Flyer for life

As a change of pace for my blog I decided to write about something very dear to my heart, the Philadelphia Flyers. For as long as I can remember I have always loved this hockey team. Even though I myself have never lived in the state of Pennsylvania or anywhere near it I feel like I am a Philly native by blood and heart. My dad is a sports nut and he is from the Philadelphia area. He has spent much of my childhood making sure I carried on his team’s memories and their legacies. He has retold his stories of growing up watching the Eagles, Flyers, Seventy-Sixers and Phillies. In 2004, when the Eagles went to their first Super Bowl ever my dad immediately bought tickets and I and he went to the game. But of his favorite teams none of them had my heart more than the Flyers. Since I grew up in south Florida I never had a chance to see them play unless they came to play the Panthers. But when they did come to town my dad made sure that we would be the first ones at the games. I vividly remember being 7 years old and watching “the legion of doom” warm up before the game and my eyes just light up.
And today is no different. The players may change but my feelings never will. I feel this special bond with the team where I feel like I am on the team. When they win, I win. When they lose I lose. Last season was one of the worst years of my life. Not because of graduating and leaving California for a school 800 miles away from my family and friends soon, but because the Flyers were going through their worst season in Franchise history. Every game they lost was like a stab in the heart for me. But I would still watch. Almost every game that season, I watched because they are my team. One of the greatest things I look forward to in life is to watch my son grow up and watch the Flyers like I do. I could see no greater joy than to pass on my love of hockey and this team to my children. So that when they see them play for the first time they can light up like I did.