As I write this post, any thought of the Stanley Cup Finals advancing to a Game 7 seems preposterous, what with the Colorado Avalanche’s offensive juggernaut apparently having solved Tampa Bay Lightning goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy to the tune of 11 goals over the first two games.
That said a fella can dare to dream, can’t he? Plus, it’s not a series until someone wins a road game, right?
And dream I shall, because there really isn’t anything better than a winner-take-all Game 7 no matter the sport, correct? Especially if it’s for the title.
Through my 50-plus years of sports fandom, I’ve only had two opportunities to be in attendance for a deciding Game 7 (or Game 5 as noted below). Both are still etched firmly in my memory.
The first was the decisive Detroit Pistons-New York Knicks NBA Eastern Conference first-round Game 5 from, of all places, Joe Louis Arena. That’s right, the Pistons’ home arena – a curtained off portion of the Pontiac Silverdome – was covered in a few tons of dirt for a weekend motorcross event. Yep, the Pistons, who hadn’t made the playoffs the previous six years, were evicted from their home court for a decisive fifth game in favor of motorcycles.
Regardless of the reason, it was fortuitous for me as our family lived a good bit closer to JLA than we did the Silverdome. And, on a whim, I rang up my high school buddy Hank to see what his plans were that night. The next thing either of us knew we were heading to the Joe where we walked up to the ticket window and scored a pair of seats in the outer reaches of the crowded and steamy upper bowl.
We were treated to one of the most memorable playoff games in Pistons’ history. It was an exchange of haymakers from future Basketball Hall of Famers Bernard King and Isiah Thomas. King, who averaged 42.6 points per game during the series, seemed to never miss en route to a game-high 42. Thomas, meanwhile, scored 21 of his 35 in the fourth quarter, including 16 in the final 94 seconds to force overtime. Ultimately, Thomas fouled out and the Knicks won, 127-123 in overtime. (The full telecast featuring Pistons’ broadcasters George Blaha and Dave Bing is found below.)
Fired up following what we’d witnessed, Hank and I got in the car and turned on the radio to find – much to our surprise – the Tigers and Indians game was ongoing. Detroit, which sported a 16-1 record at the time, was in the midst of their 35-5 start and wire-to-wire championship season. Although not on a traditional route home, our car did roll past Tiger Stadium and we contemplated parking and seeing if we could slip in to see the outcome. As it was, I made it home in time to listen to Cleveland score four unearned runs off reliever Glenn Abbott in the top of the 19th inning for an 8-4 victory.
The other decisive playoff game I was lucky enough to attend was also played at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena just over three years later: Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs in the Norris Division Finals, May 3, 1987.
As a quasi-destitute second-year college student, I had no business buying a ticket. Which, I actually didn’t! Chris, the editor-in-chief at the time of the Eastern Michigan University student newspaper – the Eastern Echo – had a brother who was a ticket-taker at JLA. This was in the era before bar codes on tickets and the scanning thereof. In effect, all we needed to gain entry were two tickets to any game from that season. And, with a brother who handled tickets for 40-plus games that season, securing any ticket was not a tall task for Chris.
I recall being a nervous wreck as we approached his brother with tickets to some November game, but he simply took our ticket, tore it and we were in!
It was also my first-ever experience as a Standing Room Only patron, but I really didn’t care. It was electric in JLA that night and a huge treat to be a spectator. The Wings had lost the first two games of the series at home as well as a Game 4 overtime heartbreaker in Toronto before leveling the series with two straight wins.
That Red Wing forward Adam Oates scored first, just over two minutes in, did nothing but further fuel the sell out crowd. By the time Steve Yzerman and Darren Veitch added second-period goals, the arena was probably as loud as any I’ve ever been in. (The full telecast from CBC with Bob Cole and Scotty Bowman on the call is found below.)
The Wings advanced to the Campbell Conference Finals which meant a matchup with the high-flying Edmonton Oilers. That Detroit, the lowest scoring team in the NHL that season, somehow managed to win Game 1 in Edmonton, 3-1, remains a mystery. The Oilers went on to win the series, 4-1, and the first of two straight Stanley Cups.
Any deciding game of a series is something to be coveted. That we were treated to six of eight opening round NHL playoff series advancing to a seventh game should not be underappreciated. Likewise, if you ever get the opportunity to attend one person, whether on a whim or via less-than-scrupulous circumstances, DO IT. Whether the team that carries your rooting interest wins or loses will not matter. You’ll be rewarded with an emotionally intense contest along with several thousand other spectators feeling similarly to you.
Let’s Go Bolts! Even this series up, please.