He'd been too nervous to watch the playoff games, so we went out for a walk to burn off the nervous tension. The only other walker we encountered was a guy about our age, who was wearing a Capitals t-shirt.
"It's an omen," I said, after Mr. Ginley hailed the fellow traveler with "Go Caps!" We very seldom see anyone in our neck of the words wearing Capitals gear.
Later that evening, our son joined us for the third period. My husband was calm, insisting he knew we were going to win. It didn't look like a sure thing to me. At that point we were down 3-2.
Then, the tying goal. And the winning goal. Much screaming and hugging. And pacing (me) until the clock, after malfunctioning, wound its way down to zero.
The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup!!!
Euphoria enveloped the house.
It all began in 1983, when my brother-in-law took my husband to his first Capitals game. In turn, Mr. Ginley got me hooked in 1987 when we moved to Virginia. It turned out that my employer, Kay Jewelers, was a sponsor of the Capitals, so I sometimes got free tickets to the games.
During those years, when the Capitals were out of contention, we would root for Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers, who were amazing to watch. We would have to wait over 30 years to see the Capitals raise the Cup.
Year after year, it was the other guys' turn. The Blackhawks. The Kings. The Bruins. And, of course, the dreaded Penguins. Teeth were gnashed. Tears were shed. Hearts were broken. And yet, the good guys walked away empty-handed.
Until Thursday night.
How sweet it was.
If this feat is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, I'm okay with that. Ovechkin, Backstrom, Holtby, Kuznetsov and their merry band of puck chasers achieved the ultimate prize in hockey. And our dream.
And those of us who love the Capitals, including Coach Trotz and Uncle Ted, will walk a little taller and smile a little brighter in the days to come.
Way to go, Caps!
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