I still absolutely love this team

Before I was born, the Flames were my father’s team. He was in the first round of Season ticket holders when the team first moved into the Corral, and he had tickets up until they got too expensive in the early 2000’s. When I was born, I was dressed up in Flames baby clothes, and one of my earliest memories is being bundled in the car to drive down 17th ave when they won the cup. He’d split between taking me and taking my mom or his best friend to the home games I’d wait eagerly to sit on my dads lap and watch every away game. He was a business owner who worked his ass off to provide for our family, and was always home late, but I always felt hockey was our thing.

Fast forward a couple years and my dad and I were estranged for a bit in the early 2000s (doesn’t matter why), but it was the 2004 cup run that brought us back together. Of course we know the outcome but I’ll always be thankful for that team being something that we could actually talk about – it was a safe space to rebuild our relationship. From then on, even though I had left the city, my dad would call or text me every time the flames one – and every time the Oilers lost.

My dad died last year, and some of the last moments we had were sharing hockey together. We had been able to take him to a couple games before he got too sick, and we managed to watch a few games in hospice before he slipped away (the last game we watched was a 2-1 loss to the Leafs… really hoped they would have been able to pull that one out for him). Hockey – specifically Flames hockey – was such a core part of our relationship my entire life, and now, watching games still gives me a connection to him.

I know I’ll have my heart broken again and again with losses and challenging years. I’ve already had my heart broken by the Dube situation (I know I’m not alone in this), but I will always cheer for this team. For the joy and pain it’s allowed me to share with one of the most important people in my life.

Go Flames Go 🔥

by fatherofcups