The Carolina Hurricanes brought the oldest and greatest trophy in sports to the unlikeliest of locations. North Carolina, known for its college basketball and recently thrust into the national pro sports spotlight with the Panthers’ 2003 Super Bowl appearance, captured its first major league sports championship, and for at least a short time this area was hockey country. I became a hockey fan in the mid-90’s, and never dreamed of seeing the Stanley Cup won in person. It was one of those things that I almost didn’t connect with a real life event. I certainly didn’t even think to imagine that I would watch a NHL team in Raleigh capture the Cup. Nonetheless, even though I couldn’t really afford it, the second tickets went on sale for the Final, I was able to grab one for Game 7. Just in case. So on June 19, 2006, in section 329 of the RBC Center, Justin Williams scoring an empty net goal with 61 seconds remaining became the pinnacle of a (very short) lifetime as a sports fan.

Last year’s playoff run was an unbelievable experience. The near comeback in game 2 against Montreal was one of the greatest and yet most disappointing things I have ever seen in person, and Eric Staal’s overtime goal in game 3 avoided what likely would have been a first round exit (and I somehow found myself hugging the television set in our apartment). Then it was Staal again teaching a number of fans why you don’t leave a game until it is over when he scored with 3 seconds left against New Jersey to tie the game after the Devils had taken the lead with just 20 seconds remaining. In the Sabres the franchise saw its first ever game 7, and the city of Raleigh learned to hate Buffalo with a deep passion. Finally, in dramatic fashion, the team “rose from the hockey morgue” (to quote Chuck Kaiton) to win the title in game 7 in what some would say was the greatest Stanley Cup Final ever.

Regardless of what your opinions are on the sport of hockey, the Hurricanes’ championship was an important moment for Raleigh and the state. An area defined by college athletics now has a professional title to its name, and for a brief time bitter college rivals for united for one goal. In less than 10 years there was a transition from a dirt field beside Carter-Finley and the “green wave” of empty seats in Greensboro to 19,000 of the loudest fans in the NHL standing for an entire game and the Stanley Cup riding down Hillsborough Street.

So, for those of us who were fans since the beginning, and those who came on board along the way, even though this year was an incredible disappointment, we can at least take this one day to celebrate a huge accomplishment.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MzEwp-BFBe4 - My Hurricanes slideshow from last season
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fzaVX4Fo6Ag - LOLConklin
http://youtube.com/watch?v=U2IpNHp0zB0 - Game 7 Goals
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ori1G0XbYzk - Canes/Oilers Montage
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0MbFJ3EFqP0 - CBC Playoff Montage
http://youtube.com/watch?v=87A2g1GPmOw - 05-06 Season Compilation

http://www.jonathanhawkins.net/stanleycup.php - Jonathan Goes to the Stanley Cup Final