Victory

The Cup was always a thing of the past to me. The last time I cared about the quest for it was after Ray Bourque's bitter-sweet trade to Colorado in 2001. My dad was excited. I was excited too. The only thing that prevented full-out celebration was the jersey- a giant A where a giant B once was.

I still watched, halfheartedly so. The Sox win defined a new era, the Patriots started a new love of football, and even the Celtics got to have their say too. But I still thought of the Bruins. I thought of the Bobby Orr t-shirts that started to appear in Newbury Comic stores. I thought of the renaming of that area off Causeway back to the Gahhhden. When was it gonna be the B's turn? Has to happen sometime.

'09 looked good. '10 looked even better. '11 had to be the year.

And so it is. Tim Thomas giving a performance I'm going to tell my kids about. The sheer joy exhibited by Chara and Recchi. The disbelief on Seugin's face. The fireworks shot outside my friend's apartment window. Whether you're a hockey fan or not, this was a night for Boston. This was a night for us all.