Scenes from Manchester and Liverpool on July 14 when England faced Spain for the European Championship.
During my recent trip to the United Kingdom (see Event 2 of Around the World in 80 Sporting Events) my wife, Carol, and I happened to be in England on the day of the Euro Championship which featured England vs. Spain.
It was magical to bear witness to a country seemingly unified around a common goal: Winning its first-ever Euro Championship (and first major trophy since the 1966 FIFA World Cup).
As we spent time that Sunday afternoon in football (soccer)-crazed Manchester, I couldn’t help but notice the default clothing choice seemed to be the Team England kit (e.g. jersey) and that the closer it got to the 8 o’clock start time, the fewer and fewer folks we found on the streets. By the time we arrived back to our flat in Liverpool you’d have thought Paul and Ringo had both died … there was NO ONE out and about.
It also made me long for that esprit de corps that I only ever remember experiencing as an entire nation once.
The date was February 22, 1980, and a plucky team of – mainly – American college hockey players took it to the mighty Soviet Union squad for the entirety of 60 minutes in the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. We all know the outcome and the aftermath, but it was that feeling we collectively shared during the magical run over two weeks in February 1980 that I’d love to see the United States experience again.
Perhaps it’s naive of me to believe that something similar is again possible here. In a nation as geographically large as ours, as diverse as ours, and as, seemingly, culturally and politically bifurcated as ours, maybe experiencing what the people of England enjoyed for a few days last month is too much to ask.
Still, I’ll keep waiting on another miracle.
This scene from “Miracle” when the team emerges from the locker room gets me … EVERY. TIME.
Attempting to go Around the World in 80 Sporting Events means visiting some wonderful destinations and witnessing some monumental moments. Clockwise from upper left, the scoreboard at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews’ Old Course; Roberto Clemente’s jersey in the Baseball Hall of Fame; downtown Cooperstown, NY; the Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews; the author and the Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame; and the Hoosiers’ gym in Knightstown, IN.
As noted in the previous installment, once some foundational guardrails were in place, it was up to me to determine what Around the World in 80 Sporting Events would encompass. That is, what events/venues would rise to the level of iconic for inclusion?
Fortunately, by the time I’d arrived at this point in the planning stages I was well into the second season of hosting the podcast, “Conversations with Sports Fans,” so I knew what a lot of other folks felt were notable sporting events. Plus, many just nominate themselves because of the significance around the event.
What follows is a list by sport. The number in parentheses next to the sport are the total events in that category. At the bottom of each grouping is a brief explanation (where needed) of what’s included.
Baseball (17)
One hopes any trip to Wrigley Field ends with “Cubs Win!”
St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs Game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL (Completed! Read about it here.)
New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox Game at Fenway Park in Boston, MA
San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA
MLB World Series Game in Toronto (Completed! Read about it here.)
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY (Completed! Read about it here.)
Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, MO (Completed! Read about it here.)
Banana Ball in TBD
Men’s College World Series in Omaha, NE (Completed! Read about it here.)
Little League Boys World Series in South Williamsport, PA (Completed! Read about it here.)
“Field of Dreams” Film Site in Dyersville, IA (Completed! Read about it here.)
Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks, AK (Completed! Read about it here.)
Nippon Baseball League Game in Japan (Completed! Read about it here.)
Korean Baseball Organization Game in South Korea (Completed! Read about it here.)
MLB Grapefruit League Game(s) in Florida
MLB Cactus League Game(s) in Arizona
World Baseball Classic Game(s) in TBD
Caribbean Series Game(s) in TBD
Baseball was the first sport I was really exposed to so it should come as no surprise it’s the one that has the most events. … The three longest standing and, perhaps, most fierce rivalries in the game are the three listed above. In a perfect world I’d attend a game in all six locations, but this world is neither perfect nor free so I had to make a difficult decision and chose the three oldest ballparks. … Cooperstown is as close to Valhalla for me as I’ll find and I’ve heard way too much about the Negro Leagues Museum to not include it. … As noted previously, I have history in Fairbanks so returning there for the Midnight Sun Game (game time, 10 p.m., no artificial lighting used) seems fitting. … The remainder are all opportunities for me to experience baseball through the lens of other cultures.
