Justin_Crowder

My parents grew up in a small town near the tip of south-western Ontario, situated somewhere between Toronto to the East and Detroit, Michigan to the South. Somehow in spite of his unfortunate geographical situation, my father lived and breathed the Red, White and Blue of les Habitants. An unpopular affinity among friends and family alike, his obsession with the Canadiens allowed him the last laugh more often than not as he faithfully followed the HABS through their supremacy of the late 60’s and 70’s. In the spring of 1984, my parents welcomed their second child and first son into the world, not yet far removed from their hometown in the heart of Leaf-land. Having the wherewithal to secure the faith of this child, already endowed with Bleu-Blanc-Rouge in his veins but potentially subject to pressures from the dark forces of Leaf-Nation, my parents packed up and moved to la Belle Province before I could yet stand on skates and just in time to watch the Canadiens win their 23rd Stanley Cup. In a way, I was raised by the Canadiens. Some of my most vivid memories from early childhood consist of lying on the living-room couch with my father, watching ‘our’ HABS and absorbing the wisdom of the game. I grew to appreciate and emulate the characteristics of HABS, both past and present… the passion and drive of Maurice Richard, the stoic composure of Doug Harvey, the robust leadership of Jean Beliveau, the artistry and imagination of Guy Lafleur, the confident intelligence of Bob Gainey, the determined focus of Patrick Roy and, most recently, the understated courage of Saku Koivu. In 1993, I stood in the Montreal Forum and was overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion in the closing minutes of the Canadiens’ 24th Stanley Cup victory. Though it needed no encouragement, my love and reverence for all things ‘CH’ was thoroughly cemented at that moment and has not skipped a beat since. Now, at 24 years of age, I spend my time passing on my knowledge and love of hockey and the Canadiens to my beautiful girlfriend and her highly impressionable young daughter. Judging by the latter’s “Go HABS Go” chant at the sight of any ‘CH’ logo and the former’s immodest crush on Alex Kovalev, I’d say you can count two converts in favour of the good guys… Hockey in Montreal, as my girlfriend begrudgingly accepts, will always be my first love, though she has managed to battle her way into a ‘1-a’ position… I’m also a huge fan of music (generally rock) and of live music in particular, and am quite certain after receiving my tax refund that, between the Canadiens and his Montreal-based entertainment group, George Gillett recoups a higher percentage of my annual income than does the federal or provincial government.