The moment of the season
Ali Qari

My most compelling sports memory happened April 8, 2000. It was the final game of the regular season for the New Jersey Devils and they were facing off against the Florida Panthers.
We had center ice nosebleed seats. I remember it well because I felt like I was going to fall to my eminent doom every time I stood up. I was only 13 at the time and my brother, four years older than me, had brought along one of his friends. During the pre-game, his friend would continually try to match my brother and my knowledge of hockey, which got old fast, since he didn’t seem to know that much about anything, but luckily by the time the puck dropped nothing came out of his mouth but the usual fan noises.
The 1999-2000 season had one of the most talented Devils teams I can remember. The “A-line”, Jason Arnott, Petr Sykora, and Patrik Elias, was together, putting up big numbers all season. Scott Gomez went on to win the Calder Trophy with rookie of the year honors, and Scott Stevens had another huge season, laying out bone crushing hits and eventually winning the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. To top it all off, New Jersey brought home the Stanley cup and I felt like I was part of it every step of the way.
This night was special because to me, I believed I witnessed the ignition of the fire that burned in the gut of every Devils player until June when they raised Stanley Cup in Dallas after 6 games.
The game was a tight one. After three periods the score was tied 1-1 and we were going to overtime. I don’t remember much of the actually game, but this one play I remember vividly. The “A-Line” was on the ice and there was about 2 or 3 minutes left in the game. Patrik Elias threw a pass out in front and Jason Arnott put the puck home, beating the Panther’s goalie and sending the arena into a frenzy.
Arnott put his arms up in the air and slammed his body into the glass in celebration. The crowd was electric. I could feel the ground bellow me shaking and swaying because of fans cheering, screaming, and stamping their feet. A guy who had a seat in front of the concrete wall that protected him from tumbling down the arena stairs stood up on the wall and started cheering. The arena security personnel had to wrestle him down. I had screamed so much that I couldn’t hear myself anymore. I later realized I had actually lost my voice.
The game had no real significance in the standings or stats column for any team or player. The Devils had secured a playoff berth already (they were set to face off against the Panthers, as fate would have it) and so it wasn’t special in the sense that it meant anything on paper. I did feel though that it was the beginning of a great playoff run. I could sense the energy and the excitement in the crowd and coming from the players. Everyone in Continental Airlines Arena could feel that in the air that night. In my mind, I knew from that point that the Devils team in front of me could go all the way to the finals and raise the cup.
The Devils then went on to sweep the Panthers in the first round and take Dallas in six in the finals. From that whole incredible season though, it was that goal which I will always remember.