Athletes have one ultimate goal whether they want to admit it or not, win a championship. Winning a championship is something a person never forgets. Its a moment where you get such a natural high that fans and the team/athletes will remember forever as one of the the best feelings they ever experienced.
3 years ago I began my journey into writing about Motorsports racing, never did I think that my first season writing I would experience a family member winning a championship. That night it was pretty hard to contain my excitement. I'd been watching my uncle race at Oxford for as long as I could remember and even though it wasn't his first championship it was special because I got to experience the championship win for the first time as both a writer and a fan.
The celebration at the track was over in a blur but what I remember so vividly like it was yesterday was riding home with my uncle, aunt and little cousin and "We are the Champions" playing all the way home from the track. It was such a small moment but I still remembering just feeling totally content and feeling like nothing could really top the moment of happiness.
Coincidentally that same year I became a fan of hockey, particularly the Washington Capitals. I had always been a somewhat casual fan who watched the Bruins once in a while but that year I watched Road to Winter Classic a docuseries about the teams playing in the Winter Classic game. That year it was the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals and for some reason I felt instantly connected to the Capitals. Something about these guys made me want so badly to see these guys succeed. I watched as many of their games I could the rest of that season and though they lost in the playoffs I didn't love them any less.
I'd like to say I knew they were going to be one of the top team this season but I really couldn't tell. They always do well enough to make it into the playoffs but always lose in the 2nd round. Playoffs this year just felt right, they were playing great and made it past the first round like expected, then they moved on to play the Pittsburgh Penguins their rivals. The Pens didn't deter them what so ever they ended up forcing them into a game 6 where they won the series 4-2. The Pens had won the last the Stanley cup the last 2 years and the Capitals hadn't even made it to the finals since 1998. It was a huge accomplishment for them just to make it past the 2nd round. It almost felt like a Christmas miracle and I was beyond ecstatic for them.
The Tampa lightning series didn't go as well and at one point I really didn't think they were going to win it before game 6 they were tied 3-3 making game 6 was a win or lose situation. They put everything they had into it and pulled off the win and one of their players even played with a broken swollen finger! It was a sigh of relief when they won but I soon realized i'd be holding my breath during the final series against the Golden Knights.
The Knights had a better season then any other inaugural teams first season it was the real Cinderella story of the season and everyone knew they would be the ones to beat in the finals.
We were so close to the cup but yet so far away because we knew this would be the toughest game yet. At this point they had so many fans behind them probably most bandwagon fans but besides the point during the finals in Vegas there were way more Caps fans then Vegas fans which was very unusual.
The Capitals surprised everyone by winning 3 games, every game was close so we knew that game 5 was going to be very intense.
Winning a Stanley cup is every hockey players dream so the Capitals came ready to play.
Going into the 3rd we were down 3-2. Caps scored in the 3rd tying it up with 9:32 left in the game. As soon as they scored their 3rd goal, I and probably most Capitals fans started going into shock. I was so nervous that after they scored their 4th goal that I spent the rest of the game with my hand over my mouth. Seeing the guys on the Capitals bench nearly hyperventilating those last minutes were intense especially when the game clock froze with less than a minute left in the game. I remember repeating "Oh my god their actually going to do it" over and over and by the time the clock stopped and the players were jumping on the ice, tears brimmed my eyes.
I wanted so badly to see these guys win, they've had their ups and downs but they have been a constant in my life and I wanted them to be as happy as they make all of us fans who have supported them. Their Captain Alex Ovechkin has been in the NHL for 14 years playing for the same team, 2 years after he was drafted 1st by the Caps he announced at the draft they chose Nicklas Backstrom without their leadership they wouldn't have made it that far, if there is anyone from the Caps who deserved the Cup the most it was them.
Ovi is such a passionate person on and off the ice everyone knew how much winning the cup would mean to him.
The moment Alex lifted the cup for the first time I started crying and didn't stop crying until the last person held it and skated around the ice with it.
I'm not an overly emotional person so the fact that this team winning a championship made me cry is kind of a big deal for me. I don't know these people and I never will but seeing them so happy made me just so happy and proud that they were able to do it, I would of been just as proud of them even if they lost because it was such a huge deal for Ovi and the boys to make it that far.
At the beginning of the season Alex said "we're not gonna be suck this year" and he was right.
Winning a championship proves that you are the best that season and for all the fans that supported them all these years it was amazing knowing everyone knew they were as good as we thought there were this whole time.
This championship wasn't just for them, it was also for their fans. The whole week after they won they celebrated in DC with the cup and the fans which teams don't normally do but that's just the kind of them they are.
