On the Bench

I’m not the world’s biggest sports fan. I like doing them, to a certain extent, and watching them for a reasonable amount of time, but I’m not inordinately devoted to any team. I grew up in Montreal, where winning the Stanley Cup was just something that happened around the same time school let out. I did flip out over the World Series winning Blue Jays, and I have grown to love Kyle and DeMar and the rest of the Raptors. I don’t get football, so don’t even try. Bottom line? I’m a pennant girl, a shameless bandwagon jumper, a fan who is there for only the glory and rarely the guts. It takes a deep person to admit they’re shallow.

That being said, I was pretty excited to be offered tickets to last Saturday’s game between the Maple Leafs and the Pittsburgh Penguins, a game that could – and did – clinch the Leafs’ first spot on the playoffs in 4 years. The offer came from the very good people at MLSE because I am hosting an event for them next month, and this was their way of thanking me. (The event supports the Nanny Angel Network, which helps mothers going through chemo. Wonderful cause, and I did not need to be thanked.) I took Aidan, because he IS the world’s biggest sports/hockey fan, and off we went. We knew the seats were good. Platinums. Row 3, centre ice. Well let me tell you a little bit about Row 3. It turns out Row 1 is made up of the players on the bench. Row 2 would be coach Mike Babcock. And Row 3 is us.

I know. It was, as Aidan said, sick. We were practically on the bench ourselves. Any closer, and we risked being sent out on a line change ourselves. Furthermore, we were being broadcast across the nation. Everyone could see us, and our phones starting going off as everyone watching felt the need to let us know that.

A few observations: up close, the team looks even younger than you think. You can practically see the dew behind their ears. The tension is palpable; their faces are intensely focused, often grim, when skating back to the bench. There are sweet moments, like when Kasperi Kapanen scored his very first NHL goal – an important one that tied the game up, and William Nylander skated over to give him props. Believe it or not, for replays, the coach relies on a monitor below the bench that delivers a TV feed. Who knew?

And through it all, Babcock stayed in tight control, often resting his hand on the glass, where Aidan felt the need to give him Wonder Twins Power Activation.

So we won, in case you haven’t heard. Clinched the playoff spot. I like to feel we helped, and we will be happy to do it again. It was an amazing experience. Thank you MLSE. Go Leafs Go!

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