There are many reasons why I wish I was around during the 60’s -- the music was daring and soaked with raw energy, comics and baseball cards were works of art, movies were fresh and outstanding, sports were shot on grainy film and fans dressed to the nines as they cheered with unflinching loyalty, and the Big Bad Bruins were simply the most perfect team in any sport.
Young, elegant, dynamic, rich, strange, violent, emotional, entertaining, and totally committed to winning -- they didn’t dominate the NHL for as long as the Celtics did in the NBA, but the ‘69-‘70 Bruins were special almost beyond the description of words.
Boston drank the Bruins like champagne, and television brought the magic of the Garden into the living room; “TV38 Sports Presents ‘The Road to the Stanley Cup;’” Orr, Esposito, Hodge, Stanfield, Ace, Turk, Chief, Swoop, Shadow, Elbows, Pie, Cheesey -- they were a Dick Tracy comic strip on ice. They were a snapshot from a moment in time, frozen in gold. Black and Gold, to be exact. And so, today, as the defending Stanley Cup champs went 12-0-1 in the month of November, we should take a moment to consider the possibility that we could be in the midst of a another golden era. The talent and the personalities are there, the fans are there, and most importantly -- the Cup is there.
