The Way The Cookie Crumbles: What My Eyes Have Seen...
Posted 10:30 PM ET | Comments 0
An Open Letter To The Preds:
Hey guys,
I started watching you back in 2002. I was a junior in Hendersonville High School and had no knowledge of hockey in the least. My mother, a special needs teacher at Ellis Middle School won and gave me 2 club level tickets to a Preds game. I wasn't a big fan of sports in general at the time, but I said "What the hey..." and went.........it was a game against the San Jose Sharks. The Preds won 4-2 and Andreas Johansson scored a hat trick. I was hooked.
As the years went on, I went to more and more games. My father, a country music promoter, became great acquaintances with a man who worked at the arena, further making it accessible for me to go as many games as we received tickets to. I ended up going to 20+ games the next season 2003-2004, all in all, over the past 6 seasons, I've probably missed less than 10 games total, which is quite nice, including being a season ticket holder for this year and half of last years (even though I'm lucky enough to receive comp tickets, I still buy my own to contribute to this team, because even my money helps, no matter how much I can contribute).
I've had sooooo many great memories so far with the Predators, good and bad. I remember...
...my first ever game I went to
...scanning my Fang Club rewards card into the machines as SOON as I walked into the door of the GEC, then I would see a players face thanking ME personally for coming!
...sitting 3 rows from the ice for Games 3 and 4 of the 2003-2004 playoffs against Detroit, turning to my father, saying the words "This is awesome!" and not hearing a single word come out of my mouth
...actually lying down on my couch in my dorm room during my freshman room and crying when Gary Bettman announced the season would be locked-out, one of the saddest days of my life
...rejoicing when I got to see the Preds back in action the following October
...watching the Preds start 8-0, only to lose in OT to Columbus when going for 9-0
...watching Chris Mason ACTUALLY score a goal against the Coyotes
...watching the Preds collapse in the first round of the playoffs against the San Jose Sharks after accumulating 106 points in the regular season
...standing up and screaming down the hall in college when the Preds traded for the great Peter Forsberg
...watching Peter Forsberg scoring the game winner against the Red Wings in OT....one of the few games I actually wasn't able to go to
...watching Jordin Tootoo breakaway down the ice in overtime in the playoffs only to be stopped by Evgeni Nabokov
...watching Patrick Rissmiller (a guy who doesn't even play anymore) come down the ice and put a puck past the right shoulder of Vokoun....and then sitting in my seat for the next 30 minutes in pure disbelief
...watching the Preds collapse in the first round of the playoffs against the San Jose Sharks after accumulating 110 points in the regular season.....for the second year in a row....
...watching Leipold dismantle a "perfect" team, sell/trade away all of the talent, and bolt to Minnesota leaving the Preds to sway in the wind, waiting for someone to scoop up the team and take it away...
...watching the community of Nashville and it's local business owners come together and make sure this team stays here
...watching Steve Sullivan battle with back problems
...watching the Chris Mason/Dan Ellis goaltending tandem backstop us into the 8th seed of the playoffs (not to mention Ellis having almost 4 shut outs in a row, fifth longest in the league)
...watching the Preds drop the first two games to Detroit in the playoffs
...watching the Preds score two goals in 9 seconds in game 3...one of my all time favorite moments, I actually had tears in my eyes.
...watching the Preds win game 4 to tie the series at 2
...watching the Preds score a goal at the end of game 5 only to lose it a couple of minutes in OT.
...watching Lidstrom bounce a puck past Danny Ellis during game 6......from Center Ice. At that moment, I knew the playoffs were over for the Preds
...watching the Preds drop an 8-spot on Detroit....from home....on my TV...one of the few games I missed.
...watching the Preds fail to make the playoffs last year, so close, but so far
...watching my first ever road games with the Predators (beginning of the season in Dallas, an OT win, and end of the season against St. Louis with the HockeyBuzz Road trip, yet another win :-))
...actually walking out of my first ever game mid-way in the second period, a 6-1 Edmonton win in the Sommet Center
...watching the Preds win some dramatic games this year and lose some heartbreakers (Ottawa OT win, New Jersey shoot out win, Columbus OT win | Phoenix Shoot-out Loss in 11 rounds, Detroit Shoot-out Loss in 12 rounds, San Jose scoring 6 in the 3rd to beat us 8-5)
...LISTENING to the Preds win their first ever road playoff game on my way to Gatlinburg for a company trip
...watching the Preds rip up the Hawks in game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the series
...watching the Preds drop a seriously pivotal game 4 to tie up the series at 2
...watching the Preds win game 5......but lose it with 50 seconds left in the game
...watching the Preds win game 6 at home and take their first ever game 7
Ok, so that last one didn't happen...yet. What I'm trying to say here is that through the good and the bad, there has always been one constant for the Preds, their fans and their undying love for their team, Nashville's team. We love and treat you guys like you are our own sons: we scold you for your mistakes, praise you for your victories, and stick with you through everything.
We know you will come out tomorrow and do your best, like you always have. We know you will give the Blackhawks EVERY LAST OUNCE of fight you have left, all the way to the last second ticks off the clock. We know it's a "do-or-die" scenario and we know how much this game means tomorrow.
You know The Bridge will be rocking tomorrow...
You know that The Bridge COULD be rocking 1 week from tomorrow...
Whatever the outcome is tomorrow, you are OUR team, we are YOUR fans, 82 games a year you give us some of the best entertainment money can buy.
That's the way the cookie crumbles.
Thanks for all the memories so far boys and thanks for the memories to come. I'm excited about tomorrow night and can't wait to share in another historical moment in our franchise
GO PREDS!
