The Hartford Whalers Have Finally Been Replaced - JMR's Decision

Everyone was getting a little tired of my act.  Yeah, the Hartford Whalers were my favorite team - they would say - but they left Hartford almost 15 years ago!  Get over it, already.  Well, no one was that impolite to me, they would usually just nod at me and stare at the wall hoping that I would soon stop talking whenever the subject of the Hartford Whalers came up.  The Whale Bowl a couple of weeks ago reminded me that I had to move on, and my boys wanted me to be able to talk about hockey without getting pissed off.  So I've decided that now is the time for a new NHL team.  It's time. 

 Are these banners still at the XL Center?  courtesy of jumptheturnstyle.com

I decided that to be fair I would start my search from scratch and at least at the beginning, all teams were eligible for my new allegiance.  Even the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers had a chance (who am I kidding - they had no chance).  Come with me for the JMR version of "The Decision."

I had four prerequisites that teams had to satisfy before their consideration would go any further.  Unfortunately, most teams were knocked out in this fashion.

1.  I could never root for a team that was in the Adams Division with the Whalers.  Never going to happen.  Sorry to see you go, Canadiens, Sabres and Bruins.  Even the Quebec Nordiques, who were awful patsies throughout the 1980's and early 1990's, would have been disqualified - as bad as they were.

2.  Similarly, if I had a bad experience with a team, you also stood no chance of gaining my allegiance.  See you later Hurricanes, Penguins, Rangers and Lightning (last game played was against Tampa Bay). I'm sure I don't need to go into the other three teams and why I would never root for them.

3.  No Pacific or Mountain Time Zone teams.  If I'm going to root for a team, they can't play at 9 or 10pm more than half the time.  So long Kings, Ducks, Sharks, Canucks, Oilers, Coyotes, Flames and Avalanche.

4.  I am not going to subject myself to another team moving or being contracted, so I have also removed from my list the Thrashers, the Blue Jackets, the Islanders, the Stars, Panthers and Predators.  Mark my words, at least half of these teams are moving in the next 12-24 months. 

When all of these teams have been removed, we're left with the following teams:

New Jersey Devils
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Chicago Black Hawks
Washington Capitals
St. Louis Blues
Minnesota Wild
Detroit Red Wings

Too many teams to decide.  So I enlisted the help of C and G, who at this point were sitting next to me but looking longingly at their homework.  "Only a couple of more minutes" I'm sure they were thinking to themselves.  I asked them which team I should start rooting for.  It took about 10 minutes for them to consider this question since they asked approximately 7,000 questions about these teams before we started.

C:  What about the Bruins, Dad?  Why can't you just root for the Bruins like me and G? (Because I'm not, and I'm your Father, so stop asking me!) OK, Probably the Capitals because they have Alex Ovechkin.  They are a good team.  Alex Ovechkin is one of the best ever.  Oh yeah, we visited Washington D.C. a couple of years ago.

G:  [The Blackhawks] because they are a good team.  They have Patrick Kane who played in the Olympics against the Canadians last year.  And they win every time.

"Do you like Chicago?" I asked him after he finished writing.

"Uh no." He commented.  His sister started playing his Nintendo DS; he was clearly getting a little distracted.

"Do you like the Chicago Cubs?"  I then asked.

"Who?" asks G.

Then C chimes in.  "The Chicago Cubs, dumbo!  They play football against the Patriots!"  Before G gets in his zinger, I shake my head and move on. 

OK, So I have a choice of the Blackhawks and the Capitals.  I'm still not sure, but I do know that I'm starting to run out of time - the boys are in full-out restless mode and I told them they had to sit with me until I picked a team.  So I pick up the quarter that DLG dropped next to me a couple of hours ago, I mean this isn't life or death or anything.  Heads its Blackhawks and Tails, its the Capitals.

...Waiting... as I flip the coin.....

Chi-Town it is.

The Hartford Whalers Whale Bowl Was All We Needed

Not sure where this, my 100th post, is headed?  I don't think any milestone journal posting of mine would be complete without talking about the Hartford Whalers. 

Are the NHL Scouts over here? courtesy of hartfordwolfpack.com

I was debating whether or not to even write about the Hartford Whalers Whale Bowl that was held a couple of weeks ago.  It seemed interesting to me from the beginning, this further attempt by Howard Baldwin to bring an NHL team back to Hartford.  Former Hartford Whalers players vs. the same Boston Bruins legends who played at Boston's Winter Classic last year, followed by the Connecticut Whale playing in front of the largest crowd in AHL history (sad to tout, but touted it was). 

