Memories are made of this...

Aunt Serree and her phenomenal faja, Rick, flying their Habitants colors proudly

When I was a kid the first hockey player I remember was Ken Dryden. The first hockey team I remember was the Montreal Canadiens. The first jersey I owned...Habs. My first set of official Sears Catalogue NHL pajamas...Les Habitants. Sadly, Wayne Gretzky, Grant Fuhr and the fellas stole my affections away from Montreal without so much as a see ya later, and I've never really flipped back in love with one of the most iconic franchises in sports history. I never forgot them though, and at this time of year I always feel a faint hint of affection for the team wearing the exact same sweaters as I did for my entire young and impressionable minor hockey life.

I grew up a whole lot since minor hockey, and I spent most of my time down at Joe Louis Arena through high school and into college, so the Red Wings eventually stole all of my attention, but it's difficult to forget about the logo emblazoned on your first set of hockey pajamas. I peed all over those pajamas, for Gods sake! You can't just ditch a team you shared a sopping wet bed with, can you? I should hope not. Those were traumatic times, what with all that bed wetting and all, and les Habitants didn't waver from their duty as a urine filter for a five year old. The very least I can do is embrace a whisper of nostalgia come playoff time.



What I never, ever anticipated was that Zoey might find an affinity for those same Canadiens at almost the same age that I surely found myself plopped in front of those flashing red, white and blue jerseys. Just today she asked if we could play hockey in the living room, completely out of the blue, and now, tonight, we can't get her to stop running around naked and jumping up and down with the Boston - Montreal Game 7 roaring in the background. It's not a stretch to imagine that I did something very similar when I was her age.

We're certainly learning a pretty valuable lesson tonight...If you can't cheer for your team naked, then maybe you have no business cheering for them at all. Thanks Zo. Humility is overrated. I gotta send this pic to Rick and Serree...as only a naked little funster could squeal, Go Habs Go!