibility of NHL teams and facilities isn't what it used to be.  If you can imagine the eary 70's and my grandfather (who you have to meet to believe) loading up my dad, Ken, and his big brother Freddy in the '66 Ford F250 single-cab straight axle with a lone standing room ticket to Pacific Coliseum that he got from his buddy in the parts department at the mill, and making the two boats, seven hour one-way trip to the big city still hoping to acquire two more tickets for his sons. He wasn't able to.  THey could only buy one seating ticket from scalpers prior to the game, if you can believe Grampa Jimmy (honestly, you gotta meet him to believe him), smooth talks the doorman in to letting all three in with only two tickets; could you imagine pulling that off these days?  Unbelievable. The guy probably smuggled his own Old Stock in with him too, ha ha.  The Good 'Ol Days.  The sum total of the two tickets is probably half the cost of one tinny Molson's at a game today.

I miss the Coliseum.  I went with dad and grampa to the last game there against the Blackhawks...I didn't realize it at the time, I was too young, just how special that place was.  I've never been good with heights and we've never had lower bowl seats so sitting up in Pacific Coliseum was frightening.  It still is.  I hadn't been in it for years until I watched the Cherry/Orr game their a few years back, so many memories. I stepped in a huge pile of gum and watched two huge drunks beat on each other after the game; I guess it was an emotional time, and we all still hate the Hawks. 

The game my dad and uncle got snuck in to was a Leafs game, I guess dad and grampa and uncle freddy watched a lot of the leafs in those days.  In the nineties when we used to catch a lot of games it was always the Blackhawks.  Always the lowly teams, but we saw soem good hockey.  I remember Chelios got tossed one game for a two-handed slash; can you imagine? When's the last time that happened?  One time my sister dropped a friendship bracelet in the men's bathroom after throwing up in the first period; she tried to reach in to grab it but luckily dad stopped her in time. Nothing beats my five seconds of fame on the huge jumbotron at my first game in GM Place though; waving my old plate of spaghetti logo pennant in one hand and the Canucks new Birthing Orca logo in the other.  It's funny when you see yourself on their, the first thing you do when you realize you're on the jumbotron is look away, and everybody is looking at you, it's a weird feeling.

anyway, i'm rambling...anyone got any great Canucks memories to share?

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