Flashback to May 19, 1974. I still hear the voice of Gene Hart echoing in my ear:  “…the Flyers win the Stanley Cup!  The Flyers win the Stanley Cup!”

Until recently, my memory had me actually jumping so high at six years old that I touched the ceiling in my family’s “rec room” in Brookhaven. Ok, so maybe I didn’t actually touch the ceiling. After all, I was only in kindergarten, but it sure seemed like I did. I will always remember that moment: Dad, my two sisters, and I going absolutely nuts when Joe Watson held the puck behind the net with Bernie Parent’s hands in the air and the final seconds ticking down to the voice of Gene Hart as the Flyers won their first Stanley Cup. My childhood was formed on this day.

Although a girl and only in kindergarten, I had two older sisters and I was by all accounts my father’s first “son.” A tomboy, a sports fanatic, with no desire to ever touch anything pink or ride a girl’s bike. I resented bobos, dresses, and anything that pointed to me being a girl. Fortunately, I had the coolest father on Earth, and I was able to share many a night with him watching my beloved Flyers (thank you, Ed Snider, for trusting that Philadelphia was a great town for hockey!), Sixers, Eagles, and Phillies. It was my livelihood.

My dream, unlike most girls, was to some day play in the NHL. You know, when Bernie Parent retired, someone had to replace him. That would be me. I loved playing goalie. Played every day for years and years. When it became clear that my parents weren’t going to sign me up for the Skateland Blades ice hockey program, I continued playing street hockey day after day, but somewhat altered my career path: I now thought it would be the coolest thing on Earth to become the voice of the Flyers when Gene Hart retired. Yep, that’s it, I would be a sportscaster!

My very best street hockey memory should resonate among all Delaware Valley hockey fans growing up in the ‘70’s. My dad had his own business, and often came home at lunch time to eat and spend a little time with my Mom. I was always playing street hockey with the older boys while the girls were playing Chinese jump rope and other stuff that just didn’t appeal to me. I could hear Dad calling me, and I’m thinking, “Aw, c’mon, what? It’s the middle of the day and I’m playing hockey. What does he want?” So, knowing he wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t obey his call, I headed back to my house. I looked up the driveway and there was Dad, with his hands behind his back, holding something bright orange. I could see it! My excitement was overwhelming!  Was it really what I thought it was? Yes! Dad got me my first official bright orange Bobby Clarke street hockey goalie stick!! I couldn’t believe it! My world was golden!

Two years later, my neighbor came home sporting his very own black sneakers with orange stripes. I needed a new pair of sneakers, so I asked him where he got them. Paul’s shoes on Edgmont Avenue. Cool, that’s where Mom always takes me, and we were going this week! Yes, I also came home with brand new “Flyers sneakers,” as Marty and I both claimed them to be, and I was darn proud to be wearing them. Mom hated them, but to her credit, she let me make the choice. She just couldn’t understand why a girl would want to wear black and orange sneakers. Oh well.

The point of all this? Ed Snider’s passion became Philadelphia’s passion. It became my passion. My world revolved around my dreams to become a hockey player, a goalie, a sports writer, or broadcaster…wow! Who would have thought that some young businessman from Washington, D.C. whom I never met would basically shape my world?

I couldn’t play ice hockey in any organized league, but I did end up having a very successful run in high school and college as a lacrosse and field hockey goalie in, as I termed them, “girl” sports.  They weren’t my first choice, but I was okay with it. Basketball filled my “boy sport” void. Every creative writing story I ever wrote in elementary school was about the first girl to play in the NHL, and my Mom gave me hell for, in her words, limiting my vocabulary by only only reading about athletes and sports. I read over and over about Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden, Guy LaFleur, Yvan  Cournoyer, Ed Giacomin, Maurice Richard, Bernie Parent…if it was about hockey or any sport, I read it!  If I strayed from the pro athlete career success, I still was reading about athletes.  Something For Joey and Brian’s Song became mainstays on my bedroom book shelf. Nothing else ever came home. My Mom was lost. She just didn’t understand me. But I did. I understood me. Dad understood me. Sports were my livelihood, ice hockey was my passion.

To this day, I can still claim this to be true. Thank you, Ed Snider, for shaping my world!

I did earn a Communications degree (radio tv/journalism) from Shippensburg University. In Naugle Hall, I was identified as the die-hard Flyers fan. I purchased a Dave Poulin poster at the Granite Run Mall Spectrum Showcase store just before heading off to college. My dorm room was draped in Flyers and Philadelphia sports items (banners, posters, etc.). My bed, which I was teased for always making, featured a “Flyers guy” on the pillow which was an odd-looking stuffed “creature” that was somewhat human and sported a Flyers jersey-designed fur. It was given to me by my best high school friend who was keenly aware of my love for the Flyers. He gave it to me on Penncrest’s graduation day. At Shippensburg, the guys in my hall renamed Flyer Guy “Mr. Flyer,” and frequently kidnapped him, and hung him in the girls’ bathroom with ransom notes. The problem here was that many students at Shippensburg wrongly rooted for the Washington Capitals or the Pittsburgh Penguins. They were jealous of the Black & Orange! Mr. Flyer prevailed! He always made it back to my room unscathed.

Long story short, I played goalie for Shippensburg lacrosse, earned a degree in radio/tv & journalism, and did work as an intern with CBS in Philly (now the NBC building after the infamous network swap). My love for the Flyers remains, my passion for the game of ice hockey has grown even stronger, and I am forever grateful to Ed Snider for affording me the opportunity to love the greatest team on Earth!  With three children who play ice hockey as their #1 sport (both sons and my daughter), I can honestly say my world revolves around ice hockey. God Bless you, Ed Snider, for having the guts and determination to defy the odds and bring the most successful expansion team ever to the wonderful city of Philadelphia! You truly made my world.