Panther’s Hockey….It’ll Do That To You!

My Name is Josh and I have a problem…

It was a day like any other day. I came home and sat down in the kitchen to chat with my mother and my sister about the day. Mom said that Dad had asked her to get some tickets to a hockey game. He had gone to one with some friends a few weeks before and enjoyed it so much he wanted to take us that evening. That was the beginning of my passion for hockey.

Of course growing up in a family that was half French-Canadian I had some knowledge of hockey. As a kid I had a net in our driveway and used to skate around on rollerblades shooting pucks in the net and trying to reenact scenes from The Mighty Ducks. I had a working knowledge of the game and even had a couple of video games. But it wasn’t until that night watching the Panthers beat down the Washington Capitals that I knew I had found the sport that I would devote myself to following.

Ever since then I have followed hockey with extreme passion. Living every moment of every shot, hit, fight..etc…not just hockey…but Panthers Hockey. As soon as I was able to afford it I was buying tickets for games and begging my parents to take me…once I had a car I was driving down every couple of weeks to see games. Once I finished college and started drawing a paycheck I got season seats and began to make friends with the people sitting around me and elsewhere in the arena. For me it is quite a drive to get to a game (about an hour and a half) and so I would plan my days around trips to the rink to watch my beloved Cats take the ice against a variety of opponents.

Not to say that these were the best years for Panthers. The playoffs were never reached, the team continued to change, the coaches and managers never stayed long…except for Keenan who overstayed his welcome…however I still was…and still am excited about the Panthers…

So I have a problem…and the problem is that I love Panthers hockey…maybe just a little more than is healthy…most fans would abandon a team that has done so poorly and look for other teams to follow…I can’t, most fans would stop making the three hour round trip to Sunrise…I can’t, most fans would lose hope in a franchise so volatile and inconsistent…I refuse to.

I hope that you will enjoy my opinions on The Rat Trick and I look forward to interacting with you through the comments or you can follow me on twitter @joshluecht .

Go Panthers!

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