57. Tom

This story has a back story..

One of my favorite things to do is to talk hockey with older fans. You know, people that have seen the many incarnations of the NHL, that were old enough to be drunk watching Bobby Orr at the old Garden but young enough to not have them feel it too hard in the morning.

My first Chicago experience was in 2011 on vacation. Upon arrival, I dropped off my stuff at my hostel  and headed out to find a bar because desperately needed a drink. I found this hole in the wall basement pub somewhere in Lincoln Park, where the only people there were the surly old man bartender and the surly old men patrons. I was 24, by myself, wearing this little floral frock. Within 10 minutes I was talking sports with the men at the bar. Within a hour, the place filled up and I was friends with everyone there. (Mostly all middle aged people.) I texted my dad to let him know that Chicago is heaven and I was never leaving. Two years later, I moved here. 9 months after, it's finally starting to feel like the place I fell in love with.

At any rate, I am finishing up my last full week at my current job to move onto a new opportunity. (Terrifying in its own right, but that's another story for another blog.) With most of my customers being incredibly cranky this week, I'm more convinced I'm making the right choice. Today however, the customers have been golden. I spent a half hour on the phone with two of them just talking. One of them was Tom. What started as him placing an order and then asking where the office is located for small talk, turned into a conversation about hockey.

As you are likely well aware, I am a passionate Bruins fan. I don't get the chance to talk about the NHL much because most of my friends here aren't into sports at all.  (That's not a complaint by any means, its just the way it turned out.) While I'm still close with my hockey crew back east, there is something wonderful about talking to someone who's seen generations of players take the ice. It's also great to have a conversation with someone who knows your sport, but comes from a different allegiance.

Tom is a Carolina Hurricanes season ticket holder and has been for at least 10 years. We talked about everything from the recent cup wins, to a time when helmets weren't required. Most importantly, we spoke in length about why we love the game so much. That's the thing with old timers, they don't care your gender or how long you're been watching the game. They don't care about your fantasy team stats or who's on the back of your jersey. They just love the game, and will talk to anyone about it- even people who aren't listening.

It was good to listen, and I ate up every word. As we hung up he said to me,

"OK Miss, well you have a great weekend and don't be too salty to Blackhawks fans. They don't know any better!"

I'll try not to be, Tom, but I guarantee nothing..