| 10 June 2011
For the past few seasons, we in the USA have been able to catch the occasional CBC broadcast of playoff games, primarily on NHL Network or through other means. One of the things CBC's telecasts have become known for are their amazing pre-game montages, typically set to really solid music - and more than often incredibly moving in their presentation. Above is the montage for game 4 - set to the Black Keys' "Howlin' For You."
It's become a habit of mine this playoffs - especially as the Bruins' run has gone deeper and deeper - to go looking for these montages the morning after games. You can find most of them on this youtube page. Watching the above video, however, got me thinking yesterday, back to the first of these montages I ever saw, and each subsequently more amazing one.
The first CBC montage I was exposed to was after the 2009 playoffs. There are earlier ones, as you can see in the sidebar, but the 2009 playoffs were really my first time watching as a hockey fan, not a Boston fan, devouring every possible game I could find on TV.
Watching this video now, the City and Colour song in the background, all these images invoke flashbacks from that 2009 run. The sweep of the Canadiens, the joy with which the TD Garden roared after that victory - especially in light of the previous year. The eight-day layoff, during which the Hurricanes beat the Devils and Marty Brodeur imploded, during which the Penguins and Capitals roared towards each other like freight trains, eliminating the Rangers and the Flyers, the battle of Pennsylvania an epic story unto itself. And out West, the Wings and Canucks imposed their collective will against the Blues and Blue Jackets, Calgary bowed to the Hawks, and the battle of California spat the Ducks into the second round.
The second round, and here the video invokes pain for we Bruins fans, remembering going down 3-1 to Carolina and then fighting back, the Scott Walker sucker punch to Aaron Ward, the inevitable demonizing of Walker as he took the Bruins down in overtime. The next two rounds were a blur, culminating in the Penguins taking home the cup.
It's with a strange feeling of delight that we Bruins fans can remember those playoffs, now, smile and shake our heads at our two-years-past selves - if only you souls knew what was coming in two years.
The next best montage came at the Winter Classic. Set to Metric's 'Gimme Sympathy,' it's hard to watch and describe this video without emotions. From the snapshots of kids playing pond hockey to the visions of Fenway Park in the snow, glimpses into Boston and Philly's hockey history and one little tidbit of Red Sox history - because as much as it was a hockey game, the setting invokes a century of baseball history - Carlton Fisk waving his homerun fair in the 1975 World Series, it's a great summation of the emotions from that day. It was perfect, really, picturesque, fluffy snow the day before and blue sky the day of. You could feel your teeth rattle when that stealth bomber flew over, and the game outcome couldn't have been more perfect.
In 2010's farewell to the playoffs montage, seen here, the Smashing Pumpkins' 'Tonight Tonight' is, for lack of a better word, the perfect ending to an imperfect season. There's no need to remind Bruins faithful how that season ended, but again, viewed through the lens of this season, it makes your heart clench in exactly the way it should. Every image in here is heartrending, from Craig Anderson's face after his 50+ save night, to the crying Avs kid, to Shane Doan's face, to Bergeron and Miller rocking back and forth before their game - all the way to the Blackhawks winning the cup. CBC also did a great job with last year's finals videos, setting one, memorably, to a Frank Sinatra song. (It brings back great memories of what a DELIGHT watching that Hawks team play was, from Byfuglien to Keith to Niemi to Ladd. That team was fun.)
Which brings us to this year. This year's video, which we'll see in either four or six days, will undoubtably be emotional, if CBC's track record is anything to go by. It seems trivial, but it's even more reason to desire that cup win, to watch our team's faces beam with joy on a video like these for the rest of the summer until next season - and really, for seasons to come.
Can you believe it's almost that time of year again?
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
