This year on Christmas morning, I was opening presents with my family when I came across a small box hidden away among the wrapping paper shreds and browning pine needles beneath the tree. My curiosity peaked, I plucked it from its hiding place, and after some (very quick) thinking, decided to open it. As I began tearing at the red and gold paper, my mom suddenly pulled her phone out and began very obviously recording my endeavor. This was incredibly suspicious, and for a moment, I considered just placing it back beneath the tree before anyone else noticed. No, I had to continue what I had started. Finally, I lifted the lid and pushed the tissue paper aside, blinded by a divine light and deafened by the chorus of a thousand angels, the warmth of what can only be described as the touch of a celestial being filling me to my core with elation. My brain couldn’t fully process the words printed in front of my eyes that were now blurred with tears. There in the box that I was now afraid of tainting with my touch was a very special package that included: 2 tickets to the Bruins vs. Canadiennes Alumni Game, 2 passes for the CBS Scene Pregame Party, and finally, two tickets to the 2016 NHL Winter Classic.

My boyfriend and I were ecstatic (especially since the Boston Bruins are the foundation of our relationship) and it was all we could talk about for a week. We had an incredible time and I will never be able to repay my parents enough (real talk, though, I couldn’t believe how amazing our seats were!). There are a few points that need to be addressed, however, and that is the true point of this article.

The Alumni

First of all: I almost had a stroke when I heard Terry O’Reilly’s name. Come on, the man holds the record for most penalty minutes! Watching him fight was more entertainment than watching any boxing, wrestling, UFC, whatever else. Not to mention that physical play is the Bruins’ style, that’s how it has always been. It doesn’t always work but for Mr. O’Reilly, that doesn’t seem to be a problem. Cam Neely, Mark Recchi (who scored 2/5 goals and assisted once), all of the Sweeneys (Don included), P.J. Axelsson, Lemelin, Raycroft, and quite a few more all played an especially entertaining game.

And of course, Ray Borque! I was not yet into hockey when he played, but my boyfriend was and he worships him. I understand why of course, the man is a hockey God. When the announcer declared the game would be determined by shootout, I was disappointed. I hate shootouts. Hockey is a team sport, not individual. Shootouts are 1-on-1, and while that can be easy and great for other teams, I would much rather have a game end in regulation or have extended overtime like the playoffs. My boyfriend was horrified when I explained this, and insisted that 1-on-1 would be incredible! I thought to myself “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, but traditionally we’ve sucked on the shootout and Borque had a 1-v-1 penalty shot and didn’t get it, so….” The smug smile he gave me when it was all over is burned into my memory forever.

The Alumni Game was amazing, very entertaining and it was so cool to see all of these old players I never got the chance to see in their time. Having the players from both teams reunite for this special game helped to reinforce the tradition of the game, as well as show the connections made over a lifetime in a sport that so many, including myself, have come to bring so close to our hearts. What really got me was the incredible displays that just proved time and time again why this rivalry is the biggest in all of sports, recognized even by those who really don’t know anything about the sport! Once again reinforcing tradition and deep connection, allowing the idea to really resonate with those nostalgic for the past, and those learning for the future.

The Winter Classic

Finally. It’s here. On game day, he and I were out the door by 7:30 a.m., with parking lots open at 9:00 a.m. We were so desperate to just be there, to take it all in again even more than the previous day (and the pregame party started at 10:00 a.m.). Gillette Stadium, I will state over and over, was a perfect choice for the game. Really as long as you weren’t close up on the corners of the rink, you could see no matter where in the stadium you sat (unlike Fenway in 2010, which numerous people have expressed to me was awful). While I don’t follow football much, it was pretty exciting to be watching such a huge game in the home of 4 time Super bowl champion Tom Brady and the Patriots. (The New England Revolution play there as well, but people tend to forget them. Go, Revs!) I’m sure most people have seen the design of Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and Montreal goalie Mike Condon. Rask’s helmet will now be added to the Patriots hall of fame.

