Fellow Flames Fans,

Can I call you folks that? Anyway, I've recently fallen back in love with Hockey attending a few Flames Games. No, I'm not a resident of Calgary or Canada for that matter. This is where the story has the potential to get interesting.

I started playing Hockey in Southwest Louisiana in 1993. Strange place to start, I know. I liked the North Stars and The Red Wings. Hockey was my favorite sport and I lived in a place where is wasn't readily available. I moved to West Texas and kept playing. This was all roller hockey at the time, but it was Hockey. I played on traveling teams, AAU Junior Olympics, Triple Crown Teams, and tried out for the local minor league WPHL Team, the Odessa Jackalopes all before I graduate from high school.

Then, it stopped. I broke my arm and lost all interest in Hockey. I couldn't hold a stick right for over a year and I flat ass gave up on the sport. All the time I had invested in the greatest game ever, I let go. That was in 2001. In December of 2009, I was visiting some family in Calgary. They took us to a Flames game. I had managed to re-ignite that spark I had with hockey, get drunk on Molson with some Canadians, ride the tram back to our car, and enjoy the hell out of myself. I've been a Flames fan ever since.

I get to attend a game again tonight. I'll be there cheering and rooting for MY team, the Calgary Flames. If you run into a guy that sounds out of place and wearing a Vans Hat, say hi. I'm from Texas and work in the oilfield, there's a good chance we have a lot more in common than you think. Thanks for sharing your team with me and thanks for getting me back in Hockey.

KWashburn

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