Sunday, April 12, 2009

THANK YOU, SENIORS!

I am speechless.

This BU hockey season was nothing short of amazing.  I think I’ve said that time and time again.  In person, on line, in email, on the phone, on Twitter, on Facebook, you get the idea.

I had not wanted to put all my hope in this team and get crushed.  Or worse, jinx them.  Every year, my favorite team to win it all just can’t get it done in the playoffs.  I did not want to do that to BU.  Even though, of course, they were my favorite to win.  (My second favorite was Miami (OH) and we know how it turned out for them the past few years…)

It was a spectacular game last night.  I watched it in a bar in CT as we waited for Instrument to take the stage.  The best part was that Jamie made it back from Ohio in time for the game and we watched it together.  It would not have been the same without him. We were obnoxious - for that, I’m not proud - but withholding the emotion was just impossible.  We treated the bar to a few rounds of “The Song”, some “Hey, Baby” and, after finding out Jack Parker has won more NCAA tourney games than Jerry York, we treated the bar to a rousing rendition of “Jerry York is a horse’s ass”.

I could link to a dozen stories about the game, and how amazing this team was.  It really was the senior leadership that made this team what they were.  There is no doubt about that.  Out of the seniors, Matt Gilroy was a favorite of mine.  How could you not like a guy who wears 97 to honor his little brother? A guy who pushed for bracelets to honor their number one Starr of the game? (Ms. Starr was a huge benefactor of BU Hockey and a member of the board of the BU Friends of Hockey and she lost her battle with thyroid cancer.)  A guy who passed up in the neighborhood of TWENTY pro offers, who played without a scholarship his senior year, in order to play with his younger brother, Kevin?

I love Matty and I’m going to miss him.  A lot.  I think this article says it all and then some: Matt Gilroy joins an elite group as the fifth player to win both the Hobey Baker award and the NCAA Championship.

This was a magical year, and losing this senior class is going to hurt.  But I can’t thank them enough for letting the fans follow them as they delivered on Petey’s Promise.

Thank you Matty, Smoke, J-Lo, Higgy, Yip, Johnny, and thank you to the rest of the BU Hockey program - including the Dog Pound, Hot Dog & Jesus, and Shatty’s Thing - you made this season incredible and I’m so fortunate I got to be a part of it…