Alright, so the game. If you watched this insanity, undoubtedly you know that the Bruins were the big disappointment the entire game until the last 10 minutes of the third. Seriously, guys? What even was that? It really was like they forgot how to play competitively, or that this game really mattered. They didn’t seem to give a damn at all, which actually hurt a lot. I was confident that they wouldn’t even score one goal, luckily Belesky got the one assisted by McQuaid and Spooner. To watch them so royally screw up is bad enough in the regular season but on such a big event? Claude Julien and some of the players including Torey Krug, Patrice Bergeron, and Tuukka Rask commented on this as well, explaining how disappointed they were in their performance and how downright embarrassing it turned out to be. Krug mentions how they let down a great city and a great organization, but what they failed to mention was the national broadcast being made of this game. The NHL uses this game to bring in a wider audience and broaden the fan base to more than just your local team, and they rely on this game to be a good one. However, this year was not entertaining at all, just embarrassing. I'm sure that by the time Montreal brought it up 3-0, most at home had shut the game off and cost NBC ratings. This makes the Bruins look bad, and overall the NHL.

Let’s talk strategy, since the Bruins obviously couldn’t. Is anyone else sick and tired of seeing the Bruins lack of adaptability? Dump and chase was a constant move they made and it always resulted in the turnover. I know it seems CRAZY but most of the time when a play is resulting in the opponent gaining possession every time, you should probably change the play. Had Marchand been playing, maybe he could have beaten someone else to the puck, but he made a savage hit and was suspended (and let’s face it, he deserved the suspension). But, when you don’t have players like Marchand and Krejci, you can’t continue playing as though they are still in. There was plenty of time to review and practice, and plenty of other directions to go, so I don’t know why Claude was all over dump and (realistically don’t) chase. We do not have the speed the Candiennes do, and we need to compensate for that.

I’ve already seen tons of hate flying from every corner for Tuukka Rask and let me just say that it was not just on him. Given that Rask made over 30 saves with almost zero help from the defensemen. Most of these saves were incredible too, such as the glove snap in the first and robbery within the first two minutes of the game. It was raining “Tuuuuuuuuuk” almost the entire game. So why blame the goalie? Did some of us forget that the Bruins were outshot 12-2 in the first period?? I certainly didn’t. If the Bruins do not have possession of the puck, that means the opponent does, and they are hitting the goaltender hard. This is not new, and not a surprise. Had the rest of the team made any effort to support their goalie, I’m sure the scoring may have been different.

The final score was a heartbreaking 5-1 Montreal. I don’t think I’ve ever been so mad at the Bruins as when I saw P.K. Subban down on the ice all confident and smug like he is. Condon had an amazing performance, and I have to begrudgingly give him a nod.

I’m not going to get into my rage at NBC for the horrible musical performances (Simple Plan, please let me inform you: you guys really brought down the stadium and I think you know it. Don’t butcher the Canadian national anthem. And seriously, where were Dropkick Murphys??). I will quickly say, though, I was among the thousands upon thousands of people chanting “We want Rene!” when the "Voice" winner came to sing the national anthem. He is great, and I feel bad for the poor guy, but he is no Rene Rancourt.

The Fans

This rivalry, as I previously mentioned, is easily the biggest in sports. That said, I was so excited to really feel the atmosphere between the fans in the stadium on such a large scale. When we were first entering the stadium, I noticed a few people driving by yelling obscene things at some Montreal fans walking in front of us and quite honestly I was appalled. Come on, guys, we are classier than that. I apologized to them and they were perfectly nice guys, we joked back and forth but overall everything was nice and civil. I made it my mission to show other Montreal fans that we weren’t all like those guys. Every time I met people wearing the jersey, I introduced myself and explained this to them. I was pleased to hear that overall they had mostly been good and friendly interactions. This made me proud, I love that this is the impression we make more so than the jerks. It’s one of the many things I love about Boston sports. So, thank you to those who didn’t suck, and to those who did (like the guy in section 240 harassing kids about Montreal’s lack of Stanley Cup in their lifetime, come on, dude), class it up. Show the Habs that we are better.

Overall, this whole experience was one of the best in my life and I will never forget it as long as I live. The Bruins will come back and make us proud, and the fans will remain as loyal as always. Thank you to the fans who make me so proud to be a Boston fan, and thank you to my parents for giving me the opportunity to have this wonderful chance. I will always be grateful.

Go, Bruins!