MY HABS STORY- NOW IT CAN FINALLY BE TOLD...

A couple of weeks ago, my team, the MONTREAL CANADIENS were in the area to play the NJ Devils.  Now this hasn't been the best of seasons for the Habs, yet we continue to support them and their fans.  And whenever the Habs come to town, we always get our share of visitors from Montreal eager to stop by our bar, delighted at knowing that there's a bar in NYC that supports the Canadiens.

So after the Habs/Devils game (which the Devils won, by the way), the bar got a visit from a stranger.  At first glance, it appeared to be a tourist from Canada, asking questions about the bar being a Habs bar.  When the bartender (a NY Rangers fan, by the way), directed the guy towards my direction, I couldn't help but to notice the slight confusion on his face.  He asked if I was the Habs fan of the bar and I said that I was (he still looked a bit confused).  I asked him why was he asking, and he said that he was a friend of Geoff Molson and he heard that Third and Long was a Habs bar.

Now I gave him the stink eye:  "Geoff Molson?  THE Geoff Molson, owner of the Habs?"  He realizes that I'm a bit skeptical, so he tells me to hold on a minute, pulls out his blackberry and shows me a text from Mr. Molson himself, complete with a picture of the bar with the Habs flag hanging out front.  Ok, this is real.

So once we finished sizing each other up, he asked if he could interview me about how I became a Habs fan and how Third and Long became a Habs bar.  So as he videotaped me with his Iphone, I explained how I'd won a trip to Quebec a few years ago and took in a Canadiens game while I was there.   I told him the story about how the Habs were honoring their coaches during their 100th Anniversary and how the ceremony moved me to tears.  I also shared a funny story about how I bumped into Scotty Bowman and not realizing it was him until the ceremony began and kicking myself afterwards.  Most importantly, I talked about how the ceremony moved me to become a Habs fan on the spot.   And when I returned to NYC, making it my personal goal to turn Third and Long into a great hockey bar for the local teams and for displaced Habs fans living in the city.

He thanked me for the story, took some pics of the bar and left soon after.  The next day, the same guy called the bar to get some additional information about the bar and such, then left a cryptic message about expecting a package from the Habs.


I was excited at the thought of getting something from the Habs.  What could it be?  I didn't want to get too crazy about it because I didn't want to be disappointed if we didn't get anything.  I mean, why would the Habs be impressed with us?  They have fans worldwide and we're just one bar.  I mean, sure, we're in the Big Apple and we do get a pretty good following but still.  We're talking the MONTREAL CANADIENS, the NY Yankees of the NHL here.  After a couple of days, I more or less forgot about the whole thing.  Until....

Tuesday night.  I show up for work, nursing a head cold and feeling generally miserable.  And to make matters worse, it's Valentine's Day.  A day I hate more than anything.  We had our annual Anti-Valentine's Day Bash scheduled for that night, as well as both the Knicks and NY Rangers in action, so I knew we were going to have a good night.  As I prepped for the shift change, I noticed a Fed Ex box sitting at the end of the bar.  I asked the day bartender what the story was with the package and he said that it was for me.  I looked at the box and the mailing address was from Montreal.

My hands began trembling as I fumbled with the "tear here" tab.  Could this be the "package" from the Habs?  Did the team really send something to the bar?   I opened the Fed Ex box and inside was another box:

I saw what it said and I thought I was going to shit my pants.  A jersey???  NO. WAY.  My head started spinning as I opened the box and when I did, there it was:

A Game-Worn practice jersey from the 2011 Heritage Classic.  While that was more than enough to overwhelm me, the note from Geoff Molson impressed me more...

Wow.

I showed off the swag to the regulars at the bar and they got a kick out of it too.  I never expected to have anything like this happen to me when I became a Habs fan.  But I know one thing for sure, I'm going to enjoy this gift for a long time.  I'm going to continue to build Third and Long into the best hockey bar in the city for all hockey fans.  And I will continue to support the Habs.  This just sealed the deal.


Cheers!