Tag: I was born

Something to wrestle with and my memories of Bret Hart’s 1996-1997

Posted on by anele25

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The land of wrestling podcasts has recently taken over my life. The craze started not too long ago and needless to say, they help when you are washing the dishes, washing the car, or doing laundry. This is beside the point however; I want to cover today a recent podcast done by Bruce Prichard of something to wrestle with fame. The topic for this recent podcast was Bret Hart. If you don’t worry who that is, do not be alarmed you will by the end of this post. My memories of that time are quite extraordinary and full of joy. First, I’ll go through some major points that Bruce Prichard covered and then I’ll give some of my perspective.

 

The podcast does a very good job of painting Bret at this time as someone who could have an excellent match with anyone during that era. He worked with a who’s who of wrestlers. His matches included excellent storytelling, great selling, good flow, and a way of sucking you in so you could believe it. One of those matches was Bret Hart vs Steve Austin from WrestleMania 13. The match did a good job of telling the classic story of the cocky upstart who is being a rebel vs the proud hero who stands by his morals. Hart of course, was the hero who stood by his morals. The fans at the time were clamoring for a change and wanted something new. In storyline, the idea was to do a double turn and have one guy go ‘good’ and another go ‘bad’. Bret at this time was portrayed as being good and Austin as bad. The fans saw how much Austin clawed and scratched to try and win but to no avail. The fans by the end of the match knew that Austin had given it his all in the match and Bret was just being a bully by beating down on a limp body. That is why that match is (by those days), considered a classic. It works because it was believable and it gives credit to the performers that were out there. The match was bloody, full of hard hitting action, and kept you on the edge of your seat. More on these excellent feuds later on. One of my favorite pieces of the podcast included the insights into how the Montreal Screw job came about. The incident famously known as the Montreal Screw job was orchestrated in 1997 as a way to get the belt off Bret Hart so he wouldn’t walk away from the company with the belt.

 

The scenario was in place so that Shawn Michaels (the incumbent champion) and Bret Hart could have a finish even though one person was not clued in. Essentially, the original plan was for the match to end in a disqualification and there would be members of the Hart Foundation (Bret’s group and faction) that would run in and have the match end in controversial fashion. However, at the end of the match Shawn put Bret Hart in his own hold (the sharpshooter, which is where Bret would put his left leg in between his opponents’ two legs and turn the person around and sit on the person’s back until they gave up). The finish of the match saw Bret not give up and the referee rang for the bell. Needless to say, Bret was very upset at the end of this and realized he had been double crossed. After this, he left upset and even had the guts to punch his former boss, Vince McMahon. There has been quite a bit said as to the different scenarios that would have come into place if this situation would not have happened. I also really enjoyed the 1996 portion of this podcast because you also got an insight into Bret taking a leave of absence for his TV shows and to take a break. I also heard the first time that he got a call to come back in 1996 and he flat out said no. It was almost as if Bret needed time to recharge his batteries at time to be with his families. I also learned from this portion of this podcast that Bret was a very smart man when it came to negotiating for his contract and for what he felt was right. At this time, it was rumored that Bret would jump to the rival company, WCW.

 

