Happy Filled My Whole Body

For any die-hard Leafs fan, one might think that the title of today’s post came from Leaf’s legend, the man with the infectious smile, the late Johnny Bower. I can recall countless evenings watching Hockey Night in Canada, when special ceremonies to commemorate Leaf’s history would open the game. Often they included Johnny, face creased with joy, smiling and waving at the adoring crowd. The man oozed happiness, for the moment, for the love of his team and its fans. Just seeing Johnny Bower at games made me smile with affection for perhaps the best ambassador for the game and the team I have loved since winter evenings on Saturday night meant being glued to the TV to watch hockey. So on a recent visit to Legends Row in Maple Leaf Square, I HAD to take this photo above of Mr. Bower, kind smile and all.

In fact, the quote in the title could very well come from me! Last night I had the pure joy of watching my favourite team live at the Air Canada Centre as they played long-time rivals, the Montreal Canadians…and beat them soundly, 4-0! When I last lived in Toronto I had a tradition of taking in a Leafs-Habs game each March as a reward for a good year at work. The day would dawn and I would plan a full-day adventure that would culminate in the game. Photo walks in the downtown core were usually paired with a nice supper somewhere special and then the revered walk to the ACC to sit in a seat so obviously meant for me. I would phone my Dad and let him know where I was sitting so he could watch for me from his perch in his favourite hockey-watching recliner back home in Forest.

One year I sat behind Darryl Sittler! The seats at the ACC are a bit of a challenge for the long-of-leg like me, and so my knees were in the poor man’s ears. I happened to stand up to visit the loo on this occasion and my hands, rather than push myself up on the seat in front of me, landed squarely on his broad shoulders. What’s a gal to do but give those shoulders a good squeeze? His smile and warm hello to a (cheeky) fan melted my heart! So did Red Kelly on another Leafs-Habs pilgrimage when, sitting next to me in his Leafs jacket and giant Stanley Cup ring, allowed a fan to naively share that she did her Grade 6 speech on the legendary Leonard “Red” Kelly. He smiled wide and even wider when he saw my red hair. He lifted his cap and said “look, none left.” Later, after the game, as I sat talking to my Dad on my cell phone as everyone left the building, Red came back to where I was seated and shook my hand and said it was a pleasure to meet me! Two Leaf red heads, sharing a moment of pure joy. This memory makes me smile even today. A cherished moment in time with my Dad and my hockey hero.

So…who uttered this quote above? Johnny? Red? Me? No, in keeping with Leaf lore, new Leaf call-up from the minors, Andreas Johnsson, said this to reporters last night as he tried to explain his post-first-career-NHL-goal celebration that can only be described as a buoyant leap of joy that brought the stands to its feet. Everyone in the building understood the magnitude of this moment and rose as one to celebrate the next great Leaf hopeful.

Happy filled all of our bodies in that instant.

Go Leafs Go!