Growing up in the 1980's, I lived and breathed NHL hockey.  As a diehard Chicago Blackhawk's fan and son of a season ticket holder, I knew the name, jersey number, and position of every 'Hawk player by the age of 4.  Denis Savard, Doug Wilson, and Steve Larmer; I knew and loved them all, even the greats before my time such as Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito.

Bannerman's goalie mask was one of a kind 

In pre-school I even named my cat Murray (after 'Hawk's goalie Murray Bannerman, my favorite player).  I watched every road game on TV and attended all the home games in person, and once, I even got to walk onto the ice of Chicago Stadium and take a shot from center ice during an intermission.  I loved Wayne Gretzky and hated Dino Cicarelli; hated him with the passion of 1000 suns.  Yep, I was a hockey fan.

It all changed sometime in the late 90's when I was watching a nationally televised game on ESPN.  It suddenly dawned on me in the first period that I  hadn't heard of more than half the players involved in that game.  Confused, I changed the channel to The Simpsons and haven't watched an NHL game since.

That is, until this past week.

Game 7.  2006 Stanley Cup Championship.  The Edmonton Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes.  I had to pause and ask myself aloud "Was it the Winnipeg Jets that moved to Carolina?  No, it was the Hartford Whalers.  The Whalers?  Man, it really has been a long time since I've watched hockey."

It was an exciting game!  The Carolina crowd was rocking and it brought back great memories from my youth.  Gary Thorn, one of the best modern day play-by-play announcers in sports, was fantastic!  At first, I found myself rooting for the Hurricanes, the home team.  Later the tables turned as I rooted for the Oilers, the underdog.  Sure, when the day began I couldn't have told you the name of a single player or coach on either team.  I had heard of Chris Pronger and Rod Brind'Amour before, "but those guys have been around forever," I thought, "could they really be the same guys?"  None of that mattered at the time, I was having fun.

These days, I'd have trouble naming all NHL teams, let alone the players.

Will I start watching hockey again next season?  I doubt it.  But Game 7 was a step in the right direction.