1985-Onward
Over the years and up until very recently, people have repeatedly asked me "why are (or were - but usually it's 'are') you such a Boston Bruins fan" - meaning, before they won the Stanley Cup in June of 2011...!
That is not the right or appropriate question to ask, really.
The right question to ask is, rather, what motivates me to take a position in regards to this or to that - for it can indeed apply for any imaginable thing there is out there!
And the answer to that is simple - for I loathe injustice, in any form it takes.
What has that got to do with anything, you now ask?
It has everything to do with everything, for me.
I choose a stance, to make an enlightened decision, take a position based upon what I have observed - and when I have determined that a certain party has suffered an injustice, that party can bet whatever it wants on having my undying support. For God Did not want such injustices to occur - on any level of society, at any time! Our God is a Just God - and I am His believer, devout Christian that I am, and so I shall denounce every injustice and ungodly thing that I will ever witness! And none of it will I ever condone, simply to be like my surroundings, simply to blend in or just to jump on any bandwagon there can be! Political correctness does not appeal to me either - for it reeks of hypocrisy and can so easily pave the way to yet more injustices down the road - but that is another story, for another blog... again.
To get back to the Boston Bruins, my partisanship truly began circa 1985 when I noticed how much bad luck they repeatedly experienced, time and again, opposite the same exact adversary usually. Murphy's Law was tardy in intervening and Lady Luck was being her usual bitch as well, and I didn't find that to be right one bit. It wasn't just that either, of course: the team had a great ethic, worked and fought hard, never gave up - and yet, they were so many times rewarded with nothing more than disappointment and heartbreak. Those were hard-luck heroes that I could admire: a blue-collar team that deserved every last bit of success that they had, because they had earned it the hard way. Another reason to root for them so early on - years before rookies like Tyler and Brad showed up at training camp - was indeed the many injustices committed against them by both opponents in the rink as by the officials themselves with so many bad calls against the team that proved so very costly too, depriving them of several championships. Aye, the referees supposedly enforcing the rules, within this very same rink, supposedly making things right: they were making things so wrong... It happened with frightening regularity and it was always the nicest guy on the Bruins bench that was taking the brunt of it, too. Christians like me always root for the underdog - don't you know that, also? But in hockey, there is no turning the other cheek...
Here is one example of what I'm talking about - it took place in 1996 in a game pinning the Boston Bruins against the defunct Hartford Whalers:
The fact that this team from Hartford no longer exists is not enough to just "forgive and forget" - see? Not only because the team merely relocated and became the Carolina Hurricanes, all the while remaining a bitter foe for the Bruins - but the fact is that this sort of unnecessary roughness continues to happen, ad nauseam, every single day in the NHL today.
And oftentimes it just so happens that it is a Boston Bruin finesse player that winds up hurt: both Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron got severe concussions and the guys who hit them so cowardly were never punished as befit the crime. Nathan Horton was also given a concussion at the most crucial of times: however, that time, it had the opposite effect on the fortunes of the team - for once.
Bad judgement from the refs: that has to be expected. No matter what game it might be, the "Big Bad Bruins" reputation will precede them and they will be getting more penalties than the other guys, no matter who the other guys are... I sincerely believed that the NHL did not want the Bruins to win anything for the longest time: they had certainly stated that they did not want the All-Star Game to ever come back to Boston until they'd tear down the old, venerable Boston Garden and build themselves a new facility. Why would it be so far-fetched to believe that they wanted the Bruins to disappear early on in the playoffs every single year, from 1984 to 1994, because they were still operating from the confines of that old archaic building? There were only a few glitches over the years with that: the Bruins were too good to be kept back for so long: they reached the Finals in 1988 and 1990, were the best team in the league in 1990 in fact, went deep in the playoffs again in 1992, 1994 and 1995. As a matter of fact, the Bruins were royally screwed of several championships in those very same years, yet again, as they had been in the 60s, 70s and early 80s before I became a fanatic "actively" shall we say...
And the refs started screwing the Bruins over again in 1999 and onwards... I guess this time it was just the league's beef against Jacobs, the Bruins' team owner...
It took a general manager everyone respected in that damn league -Peter Chiarelli- and a guy the entire damnable NHL could only admit that they "owed him one" -Cam Neely- as team president for the league to allow the Boston Bruins to finally achieve their long-snuffled and outright denied potential...
