So, anyone who knows me is probably thinking “of course, she’s writing about the Bruins.” To those people, just hang with me for a bit, it’s worth it. I am a die-hard Boston Bruins fan; I’ve seen every game start to finish for almost seven years now. My room is decorated like a make-shift TD Garden with the banners and retired numbers hanging up and everything. I plan my events around the season’s schedule and I have a blog on my Facebook page where I post stats, upcoming games, and in-game updates. Over the years of making the Bruins my life I realized that working in sports journalism was my passion and I’m currently climbing the ladder to make it my career.

In the meantime, I’d like to thank them and all of Hockey. In fact, I’d like to extend that to all of sports. Growing up we spend our time, in between making friends and learning things in school, finding the few things that make us who we are. For me that was always hockey, from the first game I saw I knew it wasn’t just about the game. It’s something that I enjoyed to watch with family and friends but it connected me with people beyond that and allowed me to be involved in something bigger than myself.

Once I started really learning the sport and became actively involved in knowing everything I could about the team and its history, I realized just how huge the fan base is. Not just for the Bruins either. The NHL fan base is huge and through making it my number one hobby I’ve met so many amazing people and made some life-long friendships.

Most people don’t realize how invigorating it is to a part of something. When your team wins you feel the excitement and the exhilaration, and when they lose you look forward to the next game as if the loss never happened. You’re a part of something amazing; unification. No matter where you are you know that when your player misses a shot every person watching is letting out a sigh in frustration. My favorite is being at TD Garden and celebrating your team’s goal and collectively screaming “woo” with the rest of the fans.

For a hockey game, the two and a half hours that you spend immersed in a game takes you out of real life. It’s light and fun and it’s those nights when you can forget about bills or housework or any of your problems. For those one hundred and fifty minutes, the rest of the world stops. All that matters is your team getting the next goal or the next face-off win and it’s relaxing.

Finally, and most importantly, the camaraderie within the league is the stuff I’d teach my children. The way the sports world in general comes together in a time of need is so genuine. For a sport whose sole purpose is to pit cities against each other, when there is a time of sadness for one, there is a times of sadness for the rest. Even when a team you hate wins the championship you commend them for their effort; you may not be happy but you respect them.

Once again, thank you to the Boston Bruins and the sports community in general for teaching so many valuable lessons; including, “just have fun”.