Post-Game Talk: 06/24/24 8PM ET SCF Game 7: STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!!

[Bostonzamboni]

Hmmm...

Are some or most Lightning fans sympathizing with their "neighbors" and actually rooting for the Panthers, especially considering they've won Cups vs. if they hadn't yet?

 

[Pink Panther]

Ok my turn. I remember my first Panthers game. My dad took me in 2001 to see the Blues. I was fascinated with Pavel Bure and got his jersey (which I still have, and now my wife wears it to games whenever we go)... I LOVED Luongo and I got him to sign his card for me that year at a meet and greet at Ice Zone or something... He was amazing, we won 3-0 that game.

The players were HUGE to my ten year old eyes. Worrell on skates looked like a mobile refrigerator. I remember Denis Shvidki being really tall for some reason too. I still have those colorful tickets and I will always remember how I felt.

I started looking up the Panthers in the newspaper after the 4-0 sweep by NJ the year prior. I started writing down the results of every game with paper and pencil. GF, GA, goalie, shots, our record, etc... Just checked, we finished with 66 points that year!

Started playing NHL 2000, then 2001, etc... played a lot of roller hockey and all my weird friends and I were into hockey (and skateboarding) and not baseball or anything else.

My dad is Blackhawks fan, but he introduced me to Panthers hockey by giving me a plastic rat to throw at the tiny TV in our apartment in Miami at age 6. He took me to my first game and supported me playing roller hockey in South Florida!

Well I forgot what the point was but I'm just gonna send this to my dad now lol.

GO PANTHERS !!!!!
LET'S GOOOOOO BOYS !!!!!
WE CAN DO THIS !!!!

 

[CanePanther]

Don't believe you. The team coaches itself!!!!

God, I am jaded. I am so ready for this to be over.

No more Edmonton podcasts thank you but will have Panthers withdrawal.

 

[Bostonzamboni]

I'm looking forward to seeing Gary on the ice presenting the Cup! Always do! Did Vegas' fans boo him last year? I can't recall.

But haven't seen any crowd shots of him in his seat .. usually the camera shows him by now in a series, right? Maybe tonight?

 

[ShootIt]

I became a fan after they traded for Bure and my friends at school were raving about the trade. Never really watched hockey before outside of playoffs here and there. Was a football/basketball fan till then. No one in my family cared for hockey back then.

Once they traded off Bure for scrap it took a bit away from watching. Watching the Calgary V Lightning Finals sort of got me back into the sport but was determined to stick with the Panthers. Remember the hype for Olesz and then Frolik. Adding in Weiss, Horton,Bouw and Luongo(till traded) it seemed like they could be turning it around.
Since then, just stuck around. Think trying to play hockey on ice/roller kept me through the dark decades of this team.

 

[CanePanther]

its a lil bit better knowing you were just outclassed, ie something to improve upon

but really any type of loss in a finals after a previous finals loss is shattering, to lose up 3-0 is just nhl history shattering

Personally I would die before I gave up a chance to win the Cup and the anticipation that precedes that. History will be what it will be and I could care less what people think.

 

[Idiot Stick]

I became a fan after they traded for Bure and my friends at school were raving about the trade. Never really watched hockey before outside of playoffs here and there. Was a football/basketball fan till then. No one in my family cared for hockey back then.

Once they traded off Bure for scrap it took a bit away from watching. Watching the Calgary V Lightning Finals sort of got me back into the sport but was determined to stick with the Panthers. Remember the hype for Olesz and then Frolik. Adding in Weiss, Horton,Bouw and Luongo(till traded) it seemed like they could be turning it around.
Since then, just stuck around. Think trying to play hockey on ice/roller kept me through the dark decades of this team.

i shouldve just stayed a lightning fan

 

[Last Rat Standing]

I guess while we're on the topic. It's going to be long but possibly the last day I post here.

I didn't become a daily Panthers fan until 2009. Up until June 2007, my primary team was Anaheim since 94 due to the movies. Although, I hated when they switched color schemes since it just felt like a completely different team. However, I followed them as much as I could during their cup run in 07. Watched every game as I could as I was transitioning Air Force bases at the time. I was ecstatic when they blew out Ottawa in game 5. (Something I was hoping that Florida would have done last week.) So there was a time in my life in which I've seen my team win a cup.

