I was working a miserable job that spring so my days were pretty horrible. I had the gym and the Flames run to pull me out of the gutter. There was definitely a form of electricity in the air everywhere in the city every day of that spring.
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Last edited by Puppet Guy; 04-03-2024 at 11:06 AM.
I was lucky enough to have tickets to all the home games, and lived two blocks south of off 17th Ave and 7th Street, so did the walk home every night. We tailgated hard at the Stampede grounds before all the weekend games.
I also popped out to game 7 in Vancouver, and game 7 in Tampa, the latter with my dad, which is one of my favourite memories. Especially us sharing a limo from Orlando to Tampa with 5 dudes we had never met before, as our flight had been redirected and we otherwise would not have made it. I know a couple of you are on here, too...
Such a wonderful two months.
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Was at every home game of the 04 run (secured the playoff tickets off the strength of my status as a 'game pack' holder- we had 2 kids under 3 and those game pack nights were our scheduled date nights during the season)
luckily my wife also managed to attend many of the playoff games with me and what a great time it was
sitting behind the Tampa Net game 6 and thinking- you know I think Gelinas might have scored there, and turning to the guy beside me who had taken some sort of Zapruder film caliber picture of the play on his circa 2004 digital camera while we scrutinized the evidence (while of course otherwise we were oblivious in the building to what had happened- with no replay, or pause in the action)
then sitting with Bingo and the gang in the intermission and I think he had phoned home to be told - you know those of watching at home think that might have been in...- sigh
Other than the great memories that we collectively share, here's a few of mine.
- Canucks Game 3. The large banner someone put up at the Canucks end during warmup. It stretched the entire width of the ice. "Welcome to the home of the 1989 Stanley Cup Champions". Anyone have a photo of this? The crowd was electric, with most in their seats to cheer wildly during warmups.
- Canucks Game 7. Call me superstitious, but I put a candle in the cup of a replica Stanley Cup which burned the entire game. We won! You're welcome Flames nation.
- Wings Game 6. We parked close to the rink. On the drive home, we continually passed, then got passed by the same group walking down the road. High fives, honking, dancing. Best traffic jam ever.
- Sharks Game 6. I specifically remember Marcus Nilson turning to the crowd and waving his arms upwards asking the crowd to get louder, if that was possible, after he shook hands.
- FINALS Game 4. The same group sat in front of us all playoffs. We had a high-five ritual with several fans after each goal that spring. One guy wore a German WW2 helmet with "Darryl's Army" painted on. At the end of the game he told everyone he would miss Game 6 because of his sister's wedding. Despite us encouraging him to skip the wedding and go to her next one... he missed game 6.
- FINALS Game 6. I bought 2 cigars that morning and planned to enjoy them after the win. They sat in my fridge for years after, before I finally came around to throwing them out. When Gelinas scored, I specifically remember turning to my father-in-law to say "don't worry, they're going to review that." I still have visions of Nilson almost ending it in OT. Great redirection of a pass from Saprykin(?) a la Tonelli and Nystrom, and the look on his face when the save was made. So so close.
- FINALS Game 7. First time in my life that I didn't watch the Stanley Cup be awarded. I just couldn't stomach it. Over the years, I've tried to find out who the "Darryl's Army" guy was.. maybe even a CP'er, but no luck.
Last edited by JBR; 04-03-2024 at 11:21 AM.
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Was at every home game of the 04 run (secured the playoff tickets off the strength of my status as a 'game pack' holder.
Ditto, and the Flames accidentally gave us an extra one (the Flames not being a hot ticket prior to this run was nice in that regard). So, with the extra, we always brought a family member or friend rotating between us as ticket owners. This was great, but that meant we always had someone new with us. Naturally they wanted to experience everything (full pre-game, game, full post-game). It was one of the best stretches ever for fun, but I was exhausted by the end. In all seriousness, it gave me more appreciation for the players and what they go through during a run.
I've rewatched the game 7 versus the Canucks, and the elimination games against Detroit and the Sharks.
There were so many legends born from that series.
Iggy and Kipper, the shift, the eliminator. The double (I'm going to call it) cheats in the Tampa series (The missed blatant tackle interference in game 6, the goal in game 7)
The sea of Red, and the red mile were legendary and other teams tried to imitate them but it just seemed cheap.
Calgary knocked off three division leaders something that hadn't been done before.
It bought Calgary together like nothing I'd ever seen since the Cup run in 1989.
Its hard for me to believe that we'll ever see a run like that again.
hey bad things come in threes- throw in the fun of Game 4 (score was 1-0 BTW) for the trifecta:
Calgary also tried to establish its physical, hard-checking style immediately, just as it did in wearing down the Lightning in Game 3, but Chris Clark (cross checking) and Mike Commodore (holding) both drew penalties just 1:52 in. Tampa Bay, 0-for-3 on the power play during the first period Saturday, scored on the 5-on-3, with Richards powering a one-timer from just above the hash mark past Miikka Kiprusoff as the goalie was screened by Vincent Lecavalier. It was only the second time in 12 games Calgary has allowed a goal in the first period. "If they kill that off, it may have been the game," Richards said. "There really was some [desperation] there."
Secondly, I've been showing my son highlights every now and again. He's learned the legend of Kipprusoff.
He knows the eliminator Martin Gelinas.
