This season was for the next generation.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

2004 was a year that turned me from the casual fan to the diehard.

Pretty Much the same for me. I was 18 at the time. So I was 10 the last time the Flames had been in the playoffs, and 3 the last time they had won anything in the playoffs.

Up until '04 I liked going to NHL games, but it was a fact of life that the Flames were just a 2ndary team in the league.

Think that 14-16 year old kids probably don't remember the last real playoff successes, and now is the time that the Flames can capture them as real die hards. Plus who doesn't love when that success comes that expense of Vancouver.

[saskflames69]

I drove my younger brother to his elementary school last Thursday and I saw two little guys walking to school wearing Monahan and Gaudreau j-shirts, exactly like that picture 3 posts above.

The children are becoming aware. We will see plenty of new Flames fans in the future. My brother never experienced 2004 like I did. This was his 2004.

[JD]

Great post and it is something to really be thankful for.

I'm a child of the 80's, so of course I gravitated towards that championship team, fell in love with them in 1986, and celebrated the pinnacle in 1989. It was after that where things became difficult.

A close series in 1990 where the refs may have blown it.

One of the all-time great Battle of Albertas that could have gone either way in 1991.

A foreshadowing of what was to come in 1992, missing the playoffs for the first time.

Another bad call in 1993, though the Kings outplayed us for the most part.

A devastating loss to a rival in 1994, a series in which we had the stranglehold in the series.

Losing to an expansion team in 1995, a clear indication this team was becoming a shadow of its former self.

And the non-effort sweep at the hands of the Hawks in 1996, followed by the 7-year drought and the Young Guns years, the darkest years of the Flames' history, for sure.

During that decade, I was coming of age and my fandom never wavered but part of the frustration was watching it diminish in the city.

You could go to the bar and ask them to put the Flames' game on and they would say "No, we're showing the Oilers game instead".

You could get tickets for games for free. You could go in and sit where ever you wanted. Oiler and Canuck fans would fill the building when their teams came to play.

Kids were walking around with Avalanche and Stars and Wings gear.

The Flames were becoming a minor league feeder franchise for the big boys. And it was sad.

For all that, 2004 was sooo critical. To see the injection of enthusiasm was enormous. To see kids once again proud to wear the Flaming C. I cannot understate how important that year was for the franchise. It was a complete rebirth. They were irrelevant and bush league in most peoples' eyes prior to that.

The years since then have been frustrating for sure, but that new generation attracted to the team in 2004 has stuck with them. The team wasn't that good from 2009 on, but the Dome was never empty like it was in the dark years. You could still go to a local bar and be sure the game would be on. It never got that low.

And now, here we are, as the OP stated very nicely, we are building a third generation of Flames fans. And as has been said in the thread, the new generation will be very lucky as I think this new group playing for the Flames will be a great group to watch and identify with.

Good times lie ahead!

[Stay Golden]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

So my 8 year old daughter came home from school today and asked me "did you see that duck totally fake an injury?", this comes from the person who pretty much doesn't even know what a hockey puck is. LOL. I was shocked and in awe all at the same time.

Love that they have been talking about this at school, she was even a little sad that there isn't anymore games to talk about (now watching thats a different story).

This is also the run that finally got my 12 year old boy to be excited to actually sit and watch games with me. He was 1 in 2004, so he hasn't really seen the city so excited before.

I know what you mean my 11 yr old daughter watched all the games with us. And when Perry faked his injury she called him a soccer player.
She thinks kids that like the Ducks are lame because "they only like them because its where Disneyland is".
Yup this run and team will have new Flames fans.
She cried when we lost.
I hope to never forget being at game 4 and 6 vs the Canucks with her and game 3 vs the Ducks. Lasting memories.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

So my 8 year old daughter came home from school today and asked me "did you see that duck totally fake an injury?", this comes from the person who pretty much doesn't even know what a hockey puck is. LOL. I was shocked and in awe all at the same time.

Love that they have been talking about this at school, she was even a little sad that there isn't anymore games to talk about (now watching thats a different story).

This is also the run that finally got my 12 year old boy to be excited to actually sit and watch games with me. He was 1 in 2004, so he hasn't really seen the city so excited before.

Very smart girl you have there!

[Armchair Quarterback]

This thread!! So true.

I was too young to appreciate the Flames cup win and became a fan during the Young Guns era when my dad would take me to the games. Sure those were not great years for the Flames as an organization but as a kid I didn't care. Then during the '04 run started following the Flames more seriously, and haven't looked back.

[IgiTang]

Great thread.

Love to hear these kind of stories about kids who grow up hating the Nucks, Corey Perry, and loving g the Flames.

[GGG]

Im to young to really remember 89 but to me this was the most entertaining season of hockey. Perhaps more then 04. This team was so likable, fun and is a high skill team. The comebacks, the rookies stepping up. It was for sure the most entertaining regular season.

[the crispy badger]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

I know what you mean my 11 yr old daughter watched all the games with us. And when Perry faked his injury she called him a soccer player.
She thinks kids that like the Ducks are lame because "they only like them because its where Disneyland is".
Yup this run and team will have new Flames fans.
She cried when we lost.
I hope to never forget being at game 4 and 6 vs the Canucks with her and game 3 vs the Ducks. Lasting memories.

when we lost to habs in 1986..my first year as a Flames fan I did the same..i was 11 just like your daughter so I can understand.

[btimbit]

To add to my previous post, I took my kid to his first NHL game this year against Vancouver, a few months before his 4th birthday. He accidentally spilled his drink on a Canucks fan, yelled at anyone wearing blue saying that they're the bad guys, and was on his feet jumping up and down with excitement any time the Flames had the puck in the attacking zone.

As a result, almost every day he wants to wear his Flames socks, his Flames shirt, his Flames hat/toque, asks me why I'm not wearing mine. His Grandma is a huge Oilers fan and they've gotten in hilarious arguments every time they see each other. My brother watched him for me one night, and said it was the easiest babysitting he ever did because they just sat on the couch watching hockey all night. If we're out driving around he yells out with excitement any time he sees a Flames car flag.

I could go on and on but you get the point, he has more enthusiasm for this team than I did until I was much much older, and I didn't even force it on him, all I did was take him to one game and that was it.

This sport, and certainly this team, truly can be special at times.

[azzarish]

Wonderful post, and so true.

The entire fanbase has been re-energized. But how important is that line you mentioned about kids pretending to be Johnny Hockey. Kids haven't really had players like these to look up to for a long time. Iginla was the last one and his generation of kids have been looking for their next heroes for many years.

Now kids are going to be playing hockey in their local communities imagining themselves as Gaudreau or Monahan. They've found their next idols and role models.

The future is bright!

[Regulator75]