OT: 20 Years Later, Losing Whalers Still Heartbreaking
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ODAAT
Registered User
I might be in the minority but I liked that arena, when I planned trips to Boston to catch the B`s, I used to do so on weekends where they`d be playing the Whale in Hartford. Only complaint I had about Hartford at that time was there wasn`t much to do post game and at that time, I was very much into post game extra curricular
BlackCrowes
Registered User
Grew up in West Hartford as a Bruins fan in a "foreign land". Won a lot of bets with my classmates over Bruins / Whalers games. As crappy as that team was, it was a great way to see the Bruins close to home.
The other sad thing was that between the Whalers and UConn Basketball, downtown Hartford seemed to be jumping all fall/winter/spring. It's now a complete ghost town. Sad...
The other sad thing was that between the Whalers and UConn Basketball, downtown Hartford seemed to be jumping all fall/winter/spring. It's now a complete ghost town. Sad...
I've always wondered where the Whaler fans went. Did they change allegiance to the then hated Bruins? Go New York as many western CT natives do? Stay devoted to the Carolina transplants? Or a combination of the three?
His criticism about the lack of support east of the CT River is typical western CT idiocy. Of course Avon, Simsbury etc supported the team, it was easy as it was right in their back yards for ****'s sake. From this side of the state it is an hour's drive to Hartford. And then an hour's drive back which is fine for a weekend game but not during the week. Perhaps he's right that there would have been more support if the Whale had been a winning franchise. I certainly wasn't going to spend 2 hours driving to watch mediocrity, not when I can watch it from the comfort of my recliner. I don't know many other people who would either.
A guy who lives down the street from me still flies a Whalers flag and has a bumper sticker that reads "Bring back the Whale". He definitely bleeds plankton.
A guy who lives down the street from me still flies a Whalers flag and has a bumper sticker that reads "Bring back the Whale". He definitely bleeds plankton.
WhalerTurnedBruin55
Fading out, thanks for the times.
- Oct 31, 2008
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Probably depends on the age, devotion to the team, and geographical location afterwards. I was a tween at the time the Whale left, growing up in central CT, so I kind of took a break from hockey for a bit after they left. Also more or less, while figuring out other aspects of life then, I distanced myself from hockey a bit (having also quit playing then, too, and just doing teenager stuff). Still had a bit of scorn for them, I could NEVER be a fan of the Carolina organization after the ownership basically screwed the Hartford fans.
As a kid, going to Bruins/Whalers games was so entertaining, the fights in both the game and the crowds, the atmosphere. It was pretty amazing when I was a young kid, so being in Boston, I kind of made it my own again. I moved to Boston in the early 2000's, dated a girl that was Bruins fan, so that gradually got me back into hockey. Still have love for the nostalgia of the Whale, but now that I've been in Boston almost as long as I lived in CT, I've been a Bruins fan longer than I was a Whalers fan at this point.
Anyways, that's my story, can't say it's other peoples stories, but I'm a Bruins fan now, and that's what's important. I'd have a lot of mixed feelings if the Whalers ever came back, but not living there anymore, probably keeps me distanced from them.
For all intents & purposes New Haven and Waterbury are suburbs of NYC. They weren't going to support a Hartford/New England team I don't care what sport (UConn is the only exception). Not when NYC is that close and at the time had much better hockey teams.
GarbageGoal
Courage
They were lucky to ever have a team, should have enjoyed it whilst they did.
Yeah, sorry to be that guy, but the Whaler nostalgia doesn't fly with me.
Yeah, sorry to be that guy, but the Whaler nostalgia doesn't fly with me.
Number8
Registered User
- Oct 31, 2007
- 18,840
- 19,273
ODAAT will appreciate this......
Many years ago a few buddies of mine drove down to Hartford for a Bruins game. Drinking heavily all the way down (God please don't do this kids). Bruins killed them. After each B's goal, I would stand with my Bruins hat in hand and hold it up to all four corners of the arena one by one a la WWF style.
A little later in the game another goal was scored and while doing the very charming (I'm sure) hat salute, I proceeded to fall drunk as hell down over the two to three rows in front of me.
Barely got out of there with my life......
Suffice to say, those days are long gone thankfully. Hard to fall down rows when you're full of sparkling water these days.
Apologies to any fans who's night I'm sure I ruined and/or spilled beer all over.
UGH....... yes, I was definitely one of those ***** we all hate and rightly so........
