The History of the BB

The Brass Bonanza was made famous by the Hartford Whalers. Whenever I hear the song, I feel a smile begin to creep onto my face. It reminds me of so many happy memories during my childhood. Typically, when I would hear the song as a kid, it meant only one thing: THE WHALERS SCORED!!!!!!

So, as I am back from spring break, I decided a fitting first entry back would discuss the history of one of my favorite songs. The song was first recognized after a game played on April 11th, 1975. The Whalers were part of the WHA at the time and were playing against the Minnesota Saints. The record for the most penalties in a WHA was reached in this game at the Hartford Civic Center. The total was 41! Unbelievable. According to this blog post, http://www.brassbonanza.com/hcc/whalers-audio/whalers-vs-saints, there was a total of 217 minutes of penalties! Since this point, this song always recognized a goal scored for our beloved Hartford team.

The song was last officially played at the final Hartford Whalers game on April 13th, 1997. The last goal of the game was scored by Kevin Dineen.

I actually interestingly found out that the Brass Bonanza was played once again in 2006 before a second round playoff opener of the Carolina Hurricanes against the New Jersey Devils. For some reason, it bothers me to hear that...

...Another sad post by a fan still obsessed with the Hartford Whalers!

#bringbacktheWhalers!

Did I mention that I love Keith Primeau? Did I mention that he has a younger brother, Wayne Primeau, who also was in the NHL? In the 1996-1997 season, Wayne Primeau played for the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres and the Whalers played on April 7th, 1997. In the 2nd period, at 17:00, the Primeau brothers took part in an epic fight. Here is a video from youtube:

This was towards the end of the Hartford Whalers. However, it is a memorable fight that will always be associated with the last games played at the Hartford Civic Center. I thought it would be nice to show some history of Whalers games that I remember and even those I don't.

I have a new topic that I would like to discuss now. I have began to use a Twitter account to try to gain some attention about bringing back the Hartford Whalers. Since I am fairly new at Twitter and receive notifications from my personal Twitter account on my smartphone, I unfortunately did not see some replies to a previous tweet until today. However, I received so many more responses than I initially expected from people interested in the Whalers returning to Hartford. I can't believe it! I am so excited now; we definitely will be able to get #bringbacktheWhalers to trend on Twitter. Who knows, maybe the NHL will recognize our requests and a team will consider moving back to Hartford. None of our efforts will hurt.

Brass Bonanza

A Whalers Fan 'Till The Day I Die

...I am a die hard Whalers fan. You might not believe me, but I can prove it. When my dad first moved to Connecticut in the 80's, he and a few of his friends decided to share season tickets for the Whalers. There were 2 tickets, so my mom used to attend most of the games with my father. When I was 4 or 5, my dad decided to bring me to a game instead of my mother. After that one time, I was addicted. I had found my first hobby. Every picture or story I had to complete in school included some aspect of the Hartford Whalers. Obsession was an understatement. My lovely reverie ended way too soon; The Hartford Whalers last game at the Hartford Civic Center was April 13th, 1997 when I was 6 years old. It was my father's 40th birthday. I bawled my eyes out when the game was over. I knew that a part of my life was ending. The next season, my beloved team switched fan-bases and became the Carolina Hurricanes.

My favorite player at the time was a recently traded Canadian from Detroit. His name was Keith Primeau. He played the position of center, which was likely why I immediately chose him as my favorite. So, for my 7th birthday, my father sent a letter to the Hurricanes organization and asked them to pass it on to Keith Primeau. He included some pictures of me and mentioned how much I loved Primeau. So, Primeau decided to try to call me for my birthday, however, my father had only provided his office phone number. The receptionist at my dad's office mentioned that a "Keith Primeau" had called and left a message for Brittany's birthday. My dad was astonished and so upset that he missed the call. He contacted the Hurricanes organization again and gave Primeau our home phone number asking him to try again. So, the day before I began third grade, Keith Primeau called my house. I could not contain my excitement. I paced around the entire house talking to him on the phone for a while. Needless to say, it was the best phone call I have ever had. Primeau made a little girl's dreams come true. He even sent me back the pictures my dad had sent him with his autograph. To this day, it is still prominently displayed in my bedroom. Here is a picture:

Since then, I wrote my college essay on how Keith Primeau inspired me and how much of a hero he was to me. Maybe I sound over obsessed, but do you ever remember back to  your childhood heroes? Did they care enough to seek you out and make you feel special? Because of that, I will be ever grateful to Keith Primeau. Who knows, maybe through this blog that I am creating for class, I can generate some buzz and even possibly get a team to consider coming back to Hartford?

Regardless, until the day I die, I will be a Whalers fan.