Basketball (16)
New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY (Completed! Read about it here.)
Duke University at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC
Kansas University at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS (Completed! Read about it here.)
Butler University at Hinkle Field House in Indianapolis, IN (Completed! Read about it here.)
UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Brentwood, CA
A Big 5 Game at the Palestra in Philadelphia, PA
Indiana High School Basketball (preferably an early-round tournament game) (Completed! Read about it here.)
“Hoosiers’ Gym in Knightstown, IN (Completed! Read about it here.)
Maui Classic Games in Lahaina, HI
Men’s NCAA Final Four Games in TBD
Women’s NCAA Final Four Games in TBD
Men’s NCAA Tournament Opening Week in Las Vegas, NV
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers in TBD
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA
UConn Women’s Basketball Game at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT
Calvin vs. Hope Men’s Basketball in “The Rivalry” in Holland, MI
Growing up in basketball-mad Indiana, having 14 basketball events should not shock anyone either, I’d guess. … With a nod to my Hoosier roots, seeing the gym where “Hoosiers” was filmed is a must, as is a high school game, and a visit to Butler’s Hinkle Field House. … The five other venues I’d like to visit are, simply, those that captured my fascination through years of fandom. They are old-school gyms that anytime the networks have been there have tugged at me to pay homage someday. … The Maui Classic has been such a part of Thanksgiving week for me that I want to experience that environment in person. … Some might call the inclusion of the Women’s Final Four the Caitlin Clark effect, but I’ve been tuning into those games for the better part of a decade. Clark sucked me into some more early round action, but I love the current women’s college game and believe it’s time I see some in person, including a pilgrimage to Storrs, CT, to see UConn in Gampel Pavilion.
Football (16)
It’s long been a dream to see a Rose Bowl in person.
Detroit Lions’ Thanksgiving Day Game (Completed! Read about it here.)
Ohio State-Michigan (The Game) in Ann Arbor, MI (Completed! Read about it here.)
Auburn-Alabama (The Iron Bowl) in Tuscaloosa, AL (Completed! Read about it here.)
Ole Miss-Mississippi (The Egg Bowl) in Oxford, MI (Completed! Read about it here.)
USC-Notre Dame in South Bend, IN (Completed! Read about it here.)
Army-Navy Game in TBD
Texas High School Football Game in Odessa, TX (Completed! Read about it here.)
Oklahoma-Texas at Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX (Completed! Read about it here.)
Dallas Cowboys Game in Arlington, TX (Completed! Read about it here.)
Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, WI (Completed! Read about it here.)
The Rose Bowl and Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA (Completed! Read about it here.)
NCAA National Championship Game in TBD
Super Bowl in TBD
Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup in Winnipeg, MB (Completed! Read about it here.
A North Dakota State Bison (a FCS powerhouse) Game in the Fargodome (Completed! Read about it here.)
Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH (Completed! Read about it here.)
Of North America’s four major sports, football is probably the one I’m least likely to view from contest beginning to end. That said, Keith Jackson and John Madden made it enjoyable and Brent Musburger telling spectators “you’re looking live at (fill-in-the-blank)” made many games feel more significant than they actually were. … The Rose Bowl has been the quintesseential college football dream for this midwesterner and it needs to come with the Parade as a nod to my late mother who loved watching each year. … If I have my druthers, the Texas high school game will be at Permian in Odessa where “Friday Night Lights” was based. And, as fate has it this year, Permian’s home on a Friday, the Red River Rivalry is on Saturday, and the Cowboys host the Lions on Sunday. … Still to be determined is which rival I see the Packers host at Lambeau Field. What say you sports fan nation?
Hockey (11)
NHL Winter Classic in TBD
Montreal-Toronto Game in Toronto, ON (Completed! Read about it here.)