You may think this is a far-fetched take on what happened there, but hey - reality is often stranger than fiction, don't you know?
All this is to say really only one thing and it is this: perish the thought that I would be one of those "fair weather fans" that jumped on the bandwagon when the Boston Bruins finally claimed another championship after X number of years...
Me? I am a die-hard Boston Bruins fan: I have lived the life of the Bruins, through triumphs, tragedies and trials. I should have had my name engraved on the cup, too...
I am sure many fans feel the exact same way as I do about that name-engraved bit, too...!
Sempre Por O Melhor... Thomas Menino deve istar contente, até que em fim! +++
On December 3rd, 1987, former Boston Bruins star forward Phil Esposito had a special retirement day celebration back in the venerable old Boston Garden (aye, the original one!)
Nowadays, NESN is evoking any and all such "great moments in Boston sports" in a futile effort to determine which one stands out the most...
On some occasion, they had video evidence to back up the nomination, as it is with this great (or rather touching and well-staged; not to mention classy, from an organisational point of view) unforgettable moment - and here is that evidence, thanks to YouTube - again:
Am I aging myself too much by stating that I remember seeing this LIVE on cable TV back then? (And how did I see it, I wonder? Probably it was a Boston-Montreal game again? That would explain why it would have been broadcast in my area! Otherwise, even though Bruins captain Ray Bourque originally hailed from the Montreal area, they didn't give a damn about any Bruins ceremonial presentations in that area! Unless I saw it all in some highlight reel somewhere? That is quite possible too - although the ENTIRE ceremony? (Yeah - even the bits with Phil's bimbo wife by his side - I remember it all!) Anyhow - no matter where and how I saw it all originally - the video above captures the entire thing for us ALL to see! And remember fondly...
I'm just too lazy to track down the information about who the Boston Bruins were scheduled to play and did play back on that cold December day back in 1987!
Sue me, willya?
Now, NESN presents these "greatest moments" in a playoff format reminiscent of the March Madness tournament too - forcing fans to choose each round...! That is, quite simply put, pure torture for the fanatic - but that is beside the point right now!
And so it was retirement day...
Well, a "retirement day" it was, yes, but for Phil's number 7, not for Phil himself! He had been out of the loop for a while already back in 1987 - although he remained involved in the world of hockey in some capacity (but that wouldn't last.)
It was nice to see Phil surrounded by some of his old teammates, several Boston Bruins officials (such as the perennial Harry Sinden) and applauded by all the fans and the Boston Bruins players of the day, several of whom even I, an assiduous fan of the team, cannot recognize or readily recall at all...!
Tis a golden moment in the midst of an overall very successful time for the Boston Bruins as the team made the playoffs every single year (a record they own exclusively now - something like 30 straight years qualifying for the playoffs; it will never be equalled!) and they counted in their line-up, aside from team captain Ray Bourque, two future front office figures and vital cogs in the championship-seeking wheel back then: Don Sweeney and Cam "The Man" Neely! Neely was, in effect, the heir apparent to Esposito - but Bourque wore Espo's old number 7... Bourque was the second coming of Bobby Orr - however it was another defenseman that would successfully lead the Boston Bruins back to Cup glory, one handpicked by Neely himself: Zdeno Chara, of course, in these past playoffs that completed the 2010-2011 season. But we are digressing right now...
Back to Espo's moment with Bourque and the Bruins...
The young Ray Bourque acted so nobly and unselfishly in surrendering his number and jersey back to the veteran who wore it before him - he had always acted as "team first" exemplary athlete and that was why he had been given the "C" (first as a co-captain with veteran Rick Middleton and then by himself as the role-model and blueprint for all Bruins players to come!)
Phil Esposito recognized the gesture from "one of the greatest players today" - that was the best accolade that he could give to the Bruins player who comes ahead of him and maybe even ahead of Neely himself and second only to Orr as "greatest Boston Bruins player EVER". Espo also recognized the 1970s fans, the "love story" between them and the team that he had been a part of, a team led by Bobby Orr... As you can hear him say in the video, he had been "looking forward to this for a long time".
