I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like this. As solid and unlikely a sporting moment as the Capitals’ win on Saturday night. What happened made no sense.
I’m coming back from the Olympic Games. And no, I’ve never flipped like that once.
In four minutes, Saturday night, a normal night turned into an unforgettable moment for the 4,200 people in the Canac stadium.
I was quietly drinking beer while chatting with my boyfriend and friends while watching my kids run around the family area. I was talking with my girlfriend about how we should arrange things with the kids the next day, for the last game.
Eight minutes later, my kids were running around the field raising their arms because they saw everyone else doing that. They hug the players to congratulate them. It was very nice.
Euphoria collective
And I can tell you that the security is not very careful. Soon, hundreds of spectators jumped onto the field to celebrate with the players, who hugged the fans and took photos with them.
The team made the fans feel they deserved to celebrate too. Yes, the dramatic ending gave me chills. But this collective joy and this exchange of love between fans and players gives me so much more.
The hero of the game, Anthony Quirion, needs a moment alone to chat with his loved ones on the phone. So he went and sat down, deep in the middle field, to spend time experiencing it with them. I couldn’t stop my kids who decided to go around the field through center field. They passed Anthony, who gave them a good high five. I feel a little bad, but I find it very attractive.
More and more crazy
What blows my mind about the Capitols is that every time you think they can’t do more, something crazier happens.
At one point, Eddie Lantigua will be the mayor of Quebec.
On the other hand, Éric Gagné decided to go and throw.
Then, Michel Laplante achieved a diplomatic miracle by bringing Cuban players to Quebec.
Wayne Gretzky’s son came to play as well.
And there were five championships in a row between 2009 and 2013.
I’ve been through so much.
All this through great financial challenges and a beautiful stadium, but it takes a lot of love to stay standing.
All this while saving beer for $4 and hot dogs for $1 on Saturdays.
All this, while taking care of the trust of Quebecers in the team. There are four of the nine starters in the final.
And Saturday night, when everyone said the Capitals had enough from the miracle box, the magic happened again.
It came from Anthony Quirion, who had a three-run homer to end the game and allow the Capitals to win their third straight championship.
He’s very nice, Quirion, but it would be utopian to expect a home run. During the season, he hit seven, or one in every 46 at-bats. But he did it.
The beautiful gang
This victory is for an attractive gang, adored and close to the world of Quebec. Good people.
Patrick Scalabrini, who just won his eighth championship in 14 years as manager. A man who was a young man at the age of 33 when he took the helm of the team in 2010. Here he is three years shy of fifty, with a little hair. But he has the same fire in his eyes and the same championship smile. Time flies, but the truth is that Scalabrini has dedicated his life, until now, to this team.
Same thing for Michel Laplante, the former player, manager and current president. This is another one that could have become something in life after being successful in raising Capitals. There was a time when Laplante had to take care of the exchanges, empty the trash, help the ushers, bring popcorn and practically do Capi to keep everything in order in the stadium when the going gets tough. finances.
We must also emphasize the contribution of the vice-president of Capitales, Charles Demers, who succeeded in taking over the organization when he began to gain more standing within the administration.
I also have a thought for a guy in the shadows, Christian Chénard, who pitched with the team from 2000 to 2002 and who is the pitching coach this year. Twenty years ago, Chénard gave me pitching lessons. I’m still in elementary school. Most of the throwers in Quebec, from 12 to 40 years old, were probably advised or helped by him. And when we see that pitchers who have never been dominant in their lives become, to everyone’s surprise, the stars of the Capitols this season, I tell myself that Christian Chénard might have something to do with it all.