This was submitted as my contest entry for ScarletCaps.com to win a Jersey Off Their Backs, Jersey!!
I knew from a young age that hockey was my sport of choice. Being a resident Washingtonian for my entire life, I also knew from a young age that my team was and would always be the Washington Capitals.
It started when I was 5 or 6 years old in the late 80's and I can remember watching Caps games (when they were on) on a very old black and white television with my Dad; 12 inches of high definition bliss with the do it yourself turn knobs with 9 channels..good times. I was watching team legends such as Langway, Laughlin, Ciccarelli, and Gould, Hunter, Beaupre and Gonchar..and I didn't even know it at the time.
Needless to say, when I was 7, and the day came that my Dad said we were going to a live hockey game in our beloved Capital Centre, I was over the moon. (And just so we're clear, I have nothin' against you Verizon Center, but to me, "home" will forever reside in Largo, MD!) When we arrived, all I could remember thinking was the building looked like an enormous Pringle chip with that dipped roof. I also remember being completely stoked because we were playing a team that called themselves the "Penguins", and hey, I liked Penguins. But even then I knew that any team that named themselves after an arctic bird that wasn't known to have much of a tough disposition, we were sure to beat. (Good old innocent, child ignorance...or maybe it was my Dad rubbing off on me. I'm inclined to think the latter.) Looking back at some of the ticket stubs I still have from those days when I was a Fan in Training, they all say "vs. Pittsburgh Penguins". Because even then, when we weren't the most financially stable family out there, my Dad understood that a rivalry like those of the Pittsburgh persuasion was always worth the price of admission for good hockey.
It was at that first live game the cemented my love for hockey, and my Caps. I remember jumping up with the rest of the crowd when we scored goals and slamming out high fives to complete strangers. I got to scream as loud as I wanted without getting in trouble, and I got the coolest button ever that had a spinning dial that let me display just how much fun I was having. It still comes with me to games, too. Upon leaving that first game, I barrated my Dad about when we got to come back. Sadly, it wouldn't be until 1992.
But no matter how our team is faring, and while we may have fans that come and go with how close or far away we get to the Stanley Cup, there will always be that base of supporters who won't ever leave. There will always be those base supporters that will cheer wildly for every goal that lights the red lamp, and will let the referee's have it when they make a bad call...and sometimes when they make a good one. But it's a great atmosphere right now, and I hope it stays that way for a very long time.
I am proud to call myself a Capitals fan, and this fan couldn't be happier at the notion that 2010 could be our Stanley Cup inauguration. GO CAPS!
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