Canesluver
06-15-2003, 10:17 AM
So where was everybody a year ago today? I hope you were at the Rally for the 'Canes downtown. Remember what a great day it was? To continue the flashback threads that NCCanes started, here's one about the rally.
In addition to being there, I taped the event, since WRAL covered it. I watched that tape so many times, I realized that I was starting to memorize it. So, I sat down at the computer and transcribed it (I'm such a nerd!), so that I could put a copy of it in my box of newspaper clippings, game giveaways, etc. that I'd collected during the playoffs.
If you weren't there, and have only seen a few snippets on the Raising 'Canes DVD, here's a transcript:
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HURRICANES RALLY -- June 15, 2002
Jim Rutherford:
“We’ve come a long ways in five years. And in the very near future, we’re gonna try to figure out how to win those next 3 games to win the Stanley Cup. [cheers] Thank you very much to the city of Raleigh and the Triangle for all the support in this great evening. And people now around this country have now finally recognized you fans, because [cheers] for a long time didn’t get the respect that you all deserve. But people talk about having the loudest fans in the league - - but not only do we have the loudest fans in the League -- you’re the most loyal, the most respectful, and the greatest fans in the National Hockey League [cheers, applause]. This has been a great run for the Hurricanes. We’re a little disappointed we didn’t get those last 3 games, but we won the Eastern Conference that was guided that was guided by the Coaching Staff: Paul Maurice, Kevin McCarthy, Randy Ladouceur. They did a great job and thank you very much [applause]. There were many reasons why this team did so well this year. This group of guys is the best group of guys I’ve been in my whole hockey career, which is basically my whole life. They -- to get to this point-- these guys liked each other. They wanted to play for each other. They gave everything they had right to the very end. But this group was very dedicated, disciplined, had great character, and a lot of ability. And the future is very bright. And I’m very proud of this team. It’s a great team and thank you very much to these players. Thank you very much. [big ovation]
(He hands the mike to Paul Maurice)
[Huge ovation for Paul]
[b]Paul Maurice:
“Let’s here it for the band. Nobody ever cheers for the band. [laughs] We came down here 5 years ago, and really didn’t know what to expect. You know, we could only imagine how good it could be and what was waiting for us. And we found a home -- a place for our families, and now we can only imagine after the ride that we’ve just been through -- What happens when we take that next step? [applause] The, uh -- to get to where we even got to this year, you need a lot of things to happen: You need to have the right kind of character in your room -- first and foremost, character is the most important quality in a hockey team. Well -- we could talk for hours about the players that are standing behind me and you’re gonna get to hear it from one of the greats in Ron Francis in a minute. But that lead quality, that quality of character, is always a mirror image of the city and its fans and what you have done for us and what you’ve brought to us in the Playoffs. It turned out the question was asked, ‘How are these guys getting there? How are they doing it?” The secret was the fans. [cheers] ‘Cause there’s not a building that we went into that we were intimidated in. Nobody was as loud. Nobody was as loud for 60 minutes. Nobody was as loud into overtime. [cheers] There wasn’t a place that we would go to that it was even-- even close to what we saw in Carolina. So I say to you-- thank you on behalf of the families for making us welcome. Ronnie will come up and thank you on behalf of the players. But our organization -- and I can only say -- Can you imagine when. . . ?”
(he smiles -- huge ovation -- then hands the mike to Ron Francis)
[b]Ron Francis:
“Thank you. [cheers -- chants of “Ronnie-- Ronnie--Ronnie”] Thank you. I, uh -- I get the pleasure of speaking on behalf of the players and their families. And, uh -- I want to thank you all for the support that you’ve given us. I know it felt great for us to drive around town and see all the Hurricane flags on the cars, and [cheers] the numerous ‘Go ‘Canes’ signs on all the different business establishments. And some people painted their cars. It was just tremendous. I also want to thank -- the guys certainly appreciate all those Caniacs who met our airplane numerous times at 2 in the morning. [cheers] And we hope you certainly enjoyed the opportunity to tailgate at the ESA until the middle of June. [cheers] As both Jimmy and Paul have mentioned -- uh -- I certainly want to congratulate you guys on being THE loudest building in this year’s NHL Playoffs. [cheers] There’s only one problem I have -- the next time we all get together like this. . . we gotta make sure we bring Stanley with us. [huge ovation -- Jeff O’Neil gestures that we wants a chance to speak] Just to end this thing off right, I’ve been asked to introduce Jeff O’Neil who wants to say a few quick words to you.”