He would have been one of the members of the newly formed New World Order. The spot that was originally meant for Hart went to one Hulk Hogan. It’s funny because if that would have happened he would not have as a successful run as he did.  Bret however, knew that he still had an opportunity to work with one of the new stars in the WWF in Steve Austin. I remember at this time also that the podcast mentioned on how Bret was always keen on making his opponents look good and how he worked hard to make sure that everything made sense. One of these times where this was true was where Bret did a USA vs Canada angle and he was very successful at having the USA fans hate him. I have gone off the rails a bit and I am going to just cover what I remember from this time period of 1996-1997. It may be bit scattered but for me it is how I remember it. Anyway, getting back to the USA vs Canada angle. I had a sense at the time that what Bret was doing was fairly interesting because he had fans on one side of the border hating his guts. In another country, he had fans still cheering him as their hero. I still vividly remember Bret saying ‘we don’t shoot each other on the streets and we still care for our sick’. Ironically enough, this was done in Canada. Meanwhile, in the USA the fans still hated his guts for being pompous about pimping his home country. It would be as if I went around from country to country and I would be liked or respected only in one or a few. I also remember the summer of 1997 was awesome because this was where Bret Hart famed one of my favorite wrestling stables in the Hart Foundation. Bret Hart essentially went ahead and gathered his family members to start this group. It was composed of four great wrestlers (actually three) in Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, and Brian Pillman. The other member was Jim Neidhart. All five men ran roughshod over the federation. The pinnacle of the group came when they ran up against Steve Austin’s team of himself, Goldust, Ken Shamrock, and the Legion of Doom. I still remember this match as being emotional for me because my hero had come back from injury in 1997 after having that great run with Steve Austin. Just to backtrack a bit, Bret Hart had finished his series of matches with Steve Austin (including the classic at WrestleMania 13) and he had run an angle on TV where he was out injured due to some complications with his knee.

 

As he was coming back, I remember this promo Hart was cutting with Shawn Michaels in May of 1997 where Hart was calling Shawn all kinds of names and questioning his manhood. At the time, I was not smart to what was happening and realized that the TV time was running out. As the show was going off the air, I realized that the show did not officially end. Little did I know (according to the podcast with Prichard), Bret forgot the cue and he kept talking. All these later, I still felt that was how the show was supposed to end. Anyway, back to the match where they went up against Steve Austin’s team. The event took place in Canada in Calgary. The crowd that night was electric for the show known as Canadian Stampede. As the match was starting, I was in awe that all these people jammed into one arena to see their fellow countrymen do battle. The Foundation ended up winning after about 20-25 minutes of some hard hitting action. The time during my life at that time was also when my family and I would go to Mexico on vacation. As the time was rapidly approaching for us to leave, Summer slam 1997 was also happening. I remember watching Bret Hart’s championship match against the Undertaker at my mom’s work. Some of these times are priceless as I remember being a little kid and being excited for what was to come next. I think that was one of the magical things about Bret Hart’s 1996-1997 run. I remember after each Bret match, promo, or appearance I would ask myself what was next for the Hitman. One of those that I could remember was when before he left for his hiatus in 1996, he had a one-hour match with Shawn Michaels. The match was famous for going one hour without pinfalls or submissions. I also remember that the match went sudden death and about a minute in, Shawn Michaels was able to get the win with his superkick. After the match, Bret took his time getting back and the cameras followed him back to get his reaction and needless to say he was visibly upset. I know from this incident, I knew from there he was someone who could hook my interest from the beginning of a match or from the end of the match because he made you believe it was real. One of those times where I first got a peak behind the curtain was when the film “Wrestling with Shadows” was released.

 

The film showed us the intricacies of wrestling and how deep his belief went into wrestling. You also saw how much he cared about his family. His immediate family he cared about because you saw that what he grew up was almost like a sport that you had to take into account. If you not have seen the movie, I would highly recommend the film because you see the ins and outs of what it is like to be a wrestler and how one of the best wrestlers ever got to where he was. I’ll leave everything with this as one of my favorite memories of that run in 1996-1997. I remember when Bret had come back in 1996 and Bret came back and said how loyal he was to the WWF and how he wasn’t going anywhere. I was so happy at that time because for one he said he was staying and he also for the first time accepted Steve Austin’s challenge for a match at Survivor Series 1996. The idea for me at that time was that Bret would always be a WWF guy. In 2002, after Bret had officially retired full time from wrestling I wrote a paper about his time in wrestling. I remember I got a decent grade on the paper actually. I also was so happy when Bret Hart returned in 2010 to the now known WWE. He had a memorable run in 1996-97 but I believe here it warmed my heart that he let old wounds heal after the Montreal Screwjob and he was able to show the new generation of fans his skills.