I follow two sports, I have two teams.
My baseball team won it all this past season, and it's the first time I've ever experienced a championship.
Having my son on the couch next to me to experience that... it's a close second as my favourite sports moment, to Gelinas putting the puck past Alex Auld. Man, even if the Flames won, or win it all in the future, I don't know if that moment will ever be topped.
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My wife was not a hockey fan before year of the run, she just didn't grow up with the game. Tickets were easy to get and her first game was Kipper's debut....Boom!!! Instant favorite player for her to this day.
There was a deal where if you signed up for a 2004/05 game pack you had playoff tickets so we did that expecting, like most, a couple games vs. the Canucks and then see ya next year. We hit all the home games but one where we just couldn't make it work.
At that time she was still working in the field (wildlife biologist) to she was waking up every morning at 3 am to work the day. I would meet her at work with a fresh set of clothes and her jersey and she would have a wetnap bath on the way to the Dome. We would eat supper upstairs and then watch the game usually vibrating after. Would get her home for a real shower hit the sack and her partner would pick her up at 3:30 for work the next day. Away games were her kind of break, although the 8pm starts were tough lol.
Die hard Flames to this day and Hockey mom to two diehard Flames fan hockey playing daughters.
The run definitely produced 3 new lifelong Flames fans.
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I was at Game 6 of the finals with my Nokia(?) cell in hand and before the OT my bro called frantically from Vancouver. He was watching the ABC feed and they had camera angles that CBC didn’t have showing the puck being in!!!
Yeah, it was the pre-salary era. Flames had not made the playoffs since 1996, had not won a series since the 89 Cup Final, 6 first round exits in a row.
Making the playoffs was a miracle, beating the Canucks was cute. Would be lucky to win a game against Detroit.
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03-04 I converted from a game pack holder to STH in the 300s. It was interesting watching the progress of having the top part of the 300s tarped off, to the madness that was the general admission seating in the playoff. So many people were up there before even the warm-ups and it just made the atmosphere electric.
Yeah, it was the pre-salary era. Flames had not made the playoffs since 1996, had not won a series since the 89 Cup Final, 6 first round exits in a row.
Making the playoffs was a miracle, beating the Canucks was cute. Would be lucky to win a game against Detroit.
I remember discovering a quirky fact (and posting it on CP at the time) that gave me some weird hope (even though I didn't really believe it myself)
essentially I determined that at least in the post expansion era every team with (I think I have this right) the NHL goal scoring leader and the top goalie (I can't remember if that was defined by GAA or something else) made it to at least the semi-finals. Well the Flames had that combination (and boy did they ever as the playoffs unfolded) and I guess my thought process was all world goalie and an elite finisher can take you along way
I also somehow decided (again as you point out this was pre salary cap and a lot of the top dogs in the West were still running like 2 hall of fame centers on their top 2 lines) was that in Conroy and Yelle we had 2 guys that could stand up to elite centers defensively (again I didn't really actually believe it but I said it)
I've rewatched the game 7 versus the Canucks, and the elimination games against Detroit and the Sharks.
There were so many legends born from that series.
Iggy and Kipper, the shift, the eliminator. The double (I'm going to call it) cheats in the Tampa series (The missed blatant tackle interference in game 6, the goal in game 7)
The sea of Red, and the red mile were legendary and other teams tried to imitate them but it just seemed cheap.
Calgary knocked off three division leaders something that hadn't been done before.
It bought Calgary together like nothing I'd ever seen since the Cup run in 1989.
Its hard for me to believe that we'll ever see a run like that again.
Weren't both in game 6?
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It was that entire season that was so memorable. Not just the playoff run
The red jerseys came back. I won a Flames trivia contest on the Fan 960. I destroyed the other guy I was against. I won a pair of tickets to a Flames game. But since I won within the last 30 days (a gift certificate to a Greek restaurant), I had to use my brother's name and he got to compete at the Flames game during the 2nd intermission. He was against an older man and a female. They were in a WestJet inflatable costume and he easily won the obstacle course race.
So we won a trip for two to Phoenix to watch a Flames road game. They put us up in the Ritz Carlton. My buddy worked for Westjet at the time so two of my buddy's and one of their dads came along for the trip. It was so much fun
I was on page 2 of the Calgary Sun with my Flames hard hat, flag, foam finger, jersey, etc. (Can't seem to find that copy though)
I had my email question to Gary Bettman read on the radio. It was regarding the Canadian Assistance Plan and if it would still be active in the next CBA. Gary said no as it wouldn't be required once they achieved cost certainty (hard cap).
And of course the run itself. I went to 3 games against the Canucks, 2 against the Wings and 1 against the Sharks. I had tickets to a couple games against the Lightning but that was when my mom was diagnosed with cancer so I chose to watch the games at home.
Watched all the road games at buddies' houses or pubs. Went to the red mile (of course).
And who could forget spending hours on Flamesgirl.com checking out the pictures. LOL
What a fun season that will never be replicated again. The Red Mile was just organic.
Game 7 against the Nucks was heartbreaking but I remember telling all my buddies that we have a PP coming up in OT that we needed to score on. The PP was almost forgetten a the game tying goal was scored when both teams got a penalty
Loved seeing Jovocop's face when Gelinas scored. Especially since he went berserk when Cooke scored to tie up the game
