Could any one night define a
player? Could any one week define a
franchise? For the Dallas Stars, the
answer to both of those questions might just be yes. After kicking off their most recent
home-stand with a convincing 6-1 win over the hopelessly lost Vancouver
Canucks, the stage was set for the biggest night for the Stars in at least four
seasons. I say that in reference to
April 8, 2010, the last home game in a Stars uniform for the greatest American
skater in NHL history, the one they simply called “Mo”.
I’ve only been a Stars fan for a
short while, so I never got to see Mike Modano skate in person, but I don’t
think that that detracted from my experience at his jersey retirement ceremony
this past Saturday. Believe me, for all
those years that I followed the sport, I knew his name. He was somewhat of a demigod for the two
decades that he played, but I think his legend has only grown since he hung up
his skates. I understood that fully as I
watched the green carpet parade. For all
these amazing men to be here, I knew that I was going to be a part of something
bigger than I could ever comprehend. The
images tell the story much better than I’ll ever be able to:
 |
| The view from my seat in Section 317 |
 |
| The curtain fell to reveal the entire 1999 Stanley Cup championship team |
In my opinion, Modano made his best
quote as he was talking about the places that he has called home: Livonia,
Michigan; Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; and Minneapolis, among others. He claimed, “Now, when people ask me where
I’m from. I say I’m from Texas.” The crowd reacted as though we’d just won the
Cup.
And
then we all remembered – we still had a hockey game to play.
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