 

Well, there you have it. I just wrote some great memories and some of my favorite times of my favorite wrestler, Bret Hart. Over the next two weeks I will be traveling on some weekends to Los Angeles and then after that I will be having some surgery to heal up some kidney stones. What I want to do for my next blog is include some little journal entries on what these trips were like and I’ll probably write them in my tiny moleskin that I was recently given as a gift. Till next time, everybody be on the lookout!

A life altering experience…

Posted on by anele25

This past Friday I probably had one of the hardest events I had to take in. As I have written in the past, I have medical issues with my kidneys. Some of this is because of poor diet, lack of exercise, and not drinking enough fluids. The other part is mainly just genetics. Recently, I had the displeasure of having a kidney stone once again hit me. I missed a week of work because of it and the pain I went through was excruciating. I even ended up going to the emergency room because of it. I would not wish this upon any other human being and the only thing I would advise is to cut back on certain foods. I would also advise to get plenty of activity into your everyday life. I passed the stone eventually and everything was back to normal. However, when something like this occurs not everything is going to be bloom and roses. I had gotten a CT scan done when I went to the emergency room. The CT scan is done to see where the stone is and how big it is. The CT scan I had gotten done showed that something on my left side was not as it should be and this is where my life altering experience comes in.

 

The day was like any other. I had gotten up and made some food to start off the day. I went to the gym after and listened to my favorite Friday getaway show Figure 4 Daily. This show is generally great and makes me laugh anytime I listen to it. If you’re not familiar with wrestling, it is with former UFC fighter Tom Lawlor and MMA/wrestling journalist Bryan Alvarez. Both men break down the news in wrestling for the week and occasionally talk about the happenings of a  wrestling/MMA show that has passed. I eventually finished the show (and my workout) and headed out to the library to handle some miscellaneous business of looking at some books and printing out something I needed for a later date. Once I was done there, I headed to the doctor and over to the Urology department. I headed to the room thinking this was either going to be really good or really bad. I waited for 5-10 minutes and the doctor broke the news of what is considered surgery for my kidney stones. He first showed me the stones and described in detail the size of them. I have 2 stones in my left side (one about 4 centimeters in length and the other about 1 centimeter). The surgery goes by the name Percutaneous Nephrolothotomy. It is described as the removal of large stones. The procedure requires a sheath to be inserted into the back and a nephroscope is placed near the sheath to remove the kidney stone. This should do the job in terms of removing the stones and to me if this fixes it, I would be all for it. After the procedure a tube or a stent is placed inside the kidney to collect urine to make sure the blood flow goes as planned. As I write this, it is as if I am going through some shock but it also feels therapeutic to write about an experience which will make me feel better. Some of the side effects after the surgery could be blood in the urine, pain in the back, nausea and pain in the abdomen and kidneys. The information I just described is what the doctor told me except this was more of a cliff notes version. I also was told that the appointment would most likely be a month out because my doctor’s scheduler would not be available. I know once again that having to go through this is for the best and I have a great support system. I left the appointment feeling as if this was something that was meant to happen to me and it would test me. It also showed me the importance of cherishing those around me. I talked to a friend of mine after and this person made me feel at ease for the surgery that was to come. I was assured that they would be there for me for anything I needed and for me that was the greatest thing I could ask for out of them. I also talked to my mom and dad not too long after to talk about what was to come. I also got the assurance from them they too would be there to help out in this difficult time.

 

After that was over, I decided to start planning out some adventures the next month. I wanted to head back to Florida (I will cover this in long form in my next post), but if this is going to happen in the next month there is a possibility I won’t be able to afford it. My mom suggested that we head out to LA to Universal Studios which is somewhere I have not been. I also want to head over to the Wrestling Guy Store in LA (something else I would love to cover in long form down the line). I have also been planning to head to a wrestling show for a local wrestling promotion called APW. There are so many events that I would love to get done before this surgery and all I want for this to succeed is good discipline and careful planning. I can only hope that all goes well for this surgery and I know my family will be there to help out when it is all said and done.