Fast forward 11 months. I get back from deployment during the first round in 2008. I was stationed in Texas. Oddly enough, Anaheim is playing Dallas. My buddy and I get tickets and make the 3 hour drive to Dallas for Game 4. I wore neutral clothing since I'd seen only 7 months prior how Dallas sports fans treat opposing fans.at a Cowboys-Giants game. I was secretly rooting for Anaheim but when Dallas scored first, the AAC just erupted and I couldn't help but stand and cheer watching my team get scored on. In that moment, my Anaheim fandom died. I spent the next season sort of in limbo. Following the Panthers, Stars and Ducks.

I get out in December 2009 and move back to South Florida. Team was mediocre at best. But I started to go to more games since I was unemployed and tickets were cheap and became invested in every game. The rest is history. I knew something special was brewing in summer 2011 when Tallon went out and got all of those ex Blackhawks and previous Tampa hero in Bergenheim. That season will still be my all time favorite. Finally we saw playoff hockey in Sunrise and was able to witness their first playoff win in Sunrise and first in 15 years in their game 2 win against new jersey.

It's been a fun ride ever since regardless of anything that happens tonight

 

[ShootIt]

i shouldve just stayed a lightning fan

It stings more knowing that they could of had Vinny Lecavalier had they not traded that pick to Tampa the year prior

 

[Idiot Stick]

@iam76 any bear sightings?

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

No adjustments but he will do a 30 minute standup routine for media after the game, regardless of outcome

Weak adjustments compared to what Knoblauch has done.

 

[Gentle Man]

Okposo in for Cousins

 

[PatchesOhoulihan]

In case you needed more depressing stats

 

[Idiot Stick]

Okposo in for Cousins

POMO with another master class change, plan the parade
id put lorentz over him but w/e

In case you needed more depressing stats

View attachment 886193

that 2010 game is still wild as hell to me
they were even up 3-0 in the game

 

[BabyBennettov]

Before 96, I was young and stupid, basically a normal Habs fan.

Then they traded all the players I loved, basically ending it with Damphousse, and even though my entire family is die-hard Habs fans, I decided hockey wasn’t for me.

Then in February 96, we did a family trip to Florida and we went to see a Capitals-Panthers game at the old arena ! At the end of that 2-2 game, I got a cap looking like Beezer’s mask (probably the greatest looking cap I ever owned, can’t find it anymore sadly…)… After seeing hockey live and as a kid thinking I got the hottest hat on the planet, I became that die-hard Panthers fan.

And it won’t ever go away…

My aunt/godmother bought me a jersey that same April… A jersey I wore watching every single games through that run in secret in my room as a nearly 10-years-old… I remember Jovocop crushing Lindros… I remember Krupp crushing my dreams !

And I’ve been through all the crap after that…

I know, I think, we deserve one more win.

But I’ll always cheer for them until my last breath, because that’s what you call fidelity, and it makes me proud. I’ve cheered for those guys, even though they were bad and we were the laughing-stock of the league… Why would I stop now ?

Never too high, never too low…

But I’ll always cheer for those guys, no matter what and no matter the situation.

There is no quit in me, just like there was never any quit in that Rat-pack team that got me into it !

I’ll cheer f***ING LOUDER than ever before tonight !!

LFG CATS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

Apparently Okposo gets 500k if we win the cup. So maybe they’re hoping for some more oomf from him

 

[PSLguy]

F all this melancholy bulls***.

Panthers will be lifting the Cup tonight. Team will get back to playing defense first and shut down the Oil.

Time to celebrate everyone! Game 7 in Sunrise tonight!

LET'S GO PANTHERS!

 

[batting1k]

My earliest Panthers memory is at about 4 yrs old going down by the glass, the first seat next to the Panthers bench/tunnel before warmups and being given a used Luongo stick by the equipment manager (can’t find him anywhere but I’d know his face if I saw it).

Eventually got it signed not long after at some event where I was able to go right outside the locker room and meet the team.

 

[Idiot Stick]

F all this melancholy bulls***.

Panthers will be lifting the Cup tonight. Team will get back to playing defense first and shut down the Oil.

Time to celebrate everyone! Game 7 in Sunrise tonight!

