We are the Champions!

Those words will live with me for the rest of my life.

For the first time since 1972, the Black and Gold have won the most beauteous and shiniest of all trophies in professional sports.  The Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks, a team which lead the regular season in points, were a #1 seed and stacked with undoubtedly offensive talent like the Sedin twins and Ryan Kesler.

But when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup, stuff like that don’t matter.

What matters is Heart.  Soul.  Grit.  Grime.  Desire.

A desire that is a slowly burning fire in the hearts of each and every one of these players since they were old enough to skate.

For the Boston Bruins, that fire started in Prague at the beginning of the season.

It smoldered throughout the months, through each long road trip, overtime win,  and shoot out loss.

The sparks started to pop and crackle during the first round of the playoffs versus the Canadians.

The fire began to grow with the sweep of the Flyers  and the emotional victory over the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals.

When the Stanley Cup Finals began, that fire was burning bright and hot, but it IGNITED because of one hit.

Aaron Rome’s crushing hit on Nathan Horton in Game 3 was akin to pouring a can of lighter fluid on a campfire.

Once minute you’re slowing roasting marshmallows and the next, you are plucking blackened, charred, nobs of sugary goo off your sharpened branch.

That hit changed something in the Bruins.  It made them angry.  Vancouver’s post game jawing and comments to the press only fueled the fire more.

All season, the Bs played better when they were down, when people counted them out.  They crushed the Canucks in games 3, 4, and 6, and games 1, 2, and 5 were only one goal losses.

The Finals gave the decided advantage to the home team, but the Bruins were a team that would not be denied.

With the exception of a couple of minor penalties and sloppy turnovers, the Bruins played a perfect Game 7.  It was controlled yet intense.  All four of the Bruins lines were churning and working hard to shut down the Canucks, as they’d done the whole series.

Tim Thomas cemented his legacy in the pantheon of Boston sports and became the oldest player ever to win the Conn Smythe as the playoff MVP.

The Bruins defense, led by Zdeno Chara and the exceedingly underrated Dennis Seidenberg, created ghosts of the Sedins and the rest of the Canucks forwards.

Mark Recchi, at 43 years young, won his 3rd Stanley Cup, and promptly retired.  The guy is class all the way and because of him, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and Tyler Seguin will be the future of the Boston Bruins.

What happened last night will be etched into the memories of every Bruins fan everywhere and with this victory, my beloved city truly stakes its claim as the “City of Champions”.  7 titles in 11 years.

7/11.

A slurpee sounds pretty good right about now.

But only if I get to drink it from the Cup.

It seems like the sophisticated air of the oenological world would not mesh well with the philistine-like culture of hockey, but I think this is changing.  Here are just a few examples…

• Boston Bruin Mark Recchi has a 1,000 bottle wine cellar.  Mario Lemieux got him started and a Montreal Canadians trainer got him hooked even more, wooing him with fancy wine and cheese parties.
• A picture of David Krejci is the label for Italian winery Vignamaggio’s new Chianti Classico
• The NHL Alumni Association has a whole Signature Wine Series feature bottles with NHL greats like Pat Lafontaine, Bobby Hull, Gordie Hull, Bobby Clark and others on the label.
• The “Great One”, Wayne Gretzky, has his own winery in Ontario and has been making wine since 2007.

Also, my Little Brother (aka LB) happens to work at a very nice Napa Valley winery where he has tasted with players and owners from the Blackhawks and Sharks and NHL legends like Ray Bourque, who reportedly purchased quite a bit of wine for his Boston restaurant from said vineyard.

Even the Winter Classic is getting in on the action.  Duckhorn Vineyards has produced 500 cases (6000 bottles) of its delicious Napa Valley Decoy Merlot in honor of 2011 Winter Classic. This is what Pants and Dawn will be drinking while watching the game on 1/1/11.  Ladies, I have had the Decoy Merlot and it is DELISH!  I bet it will taste even better when sipped out of these…

Do I ever think that hockey and the NHL will let go of its “beer-and-pizza” image?  No, and I’m totes okay with that.  I love beer and pizza.  But I am hopeful that more and more hockey fans will venture into the world of wine and start to appreciate what all those French and Italian dudes have for hundreds of years.  Trust me folks, wine (and quality wine at that) is worth tasting and enjoying.  And if I can’t convince you, maybe he can…

À votre santé!

Until next time…Chuck out.

P.S. Sorry I’ve been MIA.  Pesky graduate school classes….

PANTS IS ADDING SOMETHING! Sorry for the post hack, Chuck but I can’t post a photo in the comments.  Mike Green has a wine room in his condo. Oh yes.  This… I… censored.  I could not possibly ever be drunk around Mike Green unless I want to go to jail.

One for him, one for Pants.