EduClaytion

Bring Me The Brandy Lord Stanley!

WooooHoooo!  Not much else to say as the Pittsburgh Penguins have beat history and defeated the Detroit Red Wings to win their third Stanley Cup in franchise history. 

No road team in any sport had won a road game seven to clinch a championship since 1979 when the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series.  In the 87th game of the NHL playoffs, the Penguins took exit 71 to Detroit to dethrone the champs. 

From the kids of promise to the veterans of hope, the Pens did what it took to achieve hockey immortality.  Tomorrow is here; the promise is fulfilled.  The Steel City skaters have matched the cross town Pittsburgh Steelers to snatch a second championship for the Burgh this year.  Pittsburgh is once again the City of Champions.

Where do I start?

Max Talbot scored twice, only the 9th player ever to net two goals in a game 7.  Marc-Andre Fleury disproved the doubters time and again with huge saves including one with only a second left on Niklas Lidstrom.  Sidney Crosby suffered a nasty injury but kept his team motivated to hold onto the slimmest of margins, a one goal difference that came down to inches yet will span a lifetime as the Boys of Winter will see their names engraved for all time on the Stanley Cup, the ultimate symbol of childhood expectations where dreams are reflected in the shiny gloss of the ages.

Evgeni Malkin takes away Conn Smythe honors as the MVP of the Playoffs, only the fifth time in history that the year’s scoring leader has led the playofffs in the same category.

The Detroit Red Wings performed brilliantly, an organization that carries itself with ultimate class.  Tonight they yielded their crown to a scraggly bearded band of hopeful kids and wounded warriors.  There is no greater price paid in professional sports to earn a championship. 

I’d like to say we had ‘em all the way, but no one believed after the Pens fell behind the Washington Capitals two games to none.  After the team fell behind Detroit by the same margin, the eulogies were being penned for a skilled team that would not be able to knock off Henrik Zetterberg, Chris Osgood, and the champion Red Wings.  But you can’t spell belief without lie, and the Penguins denied the truth of so many pundits who left them for dead.

So many players have become instant folk heroes.  Their stories are too many to recount just yet.  One special nod to the grizzled one, Billy Guerin, the veteran who Hollywood would never script, whose brief words in the moments after victory show what real heart looks like.  He is the reigning President of Awesomeness.

For all the great feelings of your team winning, I have none better than a conversation with my boy, a young fan still learning the game but saavy enough to feel the burn of defeat.  Tonight at least, we got to share in celebration.  Our guys won.  I can think of no better wrap up than his simple statement.  “I wish every game could be like this.”

Me too buddy.

June 13, 2009 - Posted by educlaytion | Sports