tbl-Joining The Charge: Introducing Myself To Bolts Fans

Summary

Allow myself to introduce… myself. Yeah, I know – I just used a 20-year-old Austin Powers reference on a hockey blog. If you’re walking into a new locker room, you might as well do it with a little swagger and some self awareness. I’ve been a diehard hockey fan since I was a kid in western Pennsylvania. I watched Mario Lemieux come back from the dead twice. I watched Jaromir Jagr break my teenage heart by taking his talents to Washington. That heartbreak eventually turned into Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby bringing the Penguins back to glory. The Igloo felt like church when I was a kid. The Penguins weren’t just a team. They were my passion, even when they were losing 50 games per season. I always had a soft spot for the Lightning, too. As a kid it was Darren Puppa in No. 93. Then it was Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis: opposite builds, same ability to take over a game, and they complemented each other perfectly. They were easy to root for. I was in Sarasota in 2004 when Tampa Bay won it all. My grandpa – the man I’m named after – was bouncing between Sarasota Memorial and Tampa General, and I flew down that June to be closer to him. We watched the game from his hospital room. I’ll never forget it with the Lightning as the protagonist. That summer he sold his house in Pennsylvania, and one by one my family started moving here to be near him. Life happened again in 2011. My grandpa got terminally sick, so I packed up everything I owned and moved to Tampa at 22. This place instantly felt more like home than Pennsylvania ever did. I was still a Penguins fan first then, but the seed from 2004 was already growing. It didn’t come easy. I hated the Lightning after they beat Pittsburgh in 2011. The Pens jumped out to a 3-1 series lead, then lost the last three games and got outscored 13-4 in the process. Deep down, I was still rooting for Tampa to win it all. The real shift came in 2015, when the Lightning went to the Stanley Cup Final against Chicago. The Hawks won, of course, but I saw firsthand how well this franchise was run on and off the ice with Mr. Vinik as owner. I wanted in. Then the tickets happened. I became a season ticket holder in 2017-18. The Penguins had just won back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017, and I turned my back on them. That’s when it stopped being casual. That’s when Amalie became my new church. Tampa went to the Eastern Conference Final that spring, and I’ve never been more down than after the Bolts got shut out in Games 6 and 7. I had to watch the Capitals win it all when the Lightning had every chance at glory. I can blame KucHEROv as the culprit for my abandoning Pittsburgh. The vision. The passes that shouldn’t be possible. The way he sees the ice two plays ahead. He somehow continues to get better every year. At some point it stopped being “I root for Tampa, too” and started being “this is the team.” The hero in the name fits. It wasn’t only Kuch. I’ve loved goalies since I was a kid. I’m no scout, but I knew Andrei Vasilevskiy was going to be special. The Lightning already had Stamkos and Hedman. Add in Kucherov and Vasy, and it felt like this team was destined for something big. I wanted to be part of it. I was in the building for the 2021 Cup against Montreal. Ross Colton’s goal. Vasilevskiy slamming the door for the fourth time in four series. The place going crazy after a year of empty arenas and pandemic hockey. My ears rang for days after every game that run. Watching them win it in 2021 will forever be one of my most cherished memories. I was there again in 2022 when Colorado ended the three-peat. Same building. Same people. Different feeling. Heartbreak hits different when you’ve been in the seats for the highs. You still clap. You still feel proud of the run. Winning the year before made it a little easier. The playoffs have been a bummer every year since then, but you better believe I’ll be there rooting for them until the clock hits zero. I still believe this team has what it takes to bring the Cup to it’s rightful home in Tampa Bay. That’s how a western PA kid ended up with season tickets in Tampa, rooting for the boys in blue, and writing here. I’m excited to join Raw Charge. I had the honor of being around these parts while John Fontana was the boss. He’s a big reason I’m a Lightning fan. I lived in the game threads and read every piece he wrote. He put in the work to get this off the ground, and I’m honored to contribute to the site he helped build (along with all the other contributors). This place has always felt like it was written by people who sit in the seats and care about the same things the rest of us do. I’ll bring the fan view, the goalie nerd-outs, the occasional old school take, and whatever else the season throws at us. Thanks for letting me join the Charge. Go Bolts!