I was lucky enough to attend the 2009 All-Star weekend this year in Montreal, and I have to say it is instantly in the top three greatest hockey-related experiences of my life.
First of all, there was the temperature. It was downright Antarctic in Montreal. I’m sure Iceburgh felt right at home.
It was the kind of cold that made your skin feel like it was on fire after just a few minutes outside. As cold as it was, however, it really gave the whole weekend a nice atmosphere to it. People were friendlier as the cold started conversations. It brought together fans from rival teams as well as teams on the opposite end of the continent, all united in both their hatred for freezing cold weather and their love for the greatest game on the planet.
I’ve never been to any sort of sci-fi convention before in my life, though I imagine the scene is a similar one to walking along the closed down streets of Montreal on All-Star weekend. Countless fans walking, talking, enjoying the sights, each wearing the different colors of the team they support, yet united as an entire whole by their love of hockey.
The cold also allowed for some fantastic decoration along the streets surrounding the Bell Centre, including every NHL jersey encased in a block of ice, as well as ice sculptures of the NHL and All-Star logos. Trust me when I tell you, these blocks of ice were in no danger of melting.
For anyone who has not been to Montreal, it is highly recommended, as long as you either love the feeling of being frozen, or plan to go in the warmer weather months. Though Montreal is bilingual like the rest of Canada, unlike the rest of the country, French is the primary language. The signs all read in French, and all the people speak French. Although many speak English as well, a few do not, and I did not come across any who only speak English. This created the sensation at times that you were in a European city, and it seems that Montreal prides itself as such. Everyone was friendly, and as knowledgeable about hockey as they are passionate. Unlike some other cities, unless you are a Leafs or Bruins fan, they are extremely polite regardless of who you root for. (That could also be because I had on a Martin Brodeur jersey, but I saw it happen with everyone.)
But onto the events themselves. The skills competition was enjoyable, although as much as love the PA announcer in Montreal, I think he needed to let the events unfold rather than giving us a play-by-play of what was happening. For example, during the accuracy shooting competition, he would attempt to tell us the shooter’s record after each shot. This resulted in a confusing jumble that made it hard to keep track. A small complaint, but one that I think could make the events better in the coming years.
The game was spectacular in its presentation, and I love how the announcer mixes French and English together when he speaks. I also liked how he said every player’s name in that accent, and almost made every player’s name sound French, especially Alex Kovalev. (As a sidenote, the only exception was Roberto Luongo, whose name he said in an impressive Italian impersonation.)
The game itself was what you would expect, lots of offense, lots of showmanship. The crowd made it known that they loved all the French-Canadian players the best, especially Lecavalier. They also showed a lot of love to former Canadiens Mark Streit and Sheldon Souray, as if to say, “If only we knew what our powerplay would be like without you!”
I was also very proud of our own Zach Parise, who had a goal, and also a lot of great scoring chances on his line with Lecavalier and St. Louis.
The intermission entertainment was pretty good as well. In the first, they had some French pop star who I’ve never heard of, and in the second they had Simple Plan, who I like.
In an interesting twist of fate, the game goes to a shootout, and how fitting that this man…
…winds up with the game on his stick. The East ends up winning 12-11 in a shootout, a terrific ending to a fun game.
It was also a nice capper on the trip when at the airport coming home this morning, I was on line for customs, and looking around I saw Mark Messier, Jeff Carter from the Flyers, and Rich Matthews, the Devils equipment manager. Later on, I also saw Bill Clement leaving one of the newspaper stands.
This weekend was the only All-Star Game I’ve been to in person, but many hockey media people who have seen their share are calling it the greatest one yet, and based on those that I’ve watched (from 1997 on), it certainly ranks up there. But more than the game, this was a celebration of the oldest and most storied team in hockey, and their 100 year anniversary. So while I enjoyed the festivities, I know my dad was really enjoying seeing the old-time Canadiens he grew up watching, many of which were in attendance for the game.
As I said before, people who try to make the All-Star Game relevant need to be at one to truly understand why this game is fine the way it is. It’s FUN! It’s not supposed to count for anything, and it doesn’t want to either. It’s a showcase for the best players in the world to show what they can do, and it gives fans from all over the opportunity to gather and enjoy the show.
Montreal, you really put on a great show, and I’m sure anyone who was there this weekend had as great a time as I did. With so many serious issues in the world of hockey today, there’s nothing wrong with leaving the All-Star game as-is, a fun and welcome break from the ordinary.
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