Phil Esposito, alas, ruined everything by his attitude afterwards - not giving a flying fig about Boston's championship runs in subsequent years (the young man who so unselfishly gave him the jersey off his back there, Ray Bourque, captained two teams all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals; the very next year after that touching moment and in 1990. The team could have gone all the way in 1991, 1992 and especially 1993 too. Each time, Phil acted as he had no ties whatsoever, not even on an emotional front, with the team that made him famous. Heck, the team that made him him a legend. (Yes indeed - and if you all think it should be team Canada in the 1972 series versus Russia, well, think again! In that series, all Phil proved was that he had a temper...) And, to see that, is just plain sad.)
Speaking of a temper, Esposito's is displayed in the very next video - ironically it comes on right after the retirement of the jersey and number video, by association on YouTube. I swear, sometimes, YouTube seems to be downright malicious in the associations that they make when it comes to their "related videos" - but that is another story! Most ironic of all, though, is the fact that Esposito's temper is displayed here while he was a New York Ranger recently traded away from the Boston Bruins in the seventies and he exhibits no love lost for his old team already - which is the professional thing to do, of course, in the wild wild mercenerial world of hockey and all... But, still. Also of note: in his Rangers days, Espo wore a familiar number that he would legate to Ray Bourque by sheer circumstantial happening: the number 77.
Oddly enough, as you saw, this video leads to that one: a new Espo on the block taking on another contemporary of his with a familiar name that evokes another era entirely, that of the camaraderie amongst Big Bad Bruins: the Cup champions of the early 1970s! It only comes to reaffirm that Phil is no longer pals with anybody in Boston - even through namesakes who might be no relation at all! Phil couldn't care less about his old teammates now: Wayne Cashman, Ken Hodge, Derek Sanderson
Even Bobby Orr, whom he addresses as "the greatest player to ever play the game" at the retirement of his jersey and number back in December of 1987...
Phil wasn't at any of the games in the latest championship glory that befell his old team, from May to June 2011. Bobby Orr was. Several others were. But not Esposito. He was quoted once again as not caring one bit about it... His exact quote was: "I could care less about Boston" according to some sources, which, alas, displays a lack of education as well as the attitude problems that were never solved since the seventies and, most likely, his trade (and now, due to old age and all, those will never be solved, most assuredly.)
Phil Esposito was a more prolific scorer than Terry O'Reilly was - but the latter is the better Bruin. (The former, as good as he was, couldn't beat goalies such as Dreary Dryden when it counted the most. O'Reilly beat'em all up - and then he led the Bruins on several triumphs over the likes of Rampant Roy, as a coach in the 80s! Espo's track record as a GM and coach over the same span of time, in NY and Tampa, is quite dismal in comparison.)
Phil Esposito may have had a higher profile Wayne Cashman, Johnny Bucyk, Ken Hodge and the rest of the 1970s Bruins - and he may have had a cleaner image (back in the seventies especially) than Derek Sanderson - but all of these former Boston Bruins are greater than he is for they remain in the club's entourage, participate in the Bruins' Alumni activities that benefit their community, have been associated with the organisation in their post-player careers off-and-on for all these years and remain, hence, a part of the Bruins family.
Phil, meanwhile, is much like the prodigal son that is lost.
And, in his case, the prodigal son will never return.
It's his loss.
Still, his passage through Boston contributed to two Stanley Cup championships and several excellent seasons in which the Bruins dominated the entire NHL. When his attitude started ruining everything -and Bobby Orr's knees began giving him trouble- Espo was traded for two key components of the Bruins team that competed for the Cup in the late 70s: Jean Ratelle and Brad Park. While Espo sulked in New York and the Rangers sucked, the Bruins were still top contenders without Esposito in their line-up. Alas, they were also without Orr at that point - which accounts for their inability to convert on those championship opportunities circa 1979.
While the Boston Bruins celebrated the well-deserved 2011 Stanley Cup championship, Esposito chose not to participate in the celebrations with his former team and the extended Bruins family.
Again, it's his loss.
In comparison, former Bruins forward Normand Léveillé drove al the way from Montréal to celebrate with this extended family - despite his handicap and despite the fact that he played so few games as a Boston Bruin before illness stopped his career short in such a cruel way.
Phil can rot in Florida now - or wherever he may be! His lousy attitude and apparent jealousy of the success of his former organisation (something he could never emulate in his tenure as GM anywhere) makes him obsolete now, despite his achievements and contributions to Boston's success in the past.
I am sure his brother Tony is not like that with Chicago - and the classless Blackhawks organisation is the one that deserves such treatment, not the Bruins!
But that is another story - for another blog!