LET'S GO PANTHERS!

I only do it cause i was super cheery for the finals last year

 

[Prominence Problem]

I wonder if Lu goes in the dressing room before game and gives a little speech about his Cup final game 7 experience.

 

[panthersfan751]

As another long time fan, this is all surreal. With all we've endured in 30 years, I was hoping to be spared from further drama. But I guess it couldn't happen any other way with this team.

There have been 8 SCF Game 7's in the last 30 years. The team scoring first is 8-0. I hope this is finally our time.

 

[Beezers Mask]

Before 96, I was young and stupid, basically a normal Habs fan.

Then they traded all the players I loved, basically ending it with Damphousse, and even though my entire family is die-hard Habs fans, I decided hockey wasn’t for me.

Then in February 96, we did a family trip to Florida and we went to see a Capitals-Panthers game at the old arena ! At the end of that 2-2 game, I got a cap looking like Beezer’s mask (probably the greatest looking cap I ever owned, can’t find it anymore sadly…)… After seeing hockey live and as a kid thinking I got the hottest hat on the planet, I became that die-hard Panthers fan.

And it won’t ever go away…

My aunt/godmother bought me a jersey that same April… A jersey I wore watching every single games through that run in secret in my room as a nearly 10-years-old… I remember Jovocop crushing Lindros… I remember Krupp crushing my dreams !

And I’ve been through all the crap after that…

I know, I think, we deserve one more win.

But I’ll always cheer for them until my last breath, because that’s what you call fidelity, and it makes me proud. I’ve cheered for those guys, even though they were bad and we were the laughing-stock of the league… Why would I stop now ?

Never too high, never too low…

But I’ll always cheer for those guys, no matter what and no matter the situation.

There is no quit in me, just like there was never any quit in that Rat-pack team that got me into it !

I’ll cheer f***ING LOUDER than ever before tonight !!

LFG CATS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!

I think I have one of these caps! I’ll have to break it out and see if it brings good luck tonight.

I had the wife wear my old Beezer jersey after we went down to the rangers 1-2 last round and we won 6 straight with it. Maybe it will bring good luck!

 

[Sticksandsun]

its a lil bit better knowing you were just outclassed, ie something to improve upon

but really any type of loss in a finals after a previous finals loss is shattering, to lose up 3-0 is just nhl history shattering

They have been outplayed, Bob stealing game 1 f***ed everything up. If Florida lost game 1, they blow a 2-1 lead and lose in 6, it wouldn't have been memorable at all.

 

[Idiot Stick]

I wasnt as long as a fan as most of you, was more of a football fan.
Really became interested during that devils series, which sucked

But mainly just played with @ShootIt on some mid2000s nhl game and would pick the lightning cause they had the next best logo and so always liked both teams. Plus one of my favorite trucks was called the lightning

Stuck with the panthers though, what a ride its been.

 

[Gentle Man]

My dad retired from the Navy when I was born in 85 (guam).

He spent his years in the reserves in the Philippines.

We moved to Miami in 95 which is when I got introduced to the Panthers. I was able to watch a game at one of those family parties during the playoffs. Had no idea what the rules were but I figured it out quickly.

We had just moved so we didn't pay for cable or anything like that so I was listening to the games on the radio. I remember listening to the radio or game 4 against the Avs till the wee hours of the morning.

My dad was more of a basketball fan so I played ball growing up. I fell in love with hockey but it was far too expensive for us at the time.
He woukd even tell me sorry because it just cost way too much. He still did put me in many basketball leagues though which was great. He got me street hockey stuff. Even goalie gear to play here and there.

My dad knew how much I loved the Panthers so whenever we can have breathing room he would take me to the games. He would actually fall asleep at times and wake up for a goal or a fight.

14703. The board always showed for attendance.

He would always ask me through the years how the team was doing. And sometimes he would joke I can't believe you still watch then. They don't even make the playoffs.

He was the one that told my mom to get me a Vanbiesbrouck jersey and in 2000 a Bure one.

Our funds were tight but he knew I loved the team and he helped support to grow my love for them and he's as big of a reason as any for me loving the team

Funny enough. He also was a big part of why I became a Dallas Mavericks fan even though he was a Heat guy.