MONTREAL BRUINS

I started watching hockey when I was about eight years old.  Baseball came earlier because by age seven I was already watching Red Sox games pitch by pitch, and football came much later, perhaps my early teens, when I cared enough to sit down, watch, and figure out the rules.  Once I discovered the Boston Bruins, though, no other Boston team nor sport of any kind truly topped that feeling of love and loyalty for the game.

I liked some of the other hockey teams, as well, some from the "original six," teams like Chicago and Detroit, though the NY Rangers took a while to de-ice any portion of my heart.  There were a few expansion teams I enjoyed, too -- Hartford Whalers (of course, a no brainer), Quebec Nordiques (for the Stasny Brothers, especially when the home-ice announcer said, "Ahhhnnnn-tooooooohhhnnnn STAHHHHHH-SHNEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"), and the Buffalo Sabres strictly for their old-school uniforms.

One team, though, one team loomed as the Evil Empire, the red-jerseyed Darth Vaders of the entire NHL, and this perception wasn't mine alone.  Most Bruins fans you happened to meet back then (and some even now) hated... HATED the Montreal Canadiens, myself included.  Oh, they had some amazing players over the years, some who played during my own childhood bloodlust (Cournoyer, Beliveau, Rocket Richard, and Rogie Vachon, who ended up being a beloved Bruin), and then later players to just flat out detest (Roy, Subban), but for those who don't understand hockey, the love and the hate are what make the heart of the game so strong.

For many years, decades even, the hottest rivalry in all of sports involved the Boston Bruins vs. the Montreal Canadiens.  In its heyday it made the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry look like toddlers kicking sand in the sandbox; Bruins vs. Canadiens was the only fight ticket in town.  Bostonians detested Montrealais, and the feeling was mutual. 

Fast forward to present day.  I am in Montreal in the Old Port, wandering around aimlessly with two pals.  We are pretending to shop, but we really are searching for somewhere to have a kick-ass Montreal meal.  In one of the shops is a display of t-shirts with  innocuous references to Montreal, Canada, and the sports teams (what's left of them -- The Expos took off). 

Hanging in a position of prominence, blocking some of the Montreal shirts and clearly King of This Display, is a youth-sized, long-sleeved Boston Bruins shirt.  Yup, a taste of home right here in the Old Port of Montreal.

You want to know what that means?  It means ... WE WIN.