Here, we must enjoy the beautiful moments of the past - even if they are tainted with some bittersweet memories and afterthoughts...!
And so - despite everything, Phil - we still have this beautiful moment back in December of 1987, between you and Ray and the entire Boston Bruins universe!
Whatever you say or do now and henceforth will never affect nor change that!
Ray Bourque's gesture of pure team spirit, reeking of that as it did of genuine generosity and respect for the team's history, its past and his predecessors, actually inspires me once in a while, every now and then, almost with clockwork regularity...
My American relatives were the beneficiaries most recently, as it was so very befitting and all, given that they reside in the Boston area... My luminous presentation that re-enacted (with a twist - a luminous twist, of course!) the Ray-Phil moment but added several layers to it was something else - and it was immortalized on video, too, for posterity! It can be viewed on the small chunk of Vimeo that belongs to me! My colleagues, circle of friends and acquaintances are the other beneficiaries - as they hold the honour of residing in the same township that was once home to Ray Bourque: Ville Saint-Laurent...! A veritable shrine is devoted to him there, in his old stomping grounds, inside the arena that bears his name, so anyone will get where my inspiration came from when I perform the same act there...! It is truly the late 1980s team, with the newly-crowned number 77 captain of the team, Ray Bourque, that I am so fond of here: Esposito, I remembered faintly from the Stanley Cup years - and then again, I liked Derek Sanderson and Bobby Orr much more than Phil! I will always view the late 1980s/early 1990s Boston Bruins team as a team of destiny that saw its destiny go unfulfilled; an uncrowned champion that I will always view as such, although official records say otherwise... That gesture alone, on the part of Ray Bourque, giving the shirt off his back and relinquishing the number he had worn since his debut in the pros, to me it is evidence that there was a champion, who belonged to championship-caliber organisation that was simply waiting to be confirmed as such. A champion, hence, who gave us a bright example (dare I say a luminous example?) of humility, respect and dedication to his cause... Saudades inhabitate us always - and shape our actions, each and every day!
With Cam The Man Neely in their line-up, they sure were the best!
And they should have won it ALL - in 1993.
Instead, 1993 was one of the worst years of my life - as well as in Bruins post-season history...
And it would be Neely's swan song too... :(
Life is not fair sometimes...
Further evidence of that is the fact that, for their milestone 75th anniversary, the Bruins had perennial choker Joe Thornton as their "big star"...
Big Bird is more like it...
Actually, no - I am being unfair here. :(
Big Bird had more leadership and managed to gather up the denizens on Sesame Street to move forward and make things happen with far greater aplomb than "Jolly Joe" there ever did!
The Boston Bruins have never been the same since Cam 'The Man' Neely's abrupt and premature departure from the game. With him in their line-up, the Bruins were an elite team capable of toppling anyone on any given night!
***
With Neely, the B's became a perennial contender again. Without him, they turned into mere pretenders. :( It certainly wasn't chumps like Rolston, Thornton, Allison, Guerin, Anson Carter, Knuble, even Sergei Samsonov or (sic) Martin Lapointe (!!!) that were going to replace THE MAN...! (And if you ask me, the only ones who came the closest to accomplish the feat were John Carter, Steve Leach, Vladimir Ruzicka and Glen Murray - none of which could keep it up in a sustained way like Neely, though; and none remained with the organisation in another capacity after their careers as players were over...) At least Cam Neely remains a Bruins ambassador - and the eventual Team President... I guess that the organization hopes that, with him around, some of his grit and passion will rub off on the new Bruins players - namely young guys like Patrice Bergeron David Krejci and Phil Kessel...
Let's hope it works!
The magical Stanley Cup runs of 1988 and 1990 will never return though - for those -as well as the 1993 cup and, in fact, 1990-1995 cups! - that should have belonged to the Boston Bruins with a healthy Neely leading the way! He was the archetypical true power forward and the most natural goal scorer ever - in my book. Neely's heroics on the ice are over now. But his heroics off the ice continue - click here to know more...
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Born in the Age of Aquarius, destined to seek out truths in many an art form, trained as a historian and a journalist but truly a prose-lover... Luciano is out to dispel any clichés and reinvent them all both to the tune of a little something called the truth as also to his own image - and being old-fashioned, he does not mind that distinction one infinitesimal tiny bit at all...! "There are two ways to spread the light; be the candle... or the mirror that reflects It." I have chosen to be the latter... okay? ~*~
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