I live in Sweden. This was during the 97-98 season. I was at this particular night visiting my parents and my dad just got these new sportchannels. That night they showed Red wings vs Chicago. At that point I had never watched NHL at all. I was stunned.... Detroit played as I´ve always wanted my domestic team to play. I ended up watching the entire game and just kept smiling.
Things didn´t get worse when I saw that the wheel in the red wings logo looked exactly the same as the spare rims for my newly purchased camaro.
Unfortunately the first playoffs I could follow in its entirety was the -02 season. If the games weren´t televised I used NHL-radio. because of time zones, games here in Europe (usually) are broadcasted after midnight so I was in constant insomnia during the playoffs... It was definitely worth it!