 

One event I want to touch on is the recent death of a close family friend’s brother. He was someone I had a few conversations with when I was younger and I can say he taught me quite a bit in those conversations we had. He also helped our family out here at our house. I can remember him as being a kind and gentle soul. I remember the day of his funeral the people that knew him best remembered him as being passionate, hardworking, and someone who would be willing to teach anyone anything. My brother told me after the passing of this friend of ours that he loved me and I told him the same thing. Those little things like that make me know that no matter where you are, your siblings will never let you down as long as you keep them close.

 

As you can see, it has been quite the past few weeks and there is a saying that at the end of the tunnel there’s always that light. I am keeping this in the back of my mind every day I wake up from now on until I have my surgery and even beyond that when situations get tough. Till next time, I will be covering my trip to Florida from this past winter on the next post.

The Foreigner and Baby Driver a tale of two Films

Posted on by anele25

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One of the few topics I have not had the chance to write about is my love for movies. I’ve in particular been watching Jackie Chan movies since I was younger and he delivers in his films about action. I recently went to watch The Foreigner on Thursday evening with a friend of mine. The film was unexpectedly one of those films that combined family, loyalty, and action all into one. The premise of the film is that Jackie Chan’s character, Quan, is a retired veteran from the Vietnam special forces. His daughter is killed in a bombing by terrorists. Early on, the film touches on family and how much of an importance it is. We learn as the film goes on that Quan’s daughters were murdered by a group of bandits. His wife died while giving birth to his daughter who is eventually murdered in the process of the bombing. We are also introduced to the film’s lead antagonist, Liam, who is one of the politicians linked to the IRA and the former terrorist organization. Quan early on is very distraught by what has happened and he knows he has to go out to find who has done this evil deed. We get scenes of Quan going to authorities and asking who may have done the terrible deed of killing his daughter. The film’s early scenes deal with Quan investigating on his own (including one scene where we see Liam on TV and Quan researching who he is) and eventually we get Quan and Liam coming face to face for the first time. Once again, as we get into the film’s core we learn that Liam is deeply loyal to his maternal family. We also meet Liam’s wife, Mary, and we get the feeling that there is some tension between them because Mary never really forgave Liam for letting her brother die a few years ago in a terrorist bombing as well. This comes into play later on when we learn about Mary and how much that may play a role in their relationship. Quan, after having met Liam is intent on getting the names of the terrorists who killed his daughter.

 

He calls Liam after having set off a bomb and we get an intense scene where Quan demands answers. What really kicks the film into gear is the action scenes between Quan, Liam’s henchmen, and Quan’s ventures into the forest. You may be asking yourself, why is Quan just hanging out in the forest? Well, Liam gets smart and he heads to the farm. Little do we know, Quan is always ahead of the competition and he starts setting traps at Liam’s farm inside and out. There are some pretty unique traps such as leaving bombs inside the horse stall and leaving some traps outside the farm when the henchmen fall on spikes. Quan is eventually wounded and we get a little more into the backstory of Liam and his family. We eventually learn that one of Liam’s comrades, McGrath, knows who ordered the bombings and we get the big reveal that is was Mary, Liam’s wife. Liam is also seen in the film fooling around with Maggie who was (assuming by the connection) hired by Mary to also investigate into how Liam functioned and possibly frame him in the process. McGrath is eventually executed by Liam and we get more scenes where it gets deeper into actually set off the bombing. We are also introduced early onto Liam’s nephew Sean. He plays a critical role in the film because we also see him hunt down Quan when no one else is successful in hunting him down. After Quan gets his comeback against Sean (in an excellent scene where we see Quan practically only use his hands to take down Sean), Sean lets it out that it was a gentleman named Patrick O’Reilly who set the bomb that killed his daughter.