(he hands the mike to Jeff, who gives a thumbs up to crowd and gestures to everyone to pump it up -- huge cheers)
[There’s a lot of cheering all through Jeff’s words]
Jeff O’Neill:
“I just want to say that, uh -- you people here -- There’s basically 4 major sports -- and, uh -- I think one thing that Raleigh has to be proud of is that we have the best fans of all major sports. You people are the greatest. And we love you guys and we really appreciate what you did for us this year. So, we’re gonna do this again next year and we’re gonna bring home that big jug for you people, all right? We love you!”
(the fireworks start as Arturs Irbe moves centerstage taking the mike from Jeff. The crowd starts chanting, “Let’s go ‘Canes! Let’s go ‘Canes!”)
(Irbe tries to speak as the fireworks are exploding overhead)
[b]Arturs Irbe:
“Thank you guys. [cheers] It’s all I’m gonna say (pause) Hear me a second. First of all, there have been a lot of good things said about this team and about the ride-- about town and about fans. Uh -- to me -- it’s only few words I would really want to say, and that’s -- uh -- most important thing is . . . .” [smiles -- laughs -- looks up at the sky -- the fireworks are too loud. Most people can’t hear him -- he waits until the fireworks stop -- a couple minutes go by]
“I hope I have a chance now to say what I’m trying to say. [cheers] And that’s very simple-- We set a pretty dubious record for 7 straight ties and a lot of people were joking about it. But you stood behind us and said, ‘You know what? These guys aren’t beaten.’ There were some tough times -- for the team, for the players, for the coaches, for the organization as a whole. Also for you guys because it didn’t look too good, but you always stuck with us when things didn’t go easy. [cheers] When the things go wrong -- you are with us. And it was the best support we could get and I think it’s a big reason why we made this far. And we are not that far off. And we are looking forward to next ride and hopefully we can bring home what we all want to bring. [cheers]
Thank you.” [big ovation]
[The players wave to the crowd, then exit the stage to go inside for a private party.]
In addition to being there, I taped the event, since WRAL covered it. I watched that tape so many times, I realized that I was starting to memorize it. So, I sat down at the computer and transcribed it (I'm such a nerd!), so that I could put a copy of it in my box of newspaper clippings, game giveaways, etc. that I'd collected during the playoffs.
If you weren't there, and have only seen a few snippets on the Raising 'Canes DVD, here's a transcript:
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HURRICANES RALLY -- June 15, 2002
Jim Rutherford:
“We’ve come a long ways in five years. And in the very near future, we’re gonna try to figure out how to win those next 3 games to win the Stanley Cup. [cheers] Thank you very much to the city of Raleigh and the Triangle for all the support in this great evening. And people now around this country have now finally recognized you fans, because [cheers] for a long time didn’t get the respect that you all deserve. But people talk about having the loudest fans in the league - - but not only do we have the loudest fans in the League -- you’re the most loyal, the most respectful, and the greatest fans in the National Hockey League [cheers, applause]. This has been a great run for the Hurricanes. We’re a little disappointed we didn’t get those last 3 games, but we won the Eastern Conference that was guided that was guided by the Coaching Staff: Paul Maurice, Kevin McCarthy, Randy Ladouceur. They did a great job and thank you very much [applause]. There were many reasons why this team did so well this year. This group of guys is the best group of guys I’ve been in my whole hockey career, which is basically my whole life. They -- to get to this point-- these guys liked each other. They wanted to play for each other. They gave everything they had right to the very end. But this group was very dedicated, disciplined, had great character, and a lot of ability. And the future is very bright. And I’m very proud of this team. It’s a great team and thank you very much to these players. Thank you very much. [big ovation]
(He hands the mike to Paul Maurice)
[Huge ovation for Paul]
[b]Paul Maurice:
“Let’s here it for the band. Nobody ever cheers for the band. [laughs] We came down here 5 years ago, and really didn’t know what to expect. You know, we could only imagine how good it could be and what was waiting for us. And we found a home -- a place for our families, and now we can only imagine after the ride that we’ve just been through -- What happens when we take that next step? [applause] The, uh -- to get to where we even got to this year, you need a lot of things to happen: You need to have the right kind of character in your room -- first and foremost, character is the most important quality in a hockey team. Well -- we could talk for hours about the players that are standing behind me and you’re gonna get to hear it from one of the greats in Ron Francis in a minute. But that lead quality, that quality of character, is always a mirror image of the city and its fans and what you have done for us and what you’ve brought to us in the Playoffs. It turned out the question was asked, ‘How are these guys getting there? How are they doing it?” The secret was the fans. [cheers] ‘Cause there’s not a building that we went into that we were intimidated in. Nobody was as loud. Nobody was as loud for 60 minutes. Nobody was as loud into overtime. [cheers] There wasn’t a place that we would go to that it was even-- even close to what we saw in Carolina. So I say to you-- thank you on behalf of the families for making us welcome. Ronnie will come up and thank you on behalf of the players. But our organization -- and I can only say -- Can you imagine when. . . ?”
