Gimpy: Red Wings

Let me tell you guys something. Four years before my father died, we were playing street hockey in the street. And he gets down on one knee and he says to me, son someday you’re going to be on your own, you’re gonna have to judge new people, and make your own decisions. And if there’s one thing you can take with you through all of these times, it’s loyalty. It means that somebody out there gives shi t about you. And you have to ask yourself who do I give a shi t about. Every day when you wake up and before you go to bed, you need to have a long look in the mirror and ask yourself who you are loyal to. If you ever forget who and what you are loyal to, then you forget yourself. After Game 6 Tuesday, I asked myself that very question and it lead to deeper thinking. What is loyalty is sports? How does one show loyalty to a team? Is it writing your team off when they blow a chance to win the cup? No. It’s giving a shi t about every second those players in red are working their as sses off on that ice. It’s about supporting your team no matter what. It’s knowing that the sun will rise in the morning and will you be there to meet it. If the red wings show this loyalty tonight, there is no doubt in my mind that we will be able to emerge victorious. The penguins showed incredible loyalty on Tuesday and in many of their playoff games, but this is the SCF and it will take the wings to next level of loyalty to be successful. Even as supporters of these wings, we must show loyalty, never wavering. If the red wings show loyalty and we show loyalty back, we cannot lose. Remember, without loyalty, that desire, that inbred spirit, true greatness can never be fully realized. But thanks be to heaven, every so often, a team emerges from the pits of he ll to become something greater as a whole than any one player could ever be. And that my friends, will be the Detroit Red Wings tonight. And that my friends, is loyalty.

Let me tell you guys something. Four years ago, I went to a Pirates game at PNC Park against the Chicago White Sox. Once I bought my ticket, I had a $20 bill left. But when I got to my seat and decided I was hungry, I could not find this bill. So my friend I was with didnÂ’t have enough for me and I could not too much longer without food or I would have died. So we rode the elevator down to the concession stands and one of the ushers who was an elevator operator heard my story. Now, ushers do not get paid too much I suspect. ItÂ’s more of a retirement job to be around a place that they love- the ballpark. But this usher lent me $20 out of his own pocket. I had never seen this man, but he gave me $20 for food. It was unbelievable. So I got food and enjoyed the game thoroughly and the Pirates ended up winning in the bottom of the ninth inning off a Freddy Sanchez homerun 7-6 to break a 13 game losing streak. Great day. I think I paid the usher back eventually. Now what does this usher lending me money have to do with the red wings being in the Stanley Cup Finals tonight? Loyalty. The usher showed incredible loyalty to the human race and me by lending me money even though he didnÂ’t know me. That was loyalty. Loyalty means that somebody out there gives a shi t about you and you have to ask yourself every day who you give a shi t about. If you forget who you are loyal to, then you forget yourself. The red wings are where there are right now because of loyalty. If they were not loyal to themselves, their fans, their coach, and their owners, we would be watching another team right now, but their loyalty has trumped all their opponentsÂ’ loyalty so far. In order for the Red wings to emerge victorious tonight, they will have to be more loyal than the hockey world has ever seen. Our loyalty must carry us through the Red Storm tonight. Never forget loyalty. Remember, without loyalty, that unwavering desire, that inbred spirit, the will to be great, true greatness can never be fully realized. But thanks be to heaven, every so often, a team emerges from the pits of he ll to become something greater as a whole than any one player could ever be. And that my friends, has been the Detroit Red Wings so far this playoffs and will be the Red Wings tonight. And that my friends, is loyalty.