 

Eventually, we also see Maggie (the woman who was fooling around with Liam), sleep with a reporter to plant a bomb inside his laptop so that it can go off inside a plane. We also see her in a previous scene where she sets off a bomb inside a London bus. The film at this point has pretty much wrapped up its main storylines and all that is left is for Quan to go and get his proper revenge. We see him do something rather unique. Quan arrive to where Patrick O’Reilly and Maggie holed up inside their apartment. We also see the authorities trying to get a shot of the group of terrorists. Anyway, back to Quan and his plan. We see him gather up his ‘tools’ and disguise himself as a gas repair man. He is escorted inside the house by the manager of the property and we quickly get an intense scene where we see Quan knock someone out with a TV. Quan eventually takes them all out except Maggie. Maggie is eventually questioned about the attacks and she also confesses that the bomb that is about to go about go off is on the hands of the reporter named Ian Hood. Maggie in this process is killed by the authorities. We see Hood at the airport and he is quietly doing his work on his laptop. Little does he know, the laptop is packed with a bomb. We get a scene where a bomb expert runs as far as he can and he throws the bomb inside a corridor without harming anybody. Quan after all the craziness occurs, leaves with his head held up high and ready for one last task. We get one scene where Sean goes and hands Mary with her death. Quan also comforts Liam one last time and he figures out that Liam is connected to Maggie. Quan, having gotten his justice, is at peace and can return to his normal restaurant life. We get some peace at the end knowing that Quan got his vengeance settled.

 

So there you go, a film I would recommend going out of your way to see. The film’s strengths are that it is logical and there some twists which make sense. The performances by Chan and Brosman deliver as they are two of the actors who can still knock it out of the ballpark. The film’s weaknesses are that the plot about Quan’s past could have been done a little better and we could have gotten a little more emphasis on the subplot of trying to find the terrorists. A sold film. 7/10.

 

Another film I saw recently was Baby Driver. This movie, I must say, is my favorite of 2017. The film’s premise is simple, easy to follow, and understandable from the main character’s perspective. The film deals with Baby, a 20 something year old who from what we know has tinnitus. This is dealt with by him having to wear ear buds constantly so that the ringing in his ears will not be constant.

 

Baby is forced by Doc, a heist man, with a lot of power, to work as a wheel man with different crews to do jobs to rob banks. Doc, we learn, was robbed by Baby early on and Doc tells Baby that he owes him. Once he finishes his debt, they will be even. The first two crews that Baby works with consists of Buddy, Darling, JD, Eddie, Griif, and Bats. What we gather from Baby is that he does these jobs because of the thrill that he gets from driving, the scenes in the film that sold me on how great is are the driving scenes where Baby’s inner character is shown. We can see that his motives are that so he can earn a living but we also see his decisiveness and his music keeps him going. We also get a look into Baby’s real life.

 

We see him communicating with his foster parent, Joe. Joe is deaf so he must communicate with him via sign language. At first, I was confused as to how they were speaking but it made sense after the first exchange. Joe is not aware that Baby leads this kind of life but eventually he catches on. Baby, once he has paid off his debt, starts to notice a girl around town. Her name is Debora and he falls for her when he visits her at the local diner where she is employed. This is where the film starts to get interesting. Baby, knowing that his debt is paid off and he has plenty of money, asks Debora out on a date at the finest local restaurant. What we don’t know is that Doc wants Baby to do one last job.

 