Sure, it was a two and half hour drive to Rentschler Field.  And fine, the game wasn't being played until 4:30, meaning if I were to bring C, G, and DLG, we wouldn't get home until 10pm, at the earliest.  But after going to the Whalers Fanfest back in August, the kids were excited to learn more about Dad's favorite team (and why Dad always looks wistfully at the ceiling whenever the subject of hockey comes up).  The trip to see the Hartford Colonials at Rentschler Field also demonstrated to me that these kind of trips were acceptable to the children.

Although, I have to ask...what the Hell is harvest-properties.com?

I made plans with a friend of mine from college who lives in the Hartford area growing up loving the Hartford Whalers too.  I started stoking the passion of the children by talking up the prospect of watching a hockey game outdoors.  Surprisingly, they all told me that their favorite part of going would have been the tailgating before the game.  I think they're buttering me up to go to a Patriots game next year, frankly.

But as the game grew closer, I grew more apprehensive.  The weather was barely going to cooperate (below freezing with 30 mile per hour winds) so DLG was probably going to choose to stay at home with Mom.  The boys' basketball seasons were heating up as they were getting closer to the playoffs.  So getting to the Whale Bowl in time with the boys was definitely in question.  The cost seemed a little high for me considering I spent half the price to see the same game in Boston a year ago at Fenway Park.  The two and a half hour drive now seemed like it would be a five hour drive, and I had to go to work the next day (or so my excuse would be to the boys).  But in retrospect, there was a more meaningful reason.  I had discussed a long time ago after watching the former Whalers play the Boston Bruins last year, that it was time to come back to the game and start rooting for a new team.  Who am I kidding, here, anyway?  It's nice to hear that Baldwin is doing everything he can to bring NHL hockey back to Hartford, but until a new stadium is built, it simply will not happen.  Winnipeg, Kansas City and the Pacific Northwest all have NHL ready stadiums.  Quebec will soon have its funding in place to build a new state of the art Le Colisee.  I've been waiting for the Whalers to come home for almost 15 years and I'm afraid that I'll be waiting a lot longer than that. 
It's just not going to happen.  And it's time to move on.

I still have an idea for the NHL that will bring hockey back to Hartford that I will write about in the future.  But in meantime, it's time to come back.  For real, this time.

Join JMR and G tomorrow as we unveil our new NHL team.  It's too late for C - he has Boston Bruins fever.  But for us, the fever is just beginning.

Bring Back the Whale, For One Day At Least - Hartford Whalers Fanfest

For more information on Hartford Whalers Hats, Hartford Whalers Apparel, visit Vintage Team Store's Hartford Whaler's Page.

I endured the laughs, even from my own family.  I endured the jeering from "friends."  I endured resistance from the children - even the 6 year old who wanted to go to his little league game instead of spending time with his Dad, the nerve.  But, I would not be deterred.  Maybe I'm not optimistic about the Whalers being reborn, and I'm on the look out for a new NHL team to root for, but for nostalgia's sake, this is something I needed to do, go to the Hartford Whalers Fanfest.

Even my wife asked me if I was sure that I wanted to take the three kids by myself on the hellish 2 hour drive down to Rentschler Field in East Hartford.  And JUST to go to some fanfast for the Hartford Whalers?  She must have a short memory of that last game in 1997 against the Tampa Bay Lightning - where we stayed late to listen to the Brass Bonanza, with tears flowing, and shaking hands and hugging everyone around us - yeah, I'm going.  And while I'm at it, maybe I'll even forgive Peter Karmanos and Chuck Kaiton for moving to North Carolina all those years ago.  Well, probably not Karmanos.  Incidentally, when I felt my wife's sympathy and mentioned that it would be great if she came too, she gave me a blank stare as if I just asked her to take out the garbage after a two week summer vacation.  "No I can't go, I have to be at work in 8 HOURS!"

11am.  East Hartford, Connecticut.  I had never been to Rentschler Field, so I had a little bit of a "Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament" moment as we drive down the road toward the backside of the field, when it was just a long drive down to the local Cabela's.  A poor man's version of Bass Pro Shops, it was, but the only way out was to drive by the place again, and again.  The elderly man still making his way to Grand Marquis was shaking his head as I whizzed by him a couple of times in the parking lot trying to find the exit.  Christ!   

