Happy Anniversary Ranger Fans
Remember the boy band "All-4-One"? They had the number one song "I Swear". Tops at the box-office that week was "Speed" starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Unemployment was at 6.1%, a letter could be mailed for 29 cents, and the median household income was thirty-two thousand dollars. If you wanted to fill up at the pumps, a gallon of gas would cost you a very reasonable (although at the time we probably complained about it) $1.09. Seinfeld was the top TV show, and if you wanted to make a phone call, most of us either had to wait until we got home, or use something called a "pay phone".
Most of the world was reeling from the shocking news of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, and that Nicole's ex-husband O.J. Simpson was a suspect. Bill Clinton was President, and most of us had no idea what "the internet" was.
Seventeen years ago today, none of it mattered. The only thing we had on our minds was:
Game 7.
The Curse.
1940.
After a rollercoaster loss at the Garden in Game 5 (Tik was NOT offsides), and an "Oh sh*t" Game 6 loss in Vancouver, Ranger fans went sleepless for two nights waiting for June 14th and a night that, no matter what happened, to coin a phrase....."history would be made".
No need to go back over the game, we know it by heart, we know the calls, the goals, the saves (Nathan Lafayette with 5 minutes left, Sam screaming "SAVE BY RICHTER!!!!!!!!!" I can still hear it in my head, and it still gives me chills). We remember it all. Who we watched the game with, where we were sitting, what we ate, what we drank, all of it.
So far, it's lasted a lifetime.
To those of you too young to truly remember and appreciate it, I sincerely hope that in your lifetime, you have a June 14th of your own, because there was absolutely positively nothing like it.
To those of you from my generation and older, who lived through all those disappointments, all those bad breaks (Leetch's ankle), bad goals (Ron Francis), bad coaches (Jean Guy-Talbot), bad trades (Bobby Carpenter), and bad teams (not enough space), today is for us.
Happy Anniversary Ranger Fans.
1994 Stanley Cup Final - Game 7 (via vnvzech)