Calgary-Edmonton Game in Edmonton, AB
New York Rangers Game at Madison Square Garden in NY (Completed! Read about it here.)
2026 World Junior Tourament in St. Paul, MN
U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, MN
Minnesota High School Hockey Game in TBD
Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, ON (Completed! Read about it here.)
Stanley Cup Trophy Presentation in TBD
Michigan State University-University of Michigan at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor
University of Maine-University of New Hampshire at Alfond Arena in Orono, ME
I may be a Hoosier native, but my most formative years were in metro-Detroit (aka Hockeytown) and I covered college hockey for the Ann Arbor News and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner so there’s some hockey love within. I’m not as enamored with the Winter Classic as I am the Rose Bowl, but some of the images from New Year’s Days past have been too cool. … Similar to the baseball rivalries above, there were the two I most wanted to see and a decision was needed for which city to see them. Edmonton was the Detroit Red Wings’ nemesis a few seasons in the 1980s so it’d be neat to see it in person and Toronto is drivable and that gives it the nod. … Every year during college hockey season, handful of players from U-M would head off the World Juniors. With the advent of streaming services it’s become more accessible and it comes to the U.S. in 2026. … Much like high school basketball in Indiana and football in Texas, hockey in Minnesota borders on a religion so it seems natural to want to check it out. … There’s only one trophy in sport I’d like to see presented and that’s the Stanley Cup. It might mean having to do multiple cross-continental flights and pay obscence resale ticket prices to do it, but I’m here for the challenge.
Golf (8)
The 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
The Masters in Augusta, GA
PGA Championship in Newtown Square, PA
U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina (Completed! Read about it here.)
The Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland (Completed! Read about it here.)
The Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in Long Island, NY (Completed! Read about it here.)
The President’s Cup at Royal Montreal in Montreal (Completed! Read about it here.)
The Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jonese Golf Club in Gainesville, VA (Completed! Read about it here.)
Pebble Beach Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, CA
My dad was and is an avid golf fan and that’s no doubt rubbed off on me, though my playing days are long behind me. That said, there are four Major Championships, so it follows that they all should be patronized. The men’s and women’s team competitions are captivating to me and the scenery at Pebble Beach is virtually unparalleled.
Tennis (4)
Australian Open
French Open
Wimbledon
U.S. Open
Four Grand Slam events = four tennis tournaments to visit.
Futbol/Soccer (5)
World Cup 2026 logo.
Men’s World Cup Match(es) in North America (2026)
English Premier League Match(es) in TBD
Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco (2025)
South American World Cup Qualifying in Argentina (Completed! Read about it here.)
European Soccer Match(es) [Champions League, Europa League, or Bundesliga/La Liga/Ligue 1/Serie A] in TBD
We’ll call it the “Ted Lasso” effect. I do enjoy my weekend mornings checking out soccer from across the pond, plus many of my friends have clubs they follow. … As far as the African and South American matches, we can’t very well call this project Around the World in 80 Sporting Events and not get to six of the seven contintents can we?
Motor Sports (6)
Daytona 500 in Daytona, FL
Indianapolis 500 in Indianapolis, IN (Completed! Read about it here.)
Formula 1 in TBD (preferably overseas)
NASCAR Bristol Night Race in Bristol, TN
NASCAR Cup Semifinal in Martinsville, VA (Completed! Read about it here.)
AMA Supercross in Detroit, MI
The first three were pretty straightfoward. The final two, I’m relying on my NASCAR friends Frank and Kevin to not steer me wrong (see what I did there;-)
Horse Racing (3)
Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY
Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, MD
Belmont Stakes, in Saratoga, NY
I’m sure the Breeder’s Cup is a phenomenal event, but these are the three races that have piqued my curiosity through the years (typically in descending order as well).
Others (10)
The peloton from Stage 5 of the 2024 Tour de France (Video from Tim Parker)
Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy (2026)
Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska
Boston Marathon in Boston, MA
Championship Boxing Match(es) (Completed! Read about it here.)
