Tampa, Florida					Thursday, September 09, 2010

Blood, Sweat and Tears
Sunday, May 23, 2004
TAMPA—Most sports patrons of serious affection for their teams quickly weary of two explanations for losing. One is that, well, we lost but we will learn from this. Some clubs, like Tampa Bay Buccaneers while they set a record for 26 straight National Football League defeats after their startup in 1976, must have been about the smartest losers in any game, for that was always said to be a fact, “uh, but we learned from this. . .’’ Clearly, they were very slow learners. The second unfulfilling development comes after a team takes a lead and then seeks to sit on that lead, they said, to Avoid Losing. Onetime Gator Coach Doug Dickey used this strategy often. Another wearing explanation is the use of the Prevent Defense—don’t let ‘em score but don’t aggressively try too hard to score, for you might get careless and let the game get away. And so how many of you out there have seen teams seek to avoid losing and lose? Or, applied the old Prevent Defense that prevented nothing but to prevent the leading team from winning. So it was late week in that the very talented, very quick and normally aggressive Tampa Bay Lightning was up 3-2 games against the wise, big, aging Philadelphia Flyers, and ahead in goals in that game 3-2 from final victory to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. The Lightning had applied the Prevent Defense for all of that last period effectively against the Flyers. Victory was about to be theirs because of the Prevent—but, it wasn’t. Philly former trombone player Keith Primeau sneaked the puck past Tampa tender Nikolai Khabibulin‘s backside for the tying goal, 3-3, and fate being fate and grit being grit, the Flyers scored in overtime for the 4-3 win to force a seventh Eastern NHL Final’s game back in Tampa. After that mighty letdown, that emotion killer, on what did the Lightning players agree? They would learn from the defeat and the manner of it. And they would win in the seventh game and advance to play Calgary for the Stanley Cup and for the championship of all hockey. Hope was the Prevent Defense was a thing of the past, a lesson won, perhaps. Well, by golly, the Lightning were afire from the start back here in Saturday’s dramatic night in Tampa. The Pete Times Forum was spilling over with people and emotion. The noise meters went through the top repeatedly and the Lightning, playing hard and playing aggressively, were ahead 2-1 with a bit more than the final period to play. It was high electric in the Forum. It was, some say, the most dramatic circumstance in the loudest and most tense atmosphere ever in hockey in Tampa, in any sport in Tampa, others countered, because the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in San Diego, not at home. Through the long personal friendship of former Lightning Governor David LeFevre, a man vital to the Lightning being in Tampa in the first place, and having this fine arena (then the Ice Palace by birth name), wife Linda and grandson Tommy (11) and I were with him, front row, on the ice, seats 1-2-3-4, beside the Lightning penalty box. There simply are no better seats, none closer to the ice. There is no better view, at least no more close up view. Why, the players and the pucks are constantly slamming into the glass a foot from your face, or it is fogged by their panting breath, or mussed by their sweat-leaden uniforms. It’s almost scary, at times. Well, a woman on the front row was cut pretty deeply above the eye on this night by a flying puck. I mean there we were, old partners in the long efforts to bring hockey and an arena to Tampa, along with former County Commissioner Ed Turanchik, a leader in that drive, a few rows up, supporter and onetime investor George Steinbrenner and some family members in suite just above. NHL officials were all around along with arena designers near. Directly beside us was top lawyer, promoter and Lightning fans, Steve and Sharon Yerrid, into every play, banging on the glass. Straight up above us was the pressbox and there was Tampa hockey founder Phil Esposito doing the radio,	and when a Lightning player was punished, he took a seat in the penalty box right next to our seats, with a glass separation. Arena announcer Paul Porter did his “Mo-----Deeeeen!” kind of work on the other side of the Lightning penalty box. The Flyer box was on the other side of Porter and game officials, in our row. Player benches were directly across the ice from us, and on the ice level, of course. We were flat into it and loving it, especially with the Lightning ahead 2-1 and playing hard, playing aggressively. That location at such a main event, well, I think the only comparison in location, location, location at a big time sports event is ringside at a world heavyweight championship fight, as I was for so many of Mohammad Ali’s triumphs. So, there we all were, fans, founders, players, the faithful and the luckies like us, acting like—uh, fanatical fans. The question we awaited to be answered, would the Lightning, go into the Prevent, play not to lose, give way, back up and the ramparts and Khabibulin, to save the win at 2-1. The Lightning did not resort to that tactic so despised by fans. The Lightning stayed aggressive, did not fire the puck the length of the rink at each opportunity. They stayed patient, pushed it ahead when they could with short passes. “They were even aggressive on defense,’’ said one Flyer. No, they did not expect it, the Flyers. Indeed, the Lightning very nearly scored again and Habby, as they call their goalie, made key stops. At the intermission before that final period, Coach John Tortorella set the tone. He pointed to a sign that read: “Safety is death.’’ He told them to go get Philly. Stay in charge. This is your night, he said. Dan Boyle, said later, “In Game 6 (at Philly) we played not to lose, instead of playing to win. We knew we could not do that again. This time we had to play like we wanted it.’’ Brad Richards, a star of these playoffs who on this final Saturday against Philly, fed both shots that became the two Tampa goals. He said late Saturday night: “It was a lesson learned. You can live with yourself if you try to win. We didn’t try to win Game six. We (tonight) rebounded well and took it to them.’’ Senior leader, Dave Andruychek said, he said, “We are not going to lose this game. We are in control. We were very aware of what happened in Philadelphia.’’ Even the Flyers said the same, that they hoped Tampa would play not to lose. By playing those long, long minutes after taking a 2-1 lead, well, Tampa won this mighty game, 2-1, by trying to win by 3-1, or more. The Philly players, tough as they are, were gracious in defeat, agreeing the Lightning played better and honestly, deserved the win because of their attitude that turned into ferocity and success on the ice. The Lightning Prevented Flyer victory by staying aggressive, and produced their most important ever, and the place exploded with the great win and no one had a better view, even those up in the pressbox. Somebody said even the Lightning owner Bill Davidson, who owns the National Basketball Association playoff contending Detroit Pistons as well, saw the whole game beside Lightning President Ron Campbell from the Lightning suite and even cheered and applauded at times, then went to the locker room and shook hands with all of his players, many of whom may soon asked for raises. Defenseman Jassen Cullimore, the big guy who was missed so but returned for a fine game Saturday and a part of the win, said, Davidson did indeed shake all hands, some surely moist from both sweat and tears. There was a lot of that Saturday night in the Times Forum, in the locker room, and in stands, around us—a lot of blood, sweat and tears. You can bet Coach Tortorella, so important in all of this great journey on the ice, will ask for more in these games ahead, against Calgary, more blood, sweat and tears. He’ll get it, too, from his uniformed guys, and from the fans, again. ##
Back to Top