Thank you Steve Czaban for doing the heavy lifting for me on a day when I’m getting set up at Bethpage for the Open.
Of all the people to walk head first, by accident into aPittsburgh Penguins bar in NYC on the night they play for the Stanley Cup, it’s me.
I guess being a fan sometimes pays off! Thank you, shiny karma!
I’m five seconds from going into “Random bar A” to watch the third period while everyone around me is watching Yankees-Mets -which will forever be known in New York lore as the Castillo game – when I see a guy across the street in a Crosby jersey. So I wander across 7th Avenue South, dodging cars like Frogger, to just shake the hand of another Penguins fan on Stanley Cup Game 7 night, when his drinking buddy turns out to a friend of a friend and I get invited upstairs to the sports bar room of a hamburger joint to watch the third period.
I walk in, and it’s a sea of Pittsburgh Penguins fans! I died, and went to Penguins heaven. Young guys, young girls, all affluent, all wall-to-wall with their Penguin Freak on! Hotties in Crosby throwback boy-beaters, dudes wrapped in Penguin flags, the odd Steeler jersey or two, and me in my black shirt, black pants and Potomac Cup windbreaker.
I made sure to buy a round:) I also took perverse delight in calling my friend from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and he listened in on the scene during the last two minutes.
Anyway, since I’m a fan, and there’s no rooting in the media tent, I’ll let Czabe take it from here. I will add one last thing from Czabe’s article. he wrote:
“I settled in for a delicious Championship Game 7. More than just any Game 7, we only get a trophy-attended 7th game in basketball, baseball, or hockey about once every 3 years. The last one in hockey was in 2006.
The odds weren’t good for Pittsburgh. Over the last 18 Championship Game 7’s – across all three sports – the HOME team was um… let’s see… ah… 18-0.”
I am soooooooo glad I never knew the odds…
…and finally, what it truly felt like watching that incredible third period that will go down forever in hockey lore:
“The Pens were nearly dead on 3 different occasions in this series.
CLIIIINNNNKKKK!
Holy, shit! Somebody just rang the crossbar! Wow.
Finally, 13 seconds left, once faceoff and an empty net. Butterfly kicksave, lunging chest save, and then sticks and gloves went airborn.”
Interesting tidbit: I played golf with Lemieux and Pierre LaRouche last year at this time – right after the Red Wings beat the Pens last year, and Pierre thought it would be a rebuilding year for the team. I have one thing to say: nice rebuilding year! Pic is below.
18-0 in the Championship Round or no, two cliches are true:
Anything can happen in a Game 7.
There is nothing in sports like a Game 7.
Who wants the ball?
