I’m a Different Avs Fan, 21 Years Later

The Colorado Avalanche are the 2022 Stanley Cup Champions!

The team is very different and I am a much different fan than when they won 21 years ago.

I loved the Avs team that beat the New Jersey Devils in 2001. I was ten. The Avalanche were the most important thing in my life. I was thrilled when Joe Sakic handed the Stanley Cup to Ray Bourque.

After the win, shockingly, the world didn’t change. I remember thinking, this is it?

The Avalanche didn’t win a Stanley Cup for 21 years, giving a kid from a city that won four championships in six years a lot of perspective.

I could spend hours listing all of the injustices of the last two decades, but when the Avs won on Sunday night, I wasn’t thinking about any of them. Instead, I reflected on a lifetime of Avalanche moments through tears. It was the first time I’ve cried about sports since Joe Sakic almost became a New York Ranger in the 90s.

I was at the watch party at Ball Arena for the win. My Dad was with me, and he’s the chief reason I love sports. We became huge Avs fans together when the team moved here in 1995. I went to my first Stanley Cup Final game with him this year—Game 1. Unlike many playoff games we attended during my childhood, the home team won!

I got to celebrate with friends who I’m closer with because of our connection to the Avs. My friend Jeni almost died of COVID ten months ago. Having her at the game was enough, but the win made it sweeter. Jeremy bet on the Avs when they were terrible and bought season tickets. We’ve experienced both jubilation and heartache, like Game 5 of the Finals—which we forgot instantly.

I got texts immediately from friends around the world. This includes my  friend who got me through the pandemic bubble games in 2020 and her dog Cricket! The joy from the biggest Avs fans in Minnesota was clear even in text form. I also heard from  my friend on his honeymoon in Italy, who I delivered Avs scores to across the room during his wedding (the Avs won 7-0) and  the podcast cohost I convinced to like hockey.

Then I looked at the dark press box and thought of my time covering the team.

Ten seasons ago, as a reporter, I made my way to the press box for the first time. I sat next to the plaque that honored my friend Jessica Redfield Ghawi, who had lost her life the previous summer in the Aurora Theater Shooting. We became friends because of the Avalanche. If there’s anyone I wish could have covered that game in Tampa, it’s Jessi.

As I watched the Avs celebrate, I thought of players long retired, the many twists of fate and the fact that Erik Johnson won a Stanley Cup. 

This is it!

I wasn’t old enough to appreciate any of this at ten years old. The Avs weren’t old enough for Colorado to really appreciate back then.

At ten, I didn’t know that when you love something as much as I love the Avs, it shapes your life. It dictates the people you look up to and how you spend your time. It gives you an avenue to get through the challenging moments and a connection to strangers who become friends. This fandom is the fuel that unites a city and a perfect way to tell stories.

I’m grateful now for this team and all of the players from the last 21 years who made it special. I’m thankful to have covered this team in its lean years and returned to fandom before the Avs won the cup. I’m grateful to every friend I’ve made or dragged along on this journey.

The best part about this Avalanche train is that it keeps going. The puck will drop next fall, and we’ll gather once again.

This story is to be continued… after a parade.