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.