He offers him the job after he finishes his dinner. Doc once again knows that Baby is somewhat of a good look charm for him. Doc gathers his crew of Darling, Buddy, and Bats to do one last job. Doc’s idea is to rob the local post office. One thing I didn’t mention is that the film’s tension is not necessarily built on the scenes where the crew (minus Baby), robs these places but on the fact that Baby is in an uncomfortable position. We can see that and his strengths is being able to drive fast and furious (cheap plug). Anyway, Doc robbing the post office is first put into play when Doc sends Baby (along with Baby’s nephew) to check out how many employees were present, how many cameras, how many armored guards, and what kind of glass was on the location of the post office. The idea behind the robbing of the post office would be to use almost blank checks (close to 250 of them) so that each of the crew could be just a little richer. We also see Baby’s past dealt with as well because his mother used to work as a waitress where Debora is working currently. We also see that Baby’s mom was in an abusive relationship and his mom was a singer as well. Baby’s tinnitus is a result of the crash that happens with his parents passing away. Baby also records some of his conversations, one of which is quite creative where he is told he is slow. Now, what exactly does he do with these recordings? He mixes up the recordings and he makes his own mixtapes. Back to the film, we see Doc set up Bats, Darling, Buddy, and Baby with some arms dealers. Of course, the scene where we see them meet up with the arms dealers turns sideways as a result of Bats going crazy and shooting one of the arms dealers. Eventually, we see the crew of Doc taking out the dealers. Before they can return to Doc’s hiding out spot, we see Debora working and the crew heads to where she works. Because this is a movie, the scene is tense and I was one of the few that believed that something would go down. Baby jokingly says that the place wasn’t very good to eat at and Bats once again loses himself quite a bit. Debora is ironically enough the one serving the table and she tries very hard not to give away the fact that her and Baby have some sort of relationship. The scene ends with Bats walking out and almost shooting Debora but Baby stops him in his tracks. Baby hands Debora a note that says “road trip 2AM”. We see the crew heading back to Doc’s spot and we start to get the idea that Doc wants to drop the whole idea of robbing the post office. This is because now the cops will definitely be after the crew of Buddy, Darling, Baby, and Bats. We also get the scene of Baby eventually getting cold feet and going to get Debora so they can head out of town. Bats and Buddy stop Baby from going out and asking him where he is going. We get some humor here as Baby says he is going to grab some coffee. Bats finds Baby’s audio recorder and asks him to explain himself. Baby, as honest as he can, says that he likes to record conversations.

 

Bats links this to the fact that Baby may be some kind of informant. We see Baby blanking out and we next see Doc with all of Baby’s tapes. Baby is in a tough position here and eventually we have Baby declared innocent because the tapes are his mixes. The heist is the next morning and Baby once again is having his morals go through him. We see Bats kill a security guard and with the rest of the crew inside the car, he rams a rebar into Bats and kills him. We see an intense scene where Buddy, Darling, and Baby run for their lives as Darling is eventually killed. Baby and Buddy get away as we will see them square off one more time. As all this is happening, Baby goes to his house to go pick up his foster parent, Joe. Baby drops off Joe and we see Baby going to get Debora so they may flee town. Buddy is waiting for Baby and once again the scene gets intense where Buddy is willing to take out Debora because Baby is in part responsible for Darling dying. The scene gets to the point where a cop comes by and wonders where the bathroom is. Buddy takes out the cop and eventually Baby is able to take out Buddy to save Debora. Baby, knowing his only resource is Doc, goes to ask him for some help. As the Doc and the gang, some arms dealers from earlier come out and start firing at the crew. Doc eventually handles them but wait did we forget about Buddy? Buddy shows up and takes out Doc. Buddy and Baby have an intense square off where eventually Baby gets the upper hand. As the scene fades away, we get Baby hearing his mother’s voice through one of the mixtapes. Baby and Debora have gotten away and are on their way to freedom where they are stopped by the local authorities for the crimes committed by Baby. Baby is put on trial and everyone that witnessed the crimes he committed (allegedly) says he has a very good character. After 5 years of good behavior, Baby is set free. We do get a happy ending to a satisfying movie.

 

Overall, I would recommend this film based on several things. The performances by Spacey, Elgort, Hamm, and Foxx really sold it for me. You got three world renowned actors and one who got started in the Divergent series really knocking it out of the ballpark. The other things it does well is that scene had a meaning and each character had a purpose behind it. If this doesn’t win some kind of award, I would be shocked because for me that is how good it was. 10/10. That’s all people. Oh here’s a picture of my dinner with my friend from Thursday after the Foreigner

