Fortress Of Good Fortune

THEY DID IT!!!!!

The Boston Bruins took home the Stanley Cup after 39 years! Whoo hoo! *dances*

The fireworks went off last night after the win. The city of Boston had thousands of people in the streets, and only six arrests for minor disturbances.

The Bruins came out and scored first, then second, then third (Bergeron sliding into the net!) and fourth (empty net goal). They fought hard and they're coming back home to a parade on Saturday, where they will ride the duckboats through the city with that beautiful, gorgeous Cup shining its silver glory.

There is nothing quite like that pure, unalloyed moment in which you know your team has won it all. We've enjoyed 7 championships here in the last 10 years: the Patriots in '01, '02, and '03; the Red Sox in '04 and '07, the Celtics in '08, and now the Bruins. The Bruins won three Game 7s in this playoffs, and were only the third team in history to win a Game 7 ON THE ROAD!

I woke up this morning with a big smile on my face. It's glorious to savor in this championship. Bobby Orr and the Big, Bad Bruins will always be legends in this town, but now there are new legends wearing the black-and-gold. The Bruins wanted to join the 21st century pantheon of winners here in the city, and they did it! They wanted duckboat rides, too. ;)

What a sight to see our 6'9" defenseman lift that Cup over his head, and for Tim Thomas to get the Conn Smythe MVP Trophy and lift the Cup, too.

Weird facts: the last time there was a lunar eclipse was October of 2004, the night the Red Sox won the World Series. Also, the last time a tornado went through Springfield, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 1972. *cue Twilight Zone music*

Every major sports team has won a championship in the last ten years. Never been done before!

This team has HAAAAAHT! (translated from New England accent: heart). ;)

Cue up Queen's "We Are The Champions!!!"

Today is the 40th anniversary of Bobby's Orr's flying-through-the-air goal to win the Stanley Cup! Woot! Two years later, the Boston Bruins would do it again!

Today a statue was dedicated outside the Boston Garden of that iconic moment. Very cool! :)

Bizzy day today! Exhausted!

Yay, "Miracle" is on tonight! It's the movie that tells the tale of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team who beat the Russians on their way to a gold medal.

That team has special significance around here, as most of us are hockey nuts. Unfortunately, our pro team, the Boston Bruins, haven't been successful since hockey's greatest star, Bobby Orr, and the Big, Bad Bruins graced the ice at the old Boston Garden.

Many guys who grew up around here and were local names from the colleges were on that history-making team. Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig are still recognizable names in this land of ice and snow and 20-degree temperatures (today's temp). :)

Still, college hockey is big here, and kids play hockey as peewees or out on the frozen New England ponds.

Back in 1980, the majority of the U.S. amateur hockey players (no pros allowed back then) came from Massachusetts and Minnesota, and I believe that's pretty much the way it is today. Except, unfortunately, amateurs are out and pros are in now. Pity poor Jim Thorpe didn't become an Olympic star generations later. He could have kept his gold medals.

The movie does a good job of telling the tale and capturing the feel of the times. No Internet, no cellphones, no nothin'! So the team wasn't aware of the impact they'd made, at least not right away. This game's significance was pretty big in the Cold War times, with the Russians' reputation of being unbeatable and the Iran hostage crisis still in full swing.

I wonder if a world of instant communication is always a good thing.

Anyway, if you're interested, the movie is on ABC tonight at 8:00. :)