Daily Archives: October 3, 2012

If you know me, you’ll eventually learn that I’m passionate, dedicated, and loyal to a fault.  Bruce Springsteen, the Florida Panthers, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Baltimore Orioles, coffee, and Molson Canadian all have a very special place in my heart.  Get on the wrong side of that, and it’s over.  I can be patient, as well as impatient, but when it comes to the love of my sports teams, they can always count on my support.  On the other side of that coin, I’m not afraid to be critical of them either, but it doesn’t mean that I have given up on them.

My loyalty to two teams has finally paid off after a combined 26 years of futility.  When I moved to South Florida in 1993, supporting the Florida Panthers was an easy decision for my since I loved hockey so much.  Plus they played in a different conference than the Chicago Blackhawks, so I rarely had to make a decision on who to root for.  Ironic that the Panthers first game ever was against the Hawks, and we all know that game ended up in a 4-4 tie.  We also know the playoff drought for the Panthers that lasted 11 seasons was finally laid to rest this year, as the Panthers not only qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2000, but they won their first ever division crown.  Years of frustration had finally been laid to rest as the Panthers surprised everyone by taking the New Jersey Devils to seven games, finally losing in double overtime, when most people had left the Panthers for dead.

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