(he smiles -- huge ovation -- then hands the mike to Ron Francis)
[b]Ron Francis:
“Thank you. [cheers -- chants of “Ronnie-- Ronnie--Ronnie”] Thank you. I, uh -- I get the pleasure of speaking on behalf of the players and their families. And, uh -- I want to thank you all for the support that you’ve given us. I know it felt great for us to drive around town and see all the Hurricane flags on the cars, and [cheers] the numerous ‘Go ‘Canes’ signs on all the different business establishments. And some people painted their cars. It was just tremendous. I also want to thank -- the guys certainly appreciate all those Caniacs who met our airplane numerous times at 2 in the morning. [cheers] And we hope you certainly enjoyed the opportunity to tailgate at the ESA until the middle of June. [cheers] As both Jimmy and Paul have mentioned -- uh -- I certainly want to congratulate you guys on being THE loudest building in this year’s NHL Playoffs. [cheers] There’s only one problem I have -- the next time we all get together like this. . . we gotta make sure we bring Stanley with us. [huge ovation -- Jeff O’Neil gestures that we wants a chance to speak] Just to end this thing off right, I’ve been asked to introduce Jeff O’Neil who wants to say a few quick words to you.”
(he hands the mike to Jeff, who gives a thumbs up to crowd and gestures to everyone to pump it up -- huge cheers)
[There’s a lot of cheering all through Jeff’s words]
Jeff O’Neill:
“I just want to say that, uh -- you people here -- There’s basically 4 major sports -- and, uh -- I think one thing that Raleigh has to be proud of is that we have the best fans of all major sports. You people are the greatest. And we love you guys and we really appreciate what you did for us this year. So, we’re gonna do this again next year and we’re gonna bring home that big jug for you people, all right? We love you!”
(the fireworks start as Arturs Irbe moves centerstage taking the mike from Jeff. The crowd starts chanting, “Let’s go ‘Canes! Let’s go ‘Canes!”)
(Irbe tries to speak as the fireworks are exploding overhead)
[b]Arturs Irbe:
“Thank you guys. [cheers] It’s all I’m gonna say (pause) Hear me a second. First of all, there have been a lot of good things said about this team and about the ride-- about town and about fans. Uh -- to me -- it’s only few words I would really want to say, and that’s -- uh -- most important thing is . . . .” [smiles -- laughs -- looks up at the sky -- the fireworks are too loud. Most people can’t hear him -- he waits until the fireworks stop -- a couple minutes go by]
“I hope I have a chance now to say what I’m trying to say. [cheers] And that’s very simple-- We set a pretty dubious record for 7 straight ties and a lot of people were joking about it. But you stood behind us and said, ‘You know what? These guys aren’t beaten.’ There were some tough times -- for the team, for the players, for the coaches, for the organization as a whole. Also for you guys because it didn’t look too good, but you always stuck with us when things didn’t go easy. [cheers] When the things go wrong -- you are with us. And it was the best support we could get and I think it’s a big reason why we made this far. And we are not that far off. And we are looking forward to next ride and hopefully we can bring home what we all want to bring. [cheers]
Thank you.” [big ovation]
[The players wave to the crowd, then exit the stage to go inside for a private party.]