IT STARTS TONIGHT
By Jason Shaya
Apr 19, 2023The past only matters when we talk about tradition. This season’s wins and losses are essentially meaningless. Now, a new chapter emerges. Someone will write their name in the history books of the American Hockey League. When the trophy is presented, no one will care where you finished in your division before the post-season started.
The past matters when we talk about tradition. The past weaves into the present. You carry with you the memories of those who built the team along the way. The people who, brick by brick, put the foundation of a city and team onto the map the like Clinton Comets. Those men still attend Utica games, and their likeness adorns the arena. They are still revered because they were champions. The grandeur of the playoffs is made even more spectacular because you can still hear the echoes of past glory they achieved in the Aud.
There is also a unity in sport that is not easily achieved elsewhere in society. With 4,000 strong all donned in white, roaring together as the Comets head to the ice, the fans become one. The anxiety, angst, anger and hopefully, celebration all take place in unison. It’s an organic collective experience shared by people who come together to watch greatness take place before their eyes. People have a desire to see something that takes them out of the normality of everyday existence and puts them in alignment with something that transfuses them with awe. Nothing does that like the playoffs do for sports fans.
To be part of the spectacle, you need to be present. The sea of white, roaring together, with the legends of the past watching as the Comets try to carry on the legacy of past glory.
It all starts tonight.