From the ThunderDome to two straight Cups
i remember when folks around here were still calling the team an expansion joke, back in the day when we were skating in the ThunderDome with crowds that made a car dealership lot look packed. seen worse, believe me, and that's exactly why the 2004 parade sticks with me — grown men in full jerseys and helmets in that furnace heat, like it was a January night in Toronto 😄 watch as long as I have and you'll get it: you don't skip the ugly years, they're what make the Cups taste sweet.
Been here longer than some have followed.
ah the thunderdome days, don't get me started 😄 remember sitting through those games wondering if the sun would beat us or the other team would. half the crowd was there for the spectacle and the other half was us true believers yelling ourselves hoarse in that concrete oven.
and yeah that 2004 parade, folks showing up in full gear in june heat like it was a leafs game in january, that picture says everything about who we are. back in my day nobody outside of florida even knew how to pronounce "lightning" properly, and now we've got two straight cups hanging there. been through a few rebuilds myself with my season tickets and let me tell you, moments like that make every empty-arena season worth it. bolts forever lads 😉
Been here longer than some have followed.
Funny you all bring up the ThunderDome, because my dad took me to a game in that concrete sauna when I was a kid, and honestly the 2004 crew and this current group have more in common than people admit. Both were built on guys nobody else wanted, the '04 team had castoffs and kids who turned into killers, and the modern Bolts were drafted late and developed at home instead of buying a Cup. Same stubborn DNA, just with better haircuts now.
That said, I'd still keep them in separate boxes in my head. '04 was a lightning strike (pun intended) - one magical spring, Brad Richards turning into a god for six weeks. This era is sustained excellence, two Cups and years of deep runs, which is honestly harder to do. Different flavours of great. And yes, I was on that parade route melting in full gear like an idiot, and I'd do it again tomorrow if they give me the excuse 📊😄
I keep my own tables 📊
Man the 2004 parade, I still got the pics somewhere, guys in full pads and jerseys sweating buckets in the heat like it was game 7 😂 that's love, you just know. From that concrete oven to two straight Cups, nobody gave us a shot in either era 🔥💪
My uncle still swears he wore a snowsuit to the 04 parade as a bit 😂 Froze nothing, sweated everything. Bolts fans built different 🤣🍿