Oh What a Ride: Anaheim Ducks Hoist the Stanley Cup

On a warm June night in Anaheim, a group of men emerged from the shadows of Disneyland to claim their small spot on one of sports' most sacred trophies. 

The Stanley Cup is no ordinary piece of hardware.  Standing three feet tall and weighing 35 pounds, the NHL's holy grail is so special that it has its own entourage. 

That's right folks: The Cup has full-time custodians, gets polished regularly, is handled with white gloves, and flies anywhere it goes.  The trophy is famous enough to often eclipse the team that wins it, but not after this paragraph.

I had goose bumps on my arms. The only words I could manage were "Oh my God." Breathing was an afterthought.

Finally, after several failed playoff runs and that heartbreaker in Game Seven in 2003...Lord Stanley's Cup belonged to Orange County.

To an outsider, the road may seem like a short one, but it wasn't. For me, the ride to this year's Stanley Cup started at the beginning of the season, when the Ducks and the Buffalo Sabres both chased the mark for the longest regulation winning streak in league history. The boys from the OC pushed their magical run to a record 16 games, setting the tone for a season that would end in glory.

There were ups and downs along the way, of course. The Ducks suffered their share of injuries in 2006-07,  and logged a record-setting number of penalty minutes. They also won their first Pacific Division title, though, securing home-ice advantage for three out of four rounds of the playoffs.  

An interesting note is that three of the four coaches in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs got their start in Anaheim: Ron Wilson, who helms the San Jose Sharks; Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, who led the 2003 Cinderella Ducks to their first Finals; and of course current Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, whose team eventually beat that of his predecessor and went on to win it all.

You couldn't have asked for much more on the night of the celebration.  With streamers and confetti falling from the rafters for what seemed like an eternity, I could only think about how magical, how unique, the season had been.

Sure everyone wants a repeat...but there's nothing quite like that first time.

That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.