Tampa Bay Lightning: Stanley Cup Champions -- Five Years Later

by John Fontana on Jun 7, 2009 5:03 PM EDT in The Franchise Comment 6 comments

This still gives me chills:

Finally_medium

I do not lament the fact it's been five years since the Tampa Bay Lightning were named Stanley Cup Champions. I revel in the memories from that season.

You see, once the team finished hoisting the Championship banner on October 5th, 2005 -- "a year in the making" I joked at the time as the NHL resumed from it's work stoppage, I knew it was all work ahead. That's pro-sports for you.

Things change in sports, that's just how it goes. From the rafters to the cellar in a matter of years... It's not like that hadn't happened before. Yes, things change, but the memories we take from the events that we see and experience... Those last forever.

Revel in it. It happened. That was us. And it can happen again.

Just when that might be remains to be seen...

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Game 6 in Cgy

I was at that game. Incredible series.

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by WpgMikos on Jun 8, 2009 12:40 AM EDT reply actions

I have a friend here on SB Nation....

…who attended game Six AND game Seven. Flew down from Calgary and stayed with me. His story about pulling that off is epic, and he had it posted for a time on Calgarypuck.com but I believe it got lost in a site upgrade.

But I was there for game seven… And yeah, it was a great series. What really bugs me is coming across Lightning fans now that say they “hate” the Flames. Why? What did the Flames do wrong? We played a great series.

The Raw Charge -- the Tampa Bay Lightning weblog at SB Nation.

by John Fontana on Jun 8, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

I always say that all I want for any of the teams I support is just one championship. Should I be greedier? I don’t think so because so many things go into winning one. But if you get that one, you can basically die satisfied knowing that for one season, yes, you did it. Enjoy it.

by Mike Chen on Jun 8, 2009 1:24 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

That's how it should be

But the level of excellence expected of a team rises after a championship. I saw it happen with the Buccaneers and then the Lightning… Even competitiveness wasn’t enough for some people, they wanted it all again, and again, and again. Part of it’s greed, part of it’s expectations that were met in other cities (after all, we are a transplant-driven region) and part of it is just wanting the best from franchises that fans are endeared to.

But I’ll be happy with my Cup, and my Lombardi Trophy in 2003. I suffered through the depths for each team and experienced events I was told would never happen, just 5 (Lightning) and 8 (Bucs) years earlier.

The Raw Charge -- the Tampa Bay Lightning weblog at SB Nation.

by John Fontana on Jun 8, 2009 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions

and that is the beauty. They can never be taken away. However as you indicate it always creates a level of expectation.

For more hockey news; www.illegalcurve.com

by WpgMikos on Jun 8, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

No doubt, that’s what it is (or should be) about. I was pulling for the Bolts partly for that reason — everybody should have that feeling once — and partly because I simply liked how they played.

But regardless of who would win, I really enjoyed that series. Maybe because the lockout followed, I still have a lot of flash memories of various moments between Games 1-7.

Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.

by Dominik on Jun 8, 2009 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions