My father and brother are humongous Anaheim Ducks fans! I take pride in turning them onto hockey 15 years ago, before there even were Ducks and we cheered for the L.A. Kings. When the Ducks (then the Mighty Ducks) first came to town, I teased my brother endlessly about cheering for a team named after a Disney movie. A hockey game is the perfect place to drown in testosterone. So a team whose cheer was "Quack quack" was not going to get my respect.
But as the years have passed, Dad and bro have gone to more and more Ducks games, and every once in a while have taken along me or my sister. The Mighty Ducks of yesteryear featuring the cartoonish "Wild Wing" are no more - they're now just "The Ducks" with a catchy logo, crazy colors and kickass players. Testosterone reigns at the Anaheim Pond, er, the Honda Center. Damn corporations! I've never seen such hard checks, such fearlessness, and such skill combined into one team.
The season started magically and rarely was less than that. Our boys in orange and black dominated the Pacific Division and the Western Conference, and stormed through the Stanley Cup playoffs to face Ottawa in the final round. It only took five games for them to knock off the final obstacle to hoisting the cup above their heads.
The best part of it all was that my dad and brother got to be there. They were one of the screaming fans that lit up the Honda Center last night. Dad had said before the series started "I hope they win the first two at home and then lose one of two away, so they can come home to Anaheim and win the Stanley Cup here in Game 5." They must have read his mind, because that is exactly what they did.
Who knows what the future holds for my dad or my family. But I'm just thankful that for this time, all of our minds are off the cancer and on the Cup.
Thanks for winning this one for Dad, guys!
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