Stanley Cup, Baby!

Stanley Cup, Baby!

Well, not quite -- there's still a long way to go, but it's hard to hide my excitement over the Philadelphia Flyers' current playoff run, especially after tonight's thrilling 4-2 victory over the Montréal Canadiens.

Instead of watching the game at home, I decided to catch all of the action at a local sports restaurant, accompanied by my nurse and by my sister, Amy, and her boyfriend, Craig. As you can see from the picture above, I wasn't crazy enough to put an orange cardboard helmet on my head, unlike my companions.

We were able to get a table because there was only one section that was wheelchair accessible. The table we got happened to be almost directly in front of the TV! (Hey, who says that being in a wheelchair doesn't come with a few perks?)

It was a lot of fun cheering on the Orange and Black with my fellow Philly faithful. It was certainly more fun than hearing my own voice when I cheer when the Flyers score. Plus, I got to see a few things I don't usually see -- like the little girl at the next table, who probably wasn't more than six years old, grabbing her daddy's beer bottle, taking a swig, and seemingly enjoying it! "Startin' her young!" Her old man said to me when he saw me laughing.

After my dining companions departed, I remained to watch the final period of the game, though I had to move into an indoor tent area, where I parked myself in front of the bar. Sure, the noise was deafening and other patrons sometimes blocked my view of the TV, but all that mattered to me at that point was whether my team would win. When the Flyers scored their final goal, the place erupted with joy. That made it all worth it.

If I go there to watch another game, however, I might not wear my #88 Eric Lindros jersey, as I took quite a bit of good-natured ribbing from a few patrons. Hey, can I help it that the guy is persona non grata in Philly? It's a nice jersey and I'm not getting rid of it any time soon!