Inaugural Team

[More 2004]

Watching all the videos from the inaugural tribute brings back so many great memories.

I was lucky / unlucky and attended a few games that season at the Expo Hall. Hockey was very different back then, better in some ways worse in others. It is very cool to see all the boys together again.


I had the bumper sticker all over my trapper keeper for school. I will post a picture here shortly.. I STILL have it! hah.

Click to read more...

 

[More 2004]

Figure this may be a great thread to share your favorite non-stanley cup winning Bolts memory.

 

[AlphaCatalyst]

Found this last night and watched it. Was trying to find an appropriate thread to put it. This seems good.

 

[These Are The Days]

Found this last night and watched it. Was trying to find an appropriate thread to put it. This seems good.

Are you serious? I've been looking for this for years. Glory to you sir!

 

[More 2004]

Found this last night and watched it. Was trying to find an appropriate thread to put it. This seems good.

Yes! I have this on VHS but haven't been able to watch it in years. Thank you.

 

[These Are The Days]

I'm 12 minutes in and am gonna stop here for now. But a few quick thoughts.

1. Holy crap the Hawks took us lightly
2. I seriously cannot fathom how Espo pulled this off. This is an actual NHL game on a major sports network being played in a rigged up arena. How in God's name did he manage to do this? By hook or crook the SOB made this happen.
3. We are beating the defending Campbell Conference Champions
4. It's too bad this was about a month and a half shy of my 4th birthday and I would have been too young to understand everything that was happening.

 

[More 2004]

"Arena" is being extremely generous. It was literally a large garage with dehumidifiers. It was bad.. really bad, but at the same time awesome to have a professional game right down the street.

I remember the first game I attended at the Thunder Dome.. I thought I was in heaven.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

I love little nuggets like this one of Espo changing the rink size



Espo's book is a great read too for anyone who hasn't yet. Lots of great detail about all the behind the scenes stuff.

 

[These Are The Days]

"Arena" is being extremely generous. It was literally a large garage with dehumidifiers. It was bad.. really bad, but at the same time awesome to have a professional game right down the street.

I remember the first game I attended at the Thunder Dome.. I thought I was in heaven.

lol you're not kidding. I couldn't think of a better word for the finished product. I remember taking my family to the Florida State Fair walking through there the first time and telling Lady Sunny "They used to play hockey games here" and I don't think she was quite comprehending the magnitude of my statement because the Expo Hall was exactly what you said it was. It wasn't exactly hot that day but we all know that it can crack 90 degrees easily in October out in the fields there. God that ice must have been so bad hahaha.

Being able to see the full game in its presentation is really completing the "mind f***" on me right now. Considering the way that this was done, Esposito had no business getting a hockey team but it was justified by Ottawa playing in Civic Arena as well.

I can only imagine the Thunder Dome. The NHL must've seen the 28,000 people that night and thought "holy crap this is the biggest thing ever" and it was in a market that had hockey for only a full year.

 

[RDTBay4]

I have autographed photos from the Espositos, Crispy and many more. My dad had season tickets for the first 14 years.

 

[Hoek]

I wasn't into hockey during the Expo Hall days but man the ThunderDome was a blast. I miss that place. That's why I still say we should have a stadium series game there instead of an outdoor game.

I watched the inaugural game on Fox Sports Sun back when they rebroadcast a bunch of classic games before the 20th anniversary. Whole thing is surreal and now I wish I had been there since day one in retrospect. I started going to games in 1995.

 

[AlphaCatalyst]

I wasn't into hockey during the Expo Hall days but man the ThunderDome was a blast. I miss that place. That's why I still say we should have a stadium series game there instead of an outdoor game.

They can do local advertising as “Return To Thunderdome”

 

[RDTBay4]

Tropicana Field is a dump. Please no.

If it was going to happen here it would be at Raymond James, but I just don't see how they could maintain the proper ice conditions. They'd have to get extremely lucky with the weather and have it land on the one day it's actually cold here all year.