Hockey Please?

This weekend was great. Truly it was. Yesterday I did nothing but sit in my suite with my roommates and watch football. Three games in a row, only getting up to eat, pee, or check fantasy scores. We had waited about six months for the kickoff of NFL week 1. And it was well worth the wait.

But something was missing in all the fun that yesterday brought. The void that has brought me and millions of others endless months of sorrow and forced us to patiently wait. It taunts us as every few days there will be a sliver of news that suggests that it's almost here. But it lies. It's still months away and theres nothing you can do about it. You see pictures and articles of what the champions are doing with individual days with the Stanley Cup and you think back to what could have been.

Hockey is a necessity. The lockout of 2005 was by far the worst year of my life. I recall many great things occuring that year but nevertheless, I was unhappy. Everyone who knew me could feel it when they were in my presence. The summer leading up to the inevitable I spent hours surfing any hockey related website I could find, hoping that somewhere I would find some news that there would be hockey this year. Any news that gave me some hope.

I got all A's that year for the first time. My only time ever. Because there was nothing else to hold on to.

Summer is my least favorite season for one reason and one reason only. Do I even have to say it? But now the days are getting shorter, the air is becoming crisp, schools are back in session. All signs point to start of training camp. A new schedule, a clean slate. Newly signed young guns anxious to make a name for themselves (Bouchard, Varlamov, Alzner, etc.). Returning veterans looking for one more shot at glory (Fedorov). And an MVP looking to solidify his place in history forever.

They say the cup changes everything. But it all starts with training camp. It's almost here people. Rookie camp opens in six days. Training camp starts on the 19th. I'm getting chills just thinking about Oct 10.