Hi everyone! Well, the regular season has finally reached its conclusion, and the contenders and pretenders have been identified and separated. Now onto the good stuff: two months of heart-stopping games that will have us questioning whether or not we will actually survive sports’ most gruelling marathon. Even the games involving teams we care nothing about are still compelling because you know that its result may eventually impact your own team somewhere down the road. Sometimes, but not always, a team’s early playoff performance, or a key moment that causes a team to gel, hints at future greatness. The 1993 Montreal Canadiens, and their early overtime wins against Quebec and Buffalo provided us with a window to the future. Looking back now, you could see that this team was destined for greatness. You could see Patrick Roy’s confidence growing from one game to another.
This week, I’ve added two new articles that are very representative of the Seals’ birth: the enthusiasm everyone felt about the NHL’s arrival in the Bay Area, but also everyone’s inability to predict what was going to happen to the franchise in the long run. Plans were announced to move the WHL Seals from San Francisco to Oakland, and that the franchise would become known as the California Seals in their final minor-league season before graduating to the big league. Apparently, that little bit of news was a surprise to some, which was understandable considering the Seals’ success in San Fran. Interestingly, William F. Knowland, publisher and editor of the Oakland Tribune was quoted as saying that having the Seals play at the Oakland Coliseum would be “a forerunner of other things to come.” He didn’t specify, however, that those “other things” would turn out to be difficult for fans and players to digest. Moving the Seals to Oakland was mistake number one committed by Barry van Gerbig and company, and most definitely a forerunner. You can read about the Seals’ arrival into the NHL right here. Thanks to Bob Marceau for sending me these articles.
Until next time, stay gold!
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