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Sorry if any of you have heard this before, but I thought given tonight's game 7, I'd relate my story of meeting Brian Gionta and why I root for him and respect him as a player. Be prepared for some reading.
11 years ago, the Sabres were on a playoff run to the Stanley Cup Finals. they played Ottawa the first round and upset them, then Boston in round 2. The teams split the first two games in Boston, then Buffalo won the next two at home. I went to game 4 and had center ice tickets right behind the penalty box. The Sabres won 3-0 and Hasek got the shutout, the only Sabres shutout I've ever seen live.
So my friend who went to the game with me was driving to Massachusetts the next day for his sister's graduation. The next game of the series was going to be in Boston 2 days later. My brother was living in Boston at the time. You can see where this is going.
My friend and I made a plan to go to Mass and stay at his sister's, go to graduation the next day, then go to Boston the next day to see game 5, then stay with my brother that night and drive back to Buffalo the next day.
Somehow it all went pretty much according to plan. We got tickets from a scalper outside, put on our Sabres colors, and went in to take our seats. We had seats one row from the top of the arena. As soon as we came out of the tunnel and into the seating area, people started booing us and swearing at us. I'll always remeber a 9 or 10 year old kid who pointed at me and said "you have serious mental problems".
So we find our seats and somehow, we're sitting next to a couple who seem to be the only other Sabre fans in the place. A guy and his girlfriend. The guy was kind of short. He said he was from Rochester, and he played hockey for Boston college. I remember thinking then, wow, this guy's pretty small, much shorter than me, I can't believe he's a division I hockey player.
Well after seeing him play with the Devils and seeing a segment on him during a Sabres/Devils game, I came to realize that the guy I was sitting next to there at the Fleet Center in the nosebleeds was Brian Gionta. Just like I thought when I met him, people have said ever since that he's too small to play hockey. He's proved them wrong at every turn. He's scored 50 goals in this league, and he has his name on the Stanley Cup.
With the Sabres out and him on my second-favorite team, the Habs, it's easy to root for him. But I can tell you I think he's a good guy, a true fan of the game, and an awesome player. I'll root for him as an individual no matter what teams he may play for. Go Gionta!
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