Tour de France
Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, OK
Rodeo at Frontier Days in Cheyenne, WY (Completed! Read about it here.)
NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament in Madison, WI (Completed! Read about it here.)
The timebound nature of this quest (a goal of completing by 2027) prevents me from getting to a Summer Olympics (Los Angeles in 2028 is on my list of next things to do!) so the Winter will be enjoyable. … I’ve already referenced my Alaska history so seeing the start (or the finish) of the Iditarod beckons. … The Boston Marathon and Tour de France are both so noteworthy I believe they must be sampled in person. … I’ve long enjoyed the WCWS and welcome the opportunity to swelter in the blazing sun and occasional severe weather alerts around my birthday someday. … I’d not call myself a rodeo fan, but seeing an event such as this as part of Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming just seems right.
My math teaching friends have no doubt calculated there are actually 87 events listed. This is, in fact, accurate. I’m of the belief I need to overplan and cut (or swap out) as the process unfolds. Myriad things can occur between now and the proposed completion of this venture so it’s good to have options in the event something comes up.
Anyhow, let the gnashing of teeth begin. What am I missing? What am I overvaluing? Should it be Vikings-Packers or Bears-Packers at Lambeau? Do you want to attend any of these events with me? Let me know in the comments or by emailing me at hilldouglast@gmail.com.
Well, well, well, what do we have here? Today we’ll need the player and the circumstances.
Game 7’s are special events, but it seems hockey Game 7’s are especially so.
And when they proceed to overtime, well, forget about it.
Double-overtime? Be still my beating heart.
And a scoreless tie through regulation – and a 20-minute overtime session! – and next goal wins?
Incredible!
Detroit Red Wing Steve Yzerman tees up his double-overtime game-winner against the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. (Photo a YouTube screen grab)
That’s what occurred May 16, 1996, in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena where the host Red Wings and visiting St. Louis Blues played without a goal (and only five penalties total; none after the 8-minute mark of the second period). As the talking hockey heads are want to tell us, get the puck on net and see what happens.
That’s what Detroit’s Steve Yzerman did 1:15 into the second overtime, firing a slapshot just inside the blue line that found the back of the net.
Cue the bedlam, the Red Wingswere heading back to the Stanley Cup Finals for a second of four straight seasons.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.
One of the most iconic images in the history of American sports is this one captured by Sports Illustrated‘s German-born photographer, Heinz Kluetmeier. It’s the celebration behind the Team USA goal following its improbablle, 4-3, 1980 Olympic semifinal upset of the heavily favored Soviet Union. It became know as the “Miracle on Ice.”
Team USA celebrates its 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics. (Photo by Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated)
The moment occurred just over 44 years ago (February 22) and the upstart Americans went on to win the Gold Medal game a couple days later, 4-2, over Finland. Kluetmeier’s photo adorned the cover of the March 3 edition of SI (44 years ago today). That cover is the only one in the magazine’s storied history to run without a headline or caption.
“It didn’t need it. Everyone in America knew what happened,” Kluetmeier later said.
The Sports Illustrated cover.
The closing moments of the Miracle on Ice game from Lake Placid, NY, February 22, 1980.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.
(About the Series: Based upon my Conversation with guest Derek Meinecke, I’m going back in time to be in the stands at 10 sporting events. This week, it’s #1. You’re able to find links to the previous installments below.)
Team USA celebrates its 4-3 upset over the USSR in Lake Placid, NY. (Photo by Getty Images)
For someone my age – that is my mid-50s – there is really only one sporting event that I’d rank at the top of any list of those that I’d like to go back in time to see live. That event is the 1980 Winter Olympic Ice Hockey Semifinals in Lake Placid, NY, when the upstart United States played (and ultimately upset) the Soviet Union, 4-3.
And while that game has come to be known as the “Miracle on Ice” (thanks, primarily, to ABC’s Al Michaels‘ commentary as the closing seconds ticked away, video at the bottom of this post), the real miracle might have been the fact the opening face off came shortly after 5 p.m. ET but was not telecast until 8 p.m. by ABC and my family was completely oblivious to the final outcome. (Thank you pre-Internet and 24/7 news channels.)
