Monday Spark'd My Imagination

Well this is Monday that will go down in history as spectacular. Because of the spectacles that happened, but also because of how fun it was. There were ups and there were downs. Mostly ups. The started like most Mondays, flooded with email and people suddenly dropping things on my plate. It was pretty annoying. The usual basically. But this Monday was going to trend upwards. I had the company Leaf tickets. Four seats in a nice location for viewing the game. Being in the actual building while the greatest team on Earth does their thing. They may not be showing it in the standings over the past, um, decade but there is a magic to them. You might be able to tell that I am a bit of a fan. I had the tickets and I had the gear.

This was my ticket!

This was the gear I chose to adorn myself in to attend the game.

I made sure to start my trek into the smoke in good time. I want to avoid the terrible traffic. As it turns out, when it's not cottage season (April to November) the traffic is more palatable outside of traditional rush hour scenarios. I made great time and got to my cousin's home well in advance to hear of her many travels and see her for the first time in months. I parked but in a bad spot and had to move. In doing so I kissed the bumper of the vehicle behind me ever so gently. I guess the owner must have been sitting staring at her vehicle because she came ripping out to inspect. We mutually agreed it was less than nothing and moved on with our lives. It made me express my hatred for the smoke. I moved away from the fire hydrant, so did she coincidentally, to avoid any prosecution. I then had to go through the trouble of acquiring a temporary parking permit to be allowed to park. This cost me $10 for 24 hours. The city should be swimming in money at that rate. We chatted and visited and then her Asian friend She Uber happened to be in the neighbourhood and picked us up. It was actually just Uber but I gave her a hard time all night about it, much to my delight. We headed to the Entertainment District for pre-game meal.

A quiet downstairs pub on Front Street that wasn't overflowing with one beer wonders.

After the delicious burger, beer and banter we sauntered down to the Air Canada Center. I had all the tickets and our two compatriots weren't there yet so we had to stand out in the cold. This was good for several reasons. One, as we were walking around a door suddenly opened near the gate to the luxury boxes. I almost bumped into the person that came out. It took me a moment to recognize who I was face to face with. It was Connor McDavid! I instinctively nodded in a respectful fashion and he nodded back. It was pretty awesome. He's not a little guy, was able to look me right in the eye. The little one and I turned to each other and befuddley asked if that just happened. That excitement carried us through a thirty minute outdoor wait for the sisters that would be joining us. We got in just after the anthem had wrapped up and missed the opening draw. This was a down. I love singing the anthem inside in a mumbling sort of way. The game started off quick. The Leafs were debuting a young goalie after being disillusioned with Jonathan Bernier. They started Garret Sparks of Guelph Storm fame. The youngster was looking to get his foot in the door. He was sharp in the first when he had to be. Not long after we had settled in and before the first beer the Leafs notched a PP goal off the stick of "Uncle" Leo Komarov. The four dudes, who we'd learn later were from Guelph, in for the game, exploded out of their seats the same way I did. We acknowledged this shared exuberance with a round of high fives and noticed that there were familiar faces on the big screen, our own! So barely into the first and I've met McDavid basically and been on the big screen. I could have gone home at that point and put the game in the books as one of the best I'd been to. I stayed though, and after one the Leafs were badly out shot but leading by one.

An entertaining match of "football" erupted in between periods. The collisions were epic. They must have hurt their legs at some point.

The second period starts with the Leafs coming to us this time.

The second period was fairly uneventful. The Leafs carried most of the play as they came toward us which made it entertaining. The Oilers couldn't get much going. One and done every entry it seemed. They did hit the post twice though but Sparks stood tall and battled through. The team seemed to rally around his scrappy play and the defense tightened up and the overall play started to surge off the boost. The momentum began to swing to the Leafs but there was a massive save in the dying second that seemed to cement things. The Leafs sealed it up with an early goal in the third that was a tip in from Kadri, his second goal of the year. It was reviewed but the call on the ice held fast and the Oilers could only hope to ruin the debut of Sparks. This would not be the case however. The Leafs added an empty netter from the "Uncle" and the Oilers didn't really get a sniff in the dying seconds. Poor Natasha's team didn't pull off the spoiler role. The crowd who had been mostly quiet suddenly got loud as the horn went. The bottom bowl was emptying quickly as the seconds ticked off but the real fans in the upper bowl stood fast. I tried to capture that.

Real fans sit in the upper bowl. Corporate stooges leave early.

A blurry image of "Uncle" Leo Komarov receiving the love of his adoring fans after being named third star of the game.

The really touching moment for the Leafs was when they announced the three stars of the game. Everyone in the building knew who number one would be. Leo Komarov was named third star and got a huge cheer. The crowd kept it going for JVR who was named second star. Then everyone was on their feet screaming for Sparks and he was rewarded with the first star. He went for a skate as evidenced in the loud video below. I didn't manage to get the interview, mostly because I was not expecting it. During which he was informed that he was the only goalie in the history of the Leafs franchise to post a shutout during their NHL debut. He paused, bowed his head and when he lifted it he had tears streaming down his face. Overcome with emotion he had to cut the interview short. This sent the fans into a frenzy. A hero was born in that moment.

We stayed until it was all said and done. Then we went over to Jack Astors on Front for a snack. The girls decided to tie one on but ol' Tugboat had to head home. I hung around until they went back to the apartment then headed back for the Harbour. It was two bells when I was docked and fit for R&R. Tuesday was a tired day. But it was so worth it!