MEMORIAL CUP CHAMPIONS
Spitfires sweep tournament, beat Erie 4-3 at rowdy WFCU Centre
Unwashed lucky undershirt? Check. Fuzzy red wig? Got it. Goofy face paint? Good to go.
A sold-out crowd of 6,500 screaming, drunk or dressed up fans squeezed into the WFCU Centre on Sunday night to watch the Windsor Spitfires beat the Erie Otters in a hard-fought game to take the Memorial Cup.
Players tossed sticks in the air and fans were on their feet howling as the Spitfires won 4-3 after battling tooth and nail through the dying seconds of the game.
Even in this colourful crowd, Rob Haglund stood out. He went all-out with blue-and-red face paint, a Spitfires jersey, several strings of beads and a noisemaker hanging from his neck, and a giant red wig that would make Ronald McDonald look conservative. It was his way of helping take the team to victory.
“I like to wear costumes and I figured it would be good luck for the Spitfires,” said Haglund, 47, who brought his wife and three daughters to the game. “I’m wearing a shirt underneath from when they won their first game on Friday. It’s a good luck thing. I’m superstitious. And I made the whole family wear jerseys.”
Some people started early, tailgating at the edge of the WFCU Centre parking lot hours ahead of time. About an hour the before the game, the lineup to get through the doors next to the community rinks was hundreds deep.
When the doors opened, thousands of fans flooded into the arena from all sides, clogging the main hallways in search of beer, memorabilia and hockey greatness.
“This is what we hoped for, we hoped that we would fill this place,” said Ken Strong, 52. “The kids deserve it. The year they’ve had and how they’ve worked through the injures, they deserve this.”
Strong, who has been coming to Spitfires games for nearly two decades, was sporting a Spits jersey, a cardboard novelty hockey helmet and waving a big Spitfires flag.
“All in, been that way for a lot of years,” he said. “We watch the Memorial Cup all the time, every year on TV, and you want your boys to be in it. To have it on home ice, in your city with your boys, there’s nothing better.”
Windsor’s hometown boys became the 10th host club to win the Memorial Cup since 1983, and the first team to win after exiting their league playoffs in the first round.
The win meant a third Memorial Cup for the Spitfires. They won the trophy back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. Sunday night’s win was also the 12th consecutive victory for the Spitfires, tying the Kamloops Blazers for longest winning streak at this event.
The hometown crowd did its best to help their team, with chants of “Go Spits go” already deafening before faceoff.
One of the Spits’ biggest fans is also one of the littlest. Amanda Tellerd, 33, brought her daughter Jocelyn to the game as an unbeatable fifth birthday present.
“It’s important for her,” said Tellerd, a season ticket holders for three years. “It’s a good opportunity for her be able to experience it in her own backyard. This is just so huge. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her, especially on her birthday.”
Jocelyn said her birthday party was Saturday, but the real fun was Sunday watching the Spitfires. She likes the Spitfires “really much,” but that was really all she had to say about the matter, with her attention focused on the ice.
Jamie Osborn, 37, is equally dedicated. Between 2008 and 2010, he followed his team on the road, seeing them play at every arena in the OHL. He wore his typical hockey game attire Sunday night: bomber gear including goggles and a leather pilot’s hat. It’s his good luck charm, his way of helping out the team.
“I’ve worn this since the 2009 Memorial Cup for all their big games,” said Osborn, a fan since he was eight years old.
Win or lose, most fans were just happy to have a seat at the game, with tickets on resale sites going for several hundreds of dollars.
“Even to buy the tickets for this evening to get my family out, it’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Haglund, a Spitfires fan since he moved to Windsor from Winnipeg in 2005. “I think the last time the Memorial Cup was here was 1981. I think it’s pretty special to get the family come out to see this.
“The fact that the Spitfires are actually in the finals makes it that much better. Just such a huge aura.
“We’re excited.”
Even to buy the tickets for this evening to get my family out, it’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.