People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.
That quote was sent to me randomly the day after I did my blog piece on my hockey passion waning. If I could describe what exactly was going on in my head, my heart and my soul…that was it.
Yesterday, the word “passion” kept showing up left and right throughout my day. Why? Because it was the word that describes me right now…as far as, “Where is my passion for the game?”
News finally broke yesterday that Michael Nylander has officially sailed the ocean blue and packed his snow gear for Russia. Only one legend now remains.
But I will say this for last night’s Devils vs. Ducks game…the commemoration of the 2003 Stanley Cup Championship couldn’t have come at a better time. I couldn’t help but get goosebumps just watching the highlights from the Devils quest for the Stanley Cup in 2003.
It made me think that a Cup just might be what it really takes to ignite that passion once again. Perhaps I’m still feeling the remainders of that shocking disappointment from last season’s playoffs…we’re talking about the last 80 seconds of ice time for the Devils last season.
Just a reality you want to forget permanently.
This is the moment where I ask if I believe this team will win the Cup. I usually never say anything about the Cup due to superstitions, but if the team I saw on the ice last night is the complete or close to the complete team that Lemaire has envisioned…then I’m ready for this team to take it all.
If there was an injured player on that team…you wouldn’t have known based on how they have adapted without key players. That’s the super-team I expected to see from Lemaire. That’s the team I see on the ice now.
Here’s The Write-Up From Wednesday Night’s Win Over the Ducks
I have always said that I’d take a team that would lose in the beginning just so they can fix what’s wrong and create a new team for a new season rather than a team that seems to have it together at the start and then fall apart halfway through the season…struggling to win so they can make it into the playoffs. [Funny how I think of the Rangers as I write that.]
Now, to finish off this whole ‘passion’ hockey thing for the moment…
This morning, Carrie Underwood’s song, “Whenever You Remember” was blaring through my headphones. I want every hockey player out there to think of this song as the song fans would like you to think of when you remember your NHL career:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmKqc67m-ik]When you look back on times we had
I hope you smile
And know that through the good and through the bad
I was on your side when nobody could hold us down
We claimed the brightest star
And we, we came so far
And no they won’t forget
Whenever you remember times gone by
Remember how we held our heads so high
When all this world was there for us
And we believe that we could touch the sky
Whenever you remember, I’ll be there
Remember how we reached that dream together
Whenever you remember
When you think back on all we’ve done
I hope you’re proud
When you look back and see how far we’ve come
It was our time to shine
And nobody could hold us down
They thought they’d see us fall
But we, we stood so tall
And no we won’t forget
Whenever you remember times gone by
Remember how we held our heads so high
When all this world was there for us
And we believe that we could touch the sky
Whenever you remember, I’ll be there
Remember how we reached that dream together
Whenever you remember
We claimed the brightest star
And we, we came so far
And know that we showed them all
And no they won’t forget
Whenever you remember times gone by
Remember how we held our heads so high
When all this world was there for us
And we believe that we could touch the sky
Whenever you remember, I’ll be there
Remember how we reached that dream together
Whenever you remember
Whenever you remember
