Interesting phone call I received Tuesday afternoon. What do you actually say to someone when they ask you if you are available to drive the next morning in the Stanley Cup parade? You know, with a player behind you waving at screaming fans? The reason I pose such a question is "fucking hell yes!" seems a little over the top and "um, sure...let me just double check my calendar" sounds, well,unenthusiastic? I think I actually said "Seriously? Right on!"

 

I am not what one would classify as a hockey fan. OK, so I kind of jumped on board the Hurricane train 4 years ago when they made a run for the cup, but I can count on one hand how many games I've watched since then. Except this year, when I watched several of the playoff games and all but one of the Stanley Cup games. Maybe two hands this year. But I am hooked now, and can not wait for next season to start. However, this still does not make me a "Caniac", one of the proud and true who were with the Carolina Hurricanes every single step of the journey. So it is with some consternation, seriously, that I get to drive a player in the Stanley Cup parade through downtown Raleigh.

 

Well, in some ways my conscience was relieved, as through a series of comic errors (OK, maybe some city planning), I did not make it to the site in time to actually drive a car. But better for me, I get to just RIDE in one and enjoy it! And snap pictures! I don't have to worry about running down a police officer, or a fan, or one of a hundred kids that come up to the side of the vehicle wanting an autograph...an autograph that under any other circumstances player Eric Staal, our passenger, would be happy and eager to give. But we are under strict instructions not to hold up the parade and not to allow signing. The players are on a strict schedule, and we must keep moving.

 

There are thousands here. It is a Wednesday afternoon and it is obvious that people did not go to work. I don't know what the final count was, but in my humble guestimating, I'm thinking 50k. Really. Maybe it was only 30k, but they are EVERYWHERE and in serious abundance. They are screaming at Eric Staal in the back of our car. Women are throwing themselves at him, and he just reaches out...casually...and shakes a hand, or high fives them and says "thank you, thank you so much". What a classy 22 year old. JV and I wonder later just how much he appreciates all of this attention. Hard to say, but it is easy to see that his ego is no larger than any other 22 year olds. He just has a few more "friends". We all talk about how crazy this all is, and then briefly about his trip home for the summer to relax before staring again in the fall. And yes, he is indeed returning to Raleigh.

 

Before long, we reach the parade end and our passenger exits the vehicle and is promptly wisked away to the stage. We circle the block and park the car so we can join the festivities, watch them hoist the cup and thank their fans one last time, then hop back on the bus to continue their day. And just in time, because the storms that have been threatening now move into the downtown area like, well, like a hurricane!

 

p.s. Thank you, Eric Staal, for your brief visit. I wish you a peaceful summer back home and look forward to seeing you on the ice in the fall. You see, I'm a hockey fan now.