Let me tell you guys something. Four years before she went off to college, my sister and I were playing soccer in our backyard. It was a normal nice summer day so it was odd when we saw a baby rabbit run across the yard like the devil was on its tail. Even odder was the next thing we saw. We saw our neighbor’s pet cat, white as snow, chasing after the baby rabbit. Since the rabbit was only a baby and the white cat was fully grown and had been living in the wild for years, it was much faster and caught up to the rabbit. The cat grabbed the rabbit by the throat and dragged in underneath an abandoned shed. My sister began to cry, but I did not. I figured in was the circle of life. I just wanted to keep playing soccer. But my sister sat me down and said, “Brother, let me tell you a little something about loyalty. Loyalty is the most important attribute of an human being. It means that somebody out there gives a sh it about you, and you have to ask yourself who you give a sh it about. Right now, that baby rabbit needs our loyalty and if we can look in the mirror and tell ourselves that we are loyal to that rabbit, then we dam well better save it.” So reluctantly, I helped her get under the shed and grab the rabbit. As we were leaving with it, the cat began to chase us and we made a run for it. But we escaped into our garage where my sister nurtured the baby rabbit for a couple days and then set it free where it hopefully lived in safety. Now what does saving this rabbit have to do with the red wings and pens tonight? Loyalty. We didn’t have to save that rabbit. In fact, we actually disturbed the natural progression of mother nature. But my sister showed resilient loyalty to that rabbit. That baby had a rabbit father and a rabbit mother and maybe a rabbit civilization who were worried sick about it. But only through my sister’s loyalty was this rabbit able to enter back into the rabbit kingdom. If the red wings show this same loyalty tonight, there is no doubt in my mind that we will be able to emerge victorious. The red wings have showed incredible loyalty in many of their playoff games, but this is game 5 of the SCF and it will take the next level of loyalty to be successful. Even as fans of these beloved red wings, we must show loyalty, never wavering. If the wings show loyalty and we show loyalty back, we cannot lose. Remember, without loyalty, that unparalleled desire, that inbred spirit, the will to be great, true greatness can never be fully realized. But thanks be to heaven, every so often, a team emerges from the pits of he ll to become something greater as a whole than any one player could ever be. And that my friends, will be the Detroit Red Wings tonight. And that my friends, is loyalty.

Let me tell you guys something. Four years ago, a group of my friends and I decided to go ice skating at the local recreation center. So I was last in line and all of my friends paid $5 and got in. As I went to pay, I discovered that I had lost my five dollars to get in. I started scrambling and emptied my pockets but I could not find that money. I began to get desperate when the lady at the entrance just said "Just go ahead young fellow." So I thanked her and counted my blessing that the lady was a good soul, letting an old scrat middle schooler like me in for free. So I rented my skates and went to put them on to discover that the five dollar bill was in my shoe. So I had a decision to make and I consulted my friend Zachary. Zachary said, "Brother, let me tell you a little something about loyalty. You could walk away and skate and have a great time tonight for free because of the kindness of an old lady. But there's something more to it. Sometimes the easiest and most economically sound decision isn't always the right choice. Sometimes we sacrifice our well-being just because it's the right thing to do. And that is loyalty my friend. It means that somebody out there gives a shi t about you. And you have to ask yourself who you give a sh it about. Now look in the mirror, ask yourself who you are loyal to, and if you are as loyal as the woman, then give her the five dollars back." So I heeded my friends advice and I decided to be loyal. I gave the money back and the woman appreciated it. And I had a great ice skating time that night. Now what does this story have to do with game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals? Everything. Don't you fools understand? Loyalty is what has carried us this far and it is what will carry us throught the storm. If the fans on this board are loyal tonight and the players feed off of this loyalty and we prove our organization to be more loyal, we cannot lose. Loyalty is the most important attribute and it will never fail us as long as we never fail to be loyal. Remember without loyalty, that unending desire, that inbred spirit, that willingness to be great, true greatness can never be fully realized. But thanks be to heaven, every so often, a team emerges from the pits of He ll to become something greater as a whole than any one player could ever be. And that will be the red wings tonight and every night. And that my friends is loyalty.

Let me tell you guys something. Four years before my father died, we were playing street hockey in the street. And he gets down on one knee and he says to me, son someday you’re going to be on your own, you’re gonna have to judge new people, and make your own decisions. And if there’s one thing you can take with you through all of these times, it’s loyalty. I’m means that somebody out there gives shi t about you. And you have to ask yourself who do I give a shi t about. So far, the Red Wings have shown resiliant loyalty in the face of adversity as they have beaten the penguins twice without some of our better players. But it will take a new level of loyalty, of commitment to win the cup. It's something we need tonight. Before the game tonight, we all need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves who we are loyal to. We need to be loyal enough to will our team to victory as prove ourselves more loyal than their fans and their team. Remember, without loyalty, that desire, that inbred spirit, true greatness can never be fully realized. But thanks be to heaven, every so often, a team emerges from the fiery pits of Hell to become something greater as a whole than one player could ever be. And that so far in the playoffs and tonight will be the Detroit Red Wings. And that my friends, is loyalty.