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Hockey

Posted on by anele25

Hello again, this is me writing again into this lovely blog. I left off two weeks ago wondering what I would write about next. I’ve decided this time to jot a few notes down about hockey and the impact it has had on me. About 3 years ago, I had a friend of mine try and convince me to get into hockey. I told him that wasn’t the sport for me. Slowly but surely, I started watching the sport more and more. I got into the sport however because I feel I needed something new to watch. The excitement and thrill of the goal horn sounding is to much to turn down folks! I may not understand all the rules still but I do know what an icing call does (this will result in a team getting a face-off in their own zone). My friend told me to pick a team and I went with the Tampa Bay Lightning. What drew me to the team was their style of play and their players looking like stars. I also enjoyed the idea of rooting for a team outside of my local roots. No offense to the San Jose Sharks, just never been a big fan of their logo (if you’ve never seen it, it’s a shark chewing on a hockey stick). Hence, I was drawn to players like Steven Stamkos, Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, and my personal favorite Victor Hedman. My first season was truly an incredible one. I saw the team I had chosen go to the playoffs my first season as a fan. I was thankful about the idea that this team had made it so far. That first round was a stressful one against the Detroit Red Wings.

The Lightning were about to go down 3-1 in the series. I knew that something was about to change because I wasn’t used to winning in sports. I had gotten used to my local teams, the Oakland Raiders and the Oakland A’s lose time after time. The fun part about being a sports fan is the sheer joy of winning and losing. You stick with them when they lose and you stick with them when you win. That game 4 changed everything as the Lightning pulled off a overtime win. They went on to win the series and the next two as well as they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. We eventually lost (yes I said we) to the Chicago Blackhawks in the final 4-2 and this did make me think, the incredible joy of seeing a team win and lose all in the same season make me a fan because of the emotions it brings. It can either make or break your day depending on how much you are invested. I can say after that I said no matter how good or bad my teams may be you always have to support them. They work their asses off to stay competitive and to me hockey is that one sport where you can feel the energy of the fans. The next year, I caught as many games as I could on my NHL package and once again the Lightning played some competitive games. I had the joy of once again seeing my team play until the Conference final against the eventual champions Pittsburgh Penguins. However, these playoffs were truly incredible. They were missing their top player in Steven Stamkos and lost goalie Ben Bishop in the 1st game of the conference final. In theory, this team of players should have won the Stanley cup with those two players in the lineup. I once again told myself, you are now committed to a team that you have invested time and money in. Last season, I had the honor and privilege to see this team up close at home in Tampa. I had seen them two previous times play here in my hometown of San Jose. Both times, we had been successful in winning 5-2, and 4-3 respectively. These two games in December of last year were truly incredible. I told myself I did not come to Tampa just to see these group of players lose. Low and behold, I was greeted with two excellent games against the Red Wings and the Blues. The 2nd game was my favorite I have been to so far in my short time as a hockey fan. The final score of that game was 5-2 as we had gone down 2 goals early on. Eventually we came back and won the game 5-2.

Ever since then, I have been telling myself man if it weren’t for this I’d probably lose my mind. The nature and idea that there is a small puck that players battle for is incredible. I also enjoy the idea that players are on the ice anywhere from 90-120 seconds at a time. The shifts that players go between seems rather stressful and having to remember where to be in your zone or when to create a crease so that your teammate can make a shot is also something to ponder. I also enjoy that the defensemen (along withe the goalie) play a much bigger role on how a team performs. If your defenseman on one side is unable to penetrate against the opposition in your zone, you can pretty much say that you are at a disadvantage. As for the Lightning, we were not as successful last season. There were too many injuries and unavoidable games where we collapsed. This season, I’d be curious on how we match up against the rest of NHL. We have our captain, Steven Stamkos back and a couple of upgrades on defense as well. Gone are Jonathan Drouin and Ben Bishop. This season, to me will really depend on depth and how we respond to injuries. The team has young defensemen in Slater Koekkoek and Jake Dotchin. The other young forwards on the teams such as Vladislav Namestnikov and Brayden Point will also be there playing with a chance to reach the playoffs with a team that is rolling with experience at this point. The team is still relatively young and practically made it to the playoffs with half of it’s roster hurt or playing with pains and aches. I can for one say I am excited for the season and don’t be surprised if we are contending once again for a Stanley cup. Let’s go Lightning! Below I added a little link to the season preview 🙂