(If this has been posted elsewhere, please delete, but I looked for it and didn’t see it…may be my old-man technopeasantry…)
My folks moved to YYC from YWG in 1976 (I was born a couple of years later). My Dad grew up a Leafs fan, admiring his heroes George Armstrong and (especially) Dave Keon.
By the ‘70s, Harold Ballard’s Leafs angered fans like my Dad, especially via his public spats with players like Keon and, later, GM Punch Imlach’s feud with Darryl Sittler. My Dad’s final straw came when Imlach traded Lanny to the Colorado Rockies, just to spite Sittler. That was 1979.
In 1980, my Dad’s adopted city gained an NHL team. He said that he had a passing interest, given that he lived in the city. In 1981, Lanny arrived.
This trade made it official: Dad became a Flames fan.
I was three years old at that time. But as I got a bit older, I became aware of the team. Early on, I became infatuated with the likes of Paul Reinhart, Carey Wilson, John Tonelli, Nick Fotiu, Hakan Loob, Joel Otto (my fave), and yes, Lanny.
I am happy today to celebrate our “Lannyversary”, because, had it not happened, I may have been raised a Leaf fan.
Thank God for small miracles!
Happy Lannyversary!!
https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/happ...KfmCCcSzcciGbY