A few days ago, I was telling you all about what a jinx I was.
Turns out, I was wrong. I'm not the Sens jinx after all. In fact, on Saturday, I was the exact opposite. I was just about the luckiest girl in the world!!
Less than 48 hours after being offered free Club Seat tickets to Thursday night's loss to the Washington Capitals by my Uncle Paul, I received a call with an offer of a free first-level seat for the Saturday matinee against the Montreal Canadiens by my Uncle Garry. He did some work for Sens GM Bryan Murray, so he was given 4 tickets for the game. His son Troy backed out, so he chose me to join him, his son Jim, and daughter-in-law Kathy.
Scotiabank Place was absolutely insane. There were a pile of Habs fans in attendance, and calling them rowdy would be an understatement. It definitely felt like a playoff atmosphere! Add to the fact that the action was back-and-forth and extremely exciting - well, I didn't think it could get much better than that.
The first period was awesome, and the Sens had many great chances, but it was Montreal that jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Kathy and I were screaming and cheering like crazy; however, it was the Habs fans who were getting all the glory. A couple of guys sitting in the next section over all decked out in Montreal apparel were gloating like crazy, winking at us and really rubbing it in. Every time Habs netminder Christobal Huet made a save, they were chanting his name, and they were doing the "Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!" song, even that early. They were funny though, so it was a nice change from the drunk ol' Caps fan I had to deal with at the Thursday game!
Now, some of our neighbours were sitting in the first row of the third level right above us, and in between the first & second period, I was looking for them when I suddenly saw Wade Redden's dad again, talking to some girls in the row behind us. I couldn't believe I was seeing him again for the second straight game! I was watching them pretty closely when I suddenly shifted my gaze and caught the eye of the guy sitting directly behind me. I couldn't believe it: it was Wade's brother, Bart!! I recognized him instantly from seeing pictures of him on the Net, and he looks sooo much like Wade in real life!
So Kathy insisted that I talk to him. I turned around and asked if he was, in fact, Wade Redden's brother, which he quietly confirmed was correct. A while later, I turned around and asked if he could do me a favour. He said, "Sure". So I asked him to tell Wade to stay in Ottawa. I told him I'd even try to help pay his salary if he agreed to remain a Senator. Bart laughed, and told me he'd see what he could do. He said that Wade loves Ottawa, so he didn't think he'd have to do much convincing. Kathy then informed him we were sitting in Bryan Murray's seats. He said, "Oh, so you guys know Bryan Murray?" We said yes, then turned back around, feeling we'd taken up enough of his time with this silly chat. Moments later, he leaned forward and said, "Umm...If you guys know Bryan Murray, why aren't you talking to
him about keeping Wade here?" We laughed; I told him I thought he probably knew Wade better than we knew Murray, and he probably had more pull with his brother than we have with the Sens' GM.
So yes, I was absolutely glowing from meeting Wade's brother and actually chatting with him. The icing on the cake? The Sens, who were still down 1-0 late in the third period, scored to tie it up - thank you, Captain Alfie!! Less than two minutes later, Chris Neil scored to put them ahead, and then Alfie tapped one into the empty net to seal the victory and send the Sens fans into a frenzy, while those over-zealous cocky Habs fans who had started celebrating far too early were suddenly subdued. It was funny, because Bart and his buddies behind us were chanting "Huet! Huet! Huet!" at those crazy Habs fans in the next section every time we scored, and you could tell it was really ticking them off. At the end of the game, while they were announcing the 3 Stars, I was able to make eye contact with one of those guys and I blew him a big kiss. He burst out laughing - they were really good sports about it!!
As we were leaving, I happened to make eye contact with Bart again and he gave me a big smile. So I said, "It was nice meeting you," and he said the same and shook our hands. Needless to say, I was floating on a cloud!
Amazing how much my luck changed, eh? An awesome come-from-behind win amidst a pack of wild Montreal fans, meeting someone from the same gene pool as my beloved Wade...It couldn't have been more perfect!!
GO SENS GO!!