Its been over a week since they won but I still remember going to bed that night so happy and it took forever to fall asleep because I was almost afraid that that feeling of happiness wasn't going to last It still felt like a dream. When I woke up and saw they had really won I knew I hadn't been dreaming it was real, my team were still champions.
Just like how I felt so happy when my uncle won the late model championship, I know this feeling of being proud and happy for the Washington Capitals winning the Stanley cup will stay with me the rest of my life. These memories are ones I can't help but cherish since I know these kinds of moments are special. I will never see my uncle win a championship in person for the first time and I know I will never see the Capitals win their first cup again.
These kind of experiences are once in a lifetime moments that give you the highest of natural highs that make you cry without even realizing it. they truly make you feel like you are the champions of the world.
I'd like to say I knew they were going to be one of the top team this season but I really couldn't tell. They always do well enough to make it into the playoffs but always lose in the 2nd round. Playoffs this year just felt right, they were playing great and made it past the first round like expected, then they moved on to play the Pittsburgh Penguins their rivals. The Pens didn't deter them what so ever they ended up forcing them into a game 6 where they won the series 4-2. The Pens had won the last the Stanley cup the last 2 years and the Capitals hadn't even made it to the finals since 1998. It was a huge accomplishment for them just to make it past the 2nd round. It almost felt like a Christmas miracle and I was beyond ecstatic for them.
The Tampa lightning series didn't go as well and at one point I really didn't think they were going to win it before game 6 they were tied 3-3 making game 6 was a win or lose situation. They put everything they had into it and pulled off the win and one of their players even played with a broken swollen finger! It was a sigh of relief when they won but I soon realized i'd be holding my breath during the final series against the Golden Knights.
The Knights had a better season then any other inaugural teams first season it was the real Cinderella story of the season and everyone knew they would be the ones to beat in the finals.
We were so close to the cup but yet so far away because we knew this would be the toughest game yet. At this point they had so many fans behind them probably most bandwagon fans but besides the point during the finals in Vegas there were way more Caps fans then Vegas fans which was very unusual.
The Capitals surprised everyone by winning 3 games, every game was close so we knew that game 5 was going to be very intense.
Winning a Stanley cup is every hockey players dream so the Capitals came ready to play.
Going into the 3rd we were down 3-2. Caps scored in the 3rd tying it up with 9:32 left in the game. As soon as they scored their 3rd goal, I and probably most Capitals fans started going into shock. I was so nervous that after they scored their 4th goal that I spent the rest of the game with my hand over my mouth. Seeing the guys on the Capitals bench nearly hyperventilating those last minutes were intense especially when the game clock froze with less than a minute left in the game. I remember repeating "Oh my god their actually going to do it" over and over and by the time the clock stopped and the players were jumping on the ice, tears brimmed my eyes.
I wanted so badly to see these guys win, they've had their ups and downs but they have been a constant in my life and I wanted them to be as happy as they make all of us fans who have supported them. Their Captain Alex Ovechkin has been in the NHL for 14 years playing for the same team, 2 years after he was drafted 1st by the Caps he announced at the draft they chose Nicklas Backstrom without their leadership they wouldn't have made it that far, if there is anyone from the Caps who deserved the Cup the most it was them.
Ovi is such a passionate person on and off the ice everyone knew how much winning the cup would mean to him.
The moment Alex lifted the cup for the first time I started crying and didn't stop crying until the last person held it and skated around the ice with it.
I'm not an overly emotional person so the fact that this team winning a championship made me cry is kind of a big deal for me. I don't know these people and I never will but seeing them so happy made me just so happy and proud that they were able to do it, I would of been just as proud of them even if they lost because it was such a huge deal for Ovi and the boys to make it that far.
At the beginning of the season Alex said "we're not gonna be suck this year" and he was right.
Winning a championship proves that you are the best that season and for all the fans that supported them all these years it was amazing knowing everyone knew they were as good as we thought there were this whole time.
This championship wasn't just for them, it was also for their fans. The whole week after they won they celebrated in DC with the cup and the fans which teams don't normally do but that's just the kind of them they are.
Its been over a week since they won but I still remember going to bed that night so happy and it took forever to fall asleep because I was almost afraid that that feeling of happiness wasn't going to last It still felt like a dream. When I woke up and saw they had really won I knew I hadn't been dreaming it was real, my team were still champions.
Just like how I felt so happy when my uncle won the late model championship, I know this feeling of being proud and happy for the Washington Capitals winning the Stanley cup will stay with me the rest of my life. These memories are ones I can't help but cherish since I know these kinds of moments are special. I will never see my uncle win a championship in person for the first time and I know I will never see the Capitals win their first cup again.
These kind of experiences are once in a lifetime moments that give you the highest of natural highs that make you cry without even realizing it. they truly make you feel like you are the champions of the world.
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