The Story Of Canadian Hockey
Lots of things have stories attached to them. It can be anything from that old teddy bear that your parents gave you when you were little or even the time you got a souvenir from the family trip to Mexico.
The Jerseys
In my collection of various sports artifacts, many of them have memories that I can think of as soon as I look at them almost like a nostalgia trip. The first artifact that I want to tell the story of is my Team Canada Jersey.
This jersey has a special meaning behind it. It's not just something that I can wear and say "yeah I'm a proud Canadian hockey fan" but this is something more special. On boxing day my good friend had surprised me with a jersey. He had known that I was a big fan of Canada's junior team and followed them constantly. This year at the tournament, I wore the jersey during the quarterfinals (spoiler, they won) and from then on I dubbed it "The Lucky Junior Jersey."
Because of the luck it has, It has been a big part of why I continue to wear it for every national tournament.
Another piece of memorabilia that brings back a particular memory is my Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey.
This Jersey has many memories attached to it. The first time I laid eyes on this beautiful piece of art was on the night of my middle school graduation. It was given to me as a gift from both of my parents. I think this one has to be my favorite jersey in my collection. The night of the first Leafs game that I ever attended was the first time I broke out the jersey for a game. It was against the Florida Panthers at the Air Canada Centre in 2013. That night, that Leafs ended up winning the game 6-3. Fast forward to 2 years later when I wore the jersey for a game in Pittsburgh against the Pittsburgh Penguins. To my surprise, the Buds won 4-3 that night in the so-called season from hell where they finished dead last in the league.
The next jersey is one from my all time favorite hockey team, the Mississauga Steelheads. This one is a unique story on its own. I purchased this one recently. On new years day I decided to make one of my first jersey purchases (Crazy, I know...) but this one was something I had thought about for a while. Owen Tippett was the Steelheads best player during their run to the OHL finals in 2017...sadly they did not end up winning however that was the first year that I started to get really involved and started watching the OHL more closely. During a game the day after my birthay in 2018, I met Owen and the experience changed my life. He was the most classy player on the team and really inspired my to chase my dreams.
As you can see, there are many different things that have memories attached to them in my collection. Whether they are family, friends, or even just a player that I idolized growing up. Everything has a special meaning. If you could think of something that has a special memory attached to it, what would it be?