| It’s been over for weeks now, but Calgary’s craziest festival continues to provide interesting stories.
The Flames’ run to the Stanley Cup turned the city into Hockey Festival ‘04 for nearly two fun-filled months. And regardless of your opinion of hockey or pro sports, it truly was a festival, just like a jazz or folk fest. The regular parade to the Red Mile provided a meeting place for people of like minds to gather and celebrate something they all enjoy.
If you haven’t heard about the parties on 17th Avenue S.W., suffice it to say they were a blast.
UNUSUAL SIGHTS
· People sitting on their porch after a game about three blocks from the Red Mile only to have a female fan run into the yard, yell "Go, Flames, Go," pull down her pants and moon the stunned spectators.
· Teal-blue-and-white shark chewy candies being sold in a package saying: guaranteed satisfaction to the last bite.
UNUSUAL STORIES
· At a wedding during the final series, a bride and groom walk down the aisle to the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. Later that evening, the first dance is delayed 15 minutes because the bride is in another room watching the game.
· A guy from Denver spends $1,300 US for a flight to Calgary because some buddies got him a game ticket. While walking down 17th, the guy gets invited to a house party and spends the night getting drunk on free Canadian beer.
· A guy from Fort Nelson decides he wants a group picture taken with a bunch of folks he’s been talking with downtown. The visitor decides he’ll jump on top of the fence to get in the picture. Unfortunately, he falls into the hedge immediately behind the fence. Rescuers report only seeing the bottom of his sneakers when they went to help.
· Watching the woman sitting next to me tear up during Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry on June 5. Turns out her father was one of 60 Canadians flown by the federal government overseas for the D-Day ceremonies.
THE CHEERS
· Worst cheer of many bad ones: "Flames in seven, fuck Tampa Bay."
· Second worst cheer: "Flames in five, show us your pie."
· Lamest complaint generated from the cheer "Flames in six, show us your tits" goes to the University of Calgary prof. who said something like, "They don’t have to show their tits to a bunch of drunken losers." She’s right of course, but they’re also not her tits to show. Wonder how she’d react to the female chant "Flames in six, show me your dicks?" One young woman says she saw over 20 male protuberances.
THE CROWD
· The caragana bushes out front of Western Canada High School took on the smell of cat piss during the festivities.
· Wandering through the crowds at the Red Mile and being offered a free Cuban cigar by another innocent bystander.
· On many occasions when the coppers confiscated booze, the bottle collectors moved in faster than a Jarome Iginla slapshot to pick up their treasures.
· Calgary fans who made the trip to Tampa Bay having beers and wine bought for them by Tampa fans and later being complimented with the remark, "You guys are way better than Flyer fans."
· The same Calgary fans having to pay $9.50 US per beer at the game in Tampa.
· The septuagenarian couple soaking up the festive atmosphere of the Red Mile, she in her red cardigan, he in his sporty red windbreaker, both wearing huge smiles and chatting to everyone along their route.
A THOUSAND WORDS
· The morning after Game 7, seeing a Mike Commodore wig lying limp, lifeless and abandoned in a back alley miles from the rink and the Red Mile. |
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