That's So Game 7...

Although I am not a hockey fan, tonight's Stanley Cup Finals matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings sparked a fire within me. There's something about Game 7 that does it. No other situation in sports can put both team's in such a do or die moment. Every play is put under a microscope. Player's entire careers can be made in a single Game 7. A Game 7 is for sports fans, what Christmas Day is for children. For that reason alone, I may become a hockey fan tonight.

What comes to mind when you first hear, Game 7?

Perhaps Aaron Boone's moon shot off of Tim Wakefield in the 11th inning of the 2003 ALCS. The last American League pennant for the New York Yankees in old Yankee Stadium came off that dramatic homerun. The lasting shot of the old knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield, walking slowly back to the dugout, while the blur of Yankees fans are going berserk in the seats down the right field line. Who doesn't remember Boone leaping from outside the right handed batter's box, to land with both feet on home plate. Then watching the guest commentator, Bret Boone, Aaron's brother, as tears welled up in his eyes. That's so Game 7.

Maybe you think about Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. Madison Square Garden. Willis Reed. Ring a bell? The utterly splendid performance that Walt Frazier displayed(36 points, 19 assists, 7 rebounds) will forever be lost in the shadow that Willis Reed's hobble out of the locker room onto the court cast. That snapshot of Reed's emergence on the floor is one of the most recognizeable icons of New York Knicks lore. The first two baskets he scored of the game would be his only two field goals that night, but have always been credited with giving his team the momentum they needed to defeat the Lakers for the NBA championship. That's so Game 7.

You could go back to the 2001 World Series. The New York Yankees were heavily favored, having won the three previous titles in a row. Game 7 further enhanced the David vs Goliath mentality, as the Yankees held a 2-1 lead with the greatest closer in the game toeing the rubber in the 8th inning. He struck out the side in the eighth and looked set to deliver New York yet another World Series. However the Arizona Diamondbacks, in only their fourth year of existence, had other plans. The lasting image will always be of Luis Gonzalez' bloop hit over the second base bag, as Jay Bell crossed home plate for the winning run. This shot is so memorable if only for the rarity of seeing Mariano Rivera walk off the hill in defeat on the biggest of stages. That's so Game 7.

I wish the best of luck to both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings tonight. There is something more than even a Stanley Cup on the line tonight, for Game 7's have the ability to hold role players such as Aaron Boone and Jay Bell in the highest regard. Anything can happen in one game, and oftentime everything happens in that one game. Perhaps the game tonight could result in my first ever hockey piece. And that would indeed be, so Game 7.