We sat in our living room in St. Clair Shores, MI, eyes trained on the TV to watch a sport we knew little about (remember, I’m an Indiana native and basketball is not played on ice).
I. Was. Mesmerized.
Team USA goalie Jim Craig leaps for joy after the victory over the USSR.
The picture was grainy, I couldn’t make the puck out most of the time, I hardly understood the rules or what the red and blue lines were, but this was the USA vs. the Soviet Union at the peak of the Cold War during my early lifetime.
I recall feeling a sense of relief when American Mark Johnson scored with one second left in the first period to forge a 2-2 tie. Johnson tied the score again at 3-3 midway through the third period and provided a bit of hope to this 12-year-old in suburban Detroit.
And then Team USA Captain Mike Eruzione made me leap off the sofa and let out a “whoop” like it was suddenly electified fewer than two minutes later with the go-ahead goal.
After Eruzione potted that goal, it was an agonizingly long 10 minutes of game time until Michaels’ memorable call.
Do you believe in miracles? Yes!
Al Michaels, ABC Sportscaster
This upset, of course, secured nothing more than a Silver Medal, there was Finland to vanquish late Sunday morning to secure the Gold.
Still, count me as someone who’d like to be among the 8,500 in the Olympic Center to witness this piece of history.
There’s a dozen of you that, if you don’t get it immediately, Chrysler – er Stellantis – plant here you come.
The NHL playoffs have begun, so why not mine the cult classic among hockey fans, Slap Shot, for another Fan Teaser? (The film was used as inspiration for the Week 8 Fan Teaser.)
Those eagle-eyed fans will recognize jersey number seven as that of Paul Newman‘s character, Charlestown Chiefs’ player/coach Reggie Dunlop.
Released in 1977 the language was considered so vulgar it had an extra tagline under its R rating “Certain language may be too strong for children.” (We here at the Fan Teaser offer that same warning should you choose to view any of the assembled clips that follow.) It was the film that that presented the world with the Hanson Brothers, Ogie Oglethorpe, Dave “Killer” Kowalski, and Dickie Dunn to name a few.
As a college hockey writer during the mid-1990s, fellow media members and I would often recite lines from the film throughout games. Among the favorites to pull out occurred frequently during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.
Paul Newman’s character was player/coach Reggie Dunlop in 1977’s Slap Shot.(Photo: Universal Pictures)
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you by the early kickoff on Sunday.
Based upon the name of this website, one would think our weekly blog posts would be about sports, sporting events, or the like.
This week my family and I are traveling and I had nothing in the hopper nor anyone to pinch-post (if you’re interested in contributing, let me know) so you get what you get:-)
Champions Andy Lapthorne and David Wagner.
As our travels last weekend took us to London, one might also surmise there’d be some grand bloviation about watching the Wimbledon finals in London. Sorry to disappoint, but the sum total of my Wimbledon viewing was about three service games of the men’s wheelchair doubles semifinal action Friday night that was airing in the pub we were visiting.
It has been, rather refreshingly, time spent away from sport. Oh, I’ll still check in on the Tigers (bloody White Sox!) and it seems like Red Wings’ GM Steve Yzerman continues to execute the YzerPlan in order to rebuild. (The early reports on the draft have been solid as are those of the acquisition of goalie Villie Husso.)
This might all change tomorrow. A scheduled trip to The Old Course at St. Andrews may yield some word-worthy moments. Here’s hoping ongoing rail worker labor issues don’t scuttle those plans!
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.
Isiah Thomas and Bernard King put on an offensive display in Game 5 of the 1984 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.
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 local Detroit broadcast of the 1984 Pistons-Knicks Game 5.
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!
Adam Oates touched off pandemonium in Joe Louis Arena with his first-period goal.
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.
The full CBC “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcast of the 1987 Red Wings-Maple Leafs Game 7.
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.