Hey guys,
I started watching you back in 2002. I was a junior in Hendersonville High School and had no knowledge of hockey in the least. My mother, a special needs teacher at Ellis Middle School won and gave me 2 club level tickets to a Preds game. I wasn't a big fan of sports in general at the time, but I said "What the hey..." and went.........it was a game against the San Jose Sharks. The Preds won 4-2 and Andreas Johansson scored a hat trick. I was hooked.
As the years went on, I went to more and more games. My father, a country music promoter, became great acquaintances with a man who worked at the arena, further making it accessible for me to go as many games as we received tickets to. I ended up going to 20+ games the next season 2003-2004, all in all, over the past 6 seasons, I've probably missed less than 10 games total, which is quite nice, including being a season ticket holder for this year and half of last years (even though I'm lucky enough to receive comp tickets, I still buy my own to contribute to this team, because even my money helps, no matter how much I can contribute).
I've had sooooo many great memories so far with the Predators, good and bad. I remember...
...my first ever game I went to
...scanning my Fang Club rewards card into the machines as SOON as I walked into the door of the GEC, then I would see a players face thanking ME personally for coming!
...sitting 3 rows from the ice for Games 3 and 4 of the 2003-2004 playoffs against Detroit, turning to my father, saying the words "This is awesome!" and not hearing a single word come out of my mouth
...actually lying down on my couch in my dorm room during my freshman room and crying when Gary Bettman announced the season would be locked-out, one of the saddest days of my life
...rejoicing when I got to see the Preds back in action the following October
...watching the Preds start 8-0, only to lose in OT to Columbus when going for 9-0
...watching Chris Mason ACTUALLY score a goal against the Coyotes
...watching the Preds collapse in the first round of the playoffs against the San Jose Sharks after accumulating 106 points in the regular season
...standing up and screaming down the hall in college when the Preds traded for the great Peter Forsberg
...watching Peter Forsberg scoring the game winner against the Red Wings in OT....one of the few games I actually wasn't able to go to
...watching Jordin Tootoo breakaway down the ice in overtime in the playoffs only to be stopped by Evgeni Nabokov
...watching Patrick Rissmiller (a guy who doesn't even play anymore) come down the ice and put a puck past the right shoulder of Vokoun....and then sitting in my seat for the next 30 minutes in pure disbelief
...watching the Preds collapse in the first round of the playoffs against the San Jose Sharks after accumulating 110 points in the regular season.....for the second year in a row....
...watching Leipold dismantle a "perfect" team, sell/trade away all of the talent, and bolt to Minnesota leaving the Preds to sway in the wind, waiting for someone to scoop up the team and take it away...
...watching the community of Nashville and it's local business owners come together and make sure this team stays here
...watching Steve Sullivan battle with back problems
...watching the Chris Mason/Dan Ellis goaltending tandem backstop us into the 8th seed of the playoffs (not to mention Ellis having almost 4 shut outs in a row, fifth longest in the league)
...watching the Preds drop the first two games to Detroit in the playoffs
...watching the Preds score two goals in 9 seconds in game 3...one of my all time favorite moments, I actually had tears in my eyes.
...watching the Preds win game 4 to tie the series at 2
...watching the Preds score a goal at the end of game 5 only to lose it a couple of minutes in OT.
...watching Lidstrom bounce a puck past Danny Ellis during game 6......from Center Ice. At that moment, I knew the playoffs were over for the Preds
...watching the Preds drop an 8-spot on Detroit....from home....on my TV...one of the few games I missed.
...watching the Preds fail to make the playoffs last year, so close, but so far
...watching my first ever road games with the Predators (beginning of the season in Dallas, an OT win, and end of the season against St. Louis with the HockeyBuzz Road trip, yet another win :-))
...actually walking out of my first ever game mid-way in the second period, a 6-1 Edmonton win in the Sommet Center
...watching the Preds win some dramatic games this year and lose some heartbreakers (Ottawa OT win, New Jersey shoot out win, Columbus OT win | Phoenix Shoot-out Loss in 11 rounds, Detroit Shoot-out Loss in 12 rounds, San Jose scoring 6 in the 3rd to beat us 8-5)
...LISTENING to the Preds win their first ever road playoff game on my way to Gatlinburg for a company trip
...watching the Preds rip up the Hawks in game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the series
...watching the Preds drop a seriously pivotal game 4 to tie up the series at 2
...watching the Preds win game 5......but lose it with 50 seconds left in the game
...watching the Preds win game 6 at home and take their first ever game 7
Ok, so that last one didn't happen...yet. What I'm trying to say here is that through the good and the bad, there has always been one constant for the Preds, their fans and their undying love for their team, Nashville's team. We love and treat you guys like you are our own sons: we scold you for your mistakes, praise you for your victories, and stick with you through everything.
We know you will come out tomorrow and do your best, like you always have. We know you will give the Blackhawks EVERY LAST OUNCE of fight you have left, all the way to the last second ticks off the clock. We know it's a "do-or-die" scenario and we know how much this game means tomorrow.
You know The Bridge will be rocking tomorrow...
You know that The Bridge COULD be rocking 1 week from tomorrow...
Whatever the outcome is tomorrow, you are OUR team, we are YOUR fans, 82 games a year you give us some of the best entertainment money can buy.
That's the way the cookie crumbles.
Thanks for all the memories so far boys and thanks for the memories to come. I'm excited about tomorrow night and can't wait to share in another historical moment in our franchise
GO PREDS!