A sentimental piece on Opening Night for you all
The last few weeks (as a San Francisco Giants fan) have had me reminiscing. As fellow San Jose Sharks fans, you may also be Giants fans. Legendary broadcaster Mike Krukow has hung up his microphone after 36 years as the Giants’ color commentator.
Credit: San Jose Sharks-Twitter/XIn case you are not a fan, the Giants won three World Series in a five-year span from 2010-2014. Those championships ended with parades a couple of days after those final outs. Those parades ended with players and staff giving speeches to the fans in attendance. Krukow spoke at those parades.
In his speeches, Krukow talks about what it means to be a fan. He talked about the obligations we have to spread the story of the Giants. We learned from parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends. They taught us to be loyal and love our team. Now it was our job to teach that same love and loyalty.
We as Sharks fans have that same duty.
I’m a first-generation Sharks fan. For me, my Sharks story starts back in 2008. Ironically, it was the final game of the season. It was the Sharks and the Dallas Stars in the second round of the playoffs. San Jose heartbreakingly lost that night, a double-overtime elimination game. Still, there was a moment in that game.
The Stars’ Brad Richards shot the puck from the right side, and the Sharks’ Evgeni Nabokov deflected the shot off a pad. The puck bounced right to another Star, Antti Miettinen. Miettinen slid it back to Richards, who was now all alone on that right side. Nabokov slid across the crease and snagged Richards’ shot out of the air, just before it crossed the goal line. It took a review, but the referees confirmed it was a save. Goosebumps.
That save was the moment I became a Sharks fan.
That moment was 18 years ago. 18 years of bleeding teal and doing all I can to help grow the game of hockey. I strongly encourage all of you to help grow the game, too.
Do not gatekeep our team. Encourage people to watch and answer their questions.
For the fans before me, they can tell the stories of Doug Wilson, Arturs Irbe, Pat Falloon, and Link Gaetz. The fans who came along when I did, we can tell the stories of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture.
Now, our new fans can help us tell stories of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Michael Misa, and Ivar Stenberg. It is our duty to tell these stories.
So to paraphrase the great Mike Krukow…
“We are the Sharks. We are Northern California. And the future is now.”
