GO LEAFS GO!

At this time of year, the leaves start turning into their flamboyant colours, detaching themselves and slowly pirouetting to the ground. As if they can't wait to remind us of the other stuff that will soon be slowly floating to the ground. This time of year always sparks memories from my childhood. It is cold enough that, by the time I had run back to the house, the sweat from playing outside all day had already turned into a cold, damp towel around my body. After a quick, warm shower, I would make my way to the kitchen, usually to help Mom get the table ready for dinner. Any stubborn chill still remaining in my body disappears as I drink some of her warm "tong", a Chinese soup that was always present at dinner. But, despite her efforts at preparing, yet, another amazing meal, I would wolf down the food as fast as I could. That was because at 7:30 p.m. sharp, I would always be found, religiously, in front of the TV, watching Hockey Night in Canada. My weekly devotion to my beloved Maple Leafs. My mom actually started objecting to me watching hockey at one point because I would get so excited (or so upset, depending on the outcome of the game), that I couldn't sleep properly. For the better part of the past year, I've had to be a closet Maple Leaf fan. Living in Calgary, EVERYONE is a Flames fan and there's a reason for their passion. (Pro) Sports fans here really only have hockey and (Stampeder) football to choose from, so their loyalties tend to be less divided. And if you're not a Flames fan, you might as well change your name to Sophie and declare that you have six toes. So, I managed to pick up tonight's game between the Leafs and the Flames on my bunny ears (it's odd, when I refer to my TV antenna that way, people give me strange looks) and it turned out to be a great game. Especially when Mats Sundin scored the winning goal in overtime with the Leafs shorthanded due to a very questionable, very late penalty! I was hooping and hollering (probably the only in the entire city). Yeah, I don't think I'll be sleeping too well tonight!