Despite those couple of detours, eventually we made it to the field with minutes to spare.  I was concerned that we weren't going to receive the free posters that were being given out to the first 3,000 people to enter the fanfest.  As we were making our way to the back of the line, though, I wasn't worried about being too late as I was in awe of all of the fans dressed in Whaler Green and Blue waiting to get in.  Jerseys with names like Francis, Dineen, Burke and Sanderson on them brought back great memories - and permitted me to tolerate one of the first (of many) long lines of the afternoon.

As we finally stroll in, I see that the the Whalers have a new mascot, Pucky the Whale.  Another chance for DLG to be completely freaked out.  I keep trying to get Pucky's attention, but sensing that he was going to be facing a screaming little girl, he wisely went in the opposite direction.  Did I mention that once we got IN, we had to wait in another line to obtain the posters?

Gripping the recently received posters, we strolled around some of the booths for a little while surveying the memorbilia landscape.  I wanted some harpoon or Pucky logo gear, hopefully this was the place to do it.  I can just sense the growing hunger in the kids, so I suggested getting some grub.  "Yes!!" I hear in near unison.  

After a lengthy wait in line for some food for the famished kids (I mean it was 11:30 and they hadn't eaten since 9am) and beer for a stressed out Dad (Sadly, an experienced kegmaster was missing from the fest since all of the beers were foamy messes), we were fortunate to discover that we were feet away from Chuck Kaiton introducing all of the former Whalers who were signing autographs that day.  Believing that waiting for the introductions was cheaper than walking through all of the memorabilia dealers, we staked our place in the front row of the stage. The kids were confused.  "What are we doing here, Dad?" I think I heard one of them say.

Names from the past were introduced by a hoarse Kaiton.  Of the players introduced, Eddie Kastelic was one of the enforcers of the early 90's who quickly became a JMR family favorite, Andre LaCroix got all of the old timers excited (I only had a fleeting memory of his career) and Kevin Dineen (my favorite player) received one of the largest ovations.  I thought that part was really cool, frankly.  Nice touch.  My wife was convinced that I was just taking pictures of the Hartford Colonials cheerleaders when she reviewed the photographs the next morning.  Thanks, honey.

Some pucks and other hockey memorabilia were purchased to pass some time until we were called into the autograph line.  At least a thousand people deep, we slowly trudged our way down to the end of the line.  I figured this would be quick, these guys don't want to spend 6 hours signing posters for fanboys like me, so we waited...and waited...and waited some more.  During the two hour wait, I think I even got into an argument with the guy in line behind me about whether Gordie Howe was charging $30 for his autograph or $70.  I was convinced that his book was $30, but if you wanted a picture and something else signed, it was $40.  He was convinced that Howe was signing his name for $70 a pop.  I also spoke with Jack Earle Haley who was waiting to get Joel Quenneville's autograph, because he was a Chicage Blackhawks fan.  Even my 8 year old son looked at him unevenly.

And, it was all worth it in the end.  I talked to Kaiton about the irony of him losing his voice.  I spoke to a couple of guys I had never heard of, frankly.  My boys were fascinated by the tag team of Eddie Kastelic and another fighter type, Grant Jennings, signing side-by-side.  "Are they going to fight each other??" My six year old asked me.  I even had a chance to spend 5 minutes with someone who lived in my hometown while the WHA's New England Whalers were based in Boston.  Although I missed Ronnie Francis and Mike Rogers, I did manage to get one of Kevin Dineen's last autographs of the day before he left as my kids and I ewre the last ones in the makeshift line formed as Dineen was walking by us.  It was a fitting end to the day.

I looked at the kids as we pile into the car.  And granted, they were looking at their recently purchased Pokemon and Cinderella cards, but they were a little sunburned and they were all smiling.  That's all I needed to see.  I didn't need to ask them if they had a good time.  I have to admit, the best part was my son' reaction when I told Dana Murzyn that unfortunately, my son was a Bruins fan.  "No I'm not Dad!" he wheeled around and hissed.  "I like the Whalers!"  One Bruins fan at a time. 

So when is the Hartford Whalers Hockeyfest?

photo courtesy of usatoday.com