Many years ago a few buddies of mine drove down to Hartford for a Bruins game. Drinking heavily all the way down (God please don't do this kids). Bruins killed them. After each B's goal, I would stand with my Bruins hat in hand and hold it up to all four corners of the arena one by one a la WWF style.
A little later in the game another goal was scored and while doing the very charming (I'm sure) hat salute, I proceeded to fall drunk as hell down over the two to three rows in front of me.
Barely got out of there with my life......
Suffice to say, those days are long gone thankfully. Hard to fall down rows when you're full of sparkling water these days.
Apologies to any fans who's night I'm sure I ruined and/or spilled beer all over.
UGH....... yes, I was definitely one of those ***** we all hate and rightly so........
- Sep 22, 2011
- 11,811
- 12,947
At the last Ottawa game, I saw a 20 something guy do the ultimate idiot move:
1) Drunkenly broke through the usher during the anthems in order to run to his seat.
2) Took a header on the last step and face planted into his seat.
3) Spilled two full beers on the floor, the seats, and the people next to him.
4) Got bounced by the same usher that he broke through.
All this happened before the puck drop. I guess his pre-game began sometime around noon.
- Jan 11, 2006
- 13,736
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It's a ghost town because of the casinos. They get all the entertainment. Civic center gets nothing. It would bring in a lot of people downtown during events.
As far as the Whalers, it was awesome for me and western mass fans due to the half hour drive down 91. Perfect. The games were good, especially towards the end when the whalers started getting good.
GloryDaze4877
Barely Irrelevant
Greenwich? Sure.
Waterbury is 30 miles from Hartford...it's 90+ miles from New York city.
New Haven is 40 miles from Hartford...it's 80+ miles from New York city.
Hardly what I would call suburbs.
The only reason I miss the Whale is because the HCC was only about a 40-45 minutes drive for me as opposed to 90 minutes for Boston.
smithformeragent
Moderator
I liked the uniforms, especially the green.
I remember playing as them in NHLP93.
Maybe Whitmore and Pat Verbeek.
They were awful.
I remember playing as them in NHLP93.
Maybe Whitmore and Pat Verbeek.
They were awful.
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Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
Sounds like you were about the same age as my son.
He kept playing hockey, still plays in a men's league today, still a fan of the Whalercanes, still lives in central Connecticut.
Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
It was more of a ghost town before the Whalers came in. At least now they have a minor league baseball team, UCONN hockey & basketball and Infinity Hall.
Casino's also drove Jai Alai out of Connecticut. Hartford, Milford and Bridgeport had frontons and overlapping schedules. The best players in the world played here. It was a great game to watch.
I am probably in the minority here, but even as a Bruins fan, I use to love the Whalers goal song, I think called The Brass Bonanza, it was fun to listen too when they scored, until Brian Burke got there and decided to nix it all- together.
BlackCrowes
Registered User
It was indeed Brass Bonanza. They still play it at the Civic Center when the UConn Men's hockey team scores. It certainly is much nicer hearing it when the good guys score, as opposed to the bad guys!
If they ever bring the Whalers back that song needs to come back as well, Burke should have never been allowed to get rid of it.
GarbageGoal
Courage
Brass Bonanza is still crap, sounds like the theme to a C-level 70's era Hanna Barbara cartoon.
I've heard it's been played at Fenway on occasion, where I expect such pandering but it better never be played at TD Garden.
I've heard it's been played at Fenway on occasion, where I expect such pandering but it better never be played at TD Garden.
WhalerTurnedBruin55
Fading out, thanks for the times.
- Oct 31, 2008
- 11,347
- 6,720
Interesting, I kind of grew disdain for the franchise after they left. I had also left CT, so that may be part of detaching. Having moved to Boston, and fully adopting that, I'm proud to be a Bruins fan now. The Whalers were part of my childhood, but the Hurricanes aren't.
I've also re-started playing in a men's league in the Boston area this past year, and it's been great. Glad to be back on the ice with a stick and puck after 20 years.
Megan Fox agrees.
Coming from someone who grew up in the area, the Whalers were kind of a second team for me. The local papers would have a lot of Whalers stories and as a kid, that and boxscores was what you had to go on before the internet became as widespread as it became. I still remember the Shanahan and Pronger talking points in the newspapers, Geoff Sanderson, etc etc. I was always a Bruins fan first and foremost, but it was kind of cool to follow another team without the emotional investment. I haven't had a second team I've followed as closely since they moved.
The old Adams division had the best hockey Ive ever seen.
The hate was so intense it was magical.
The hate was so intense it was magical.
