As some of you know I decided to take my son to his first NHL game tonight. While I expected the experience to be special I had no idea how special it would be for my son and for me.

We got to the ACC around 630..We walked around and I showed by son around, the gift shop, the concessions etc...We walked into the platinums just so he could see the rink up close, as we were going to be sitting up high, very high...Our seats were so high up i wanted him to see the rink from up close..

We make the trek up the escalator, walk around to section 307 and before we go up he asks if we can get some peanuts and a coke..Of course I plop down the $12 and get it..We make our trek up to the last row in section 307..Now Chris can attest these seats are WAY up there..So we sit down and my son still thinks this is so cool, even though we are way up..We barely sit down and out of the press box door comes a man I recognize towards us..He comes up to me and says, "is this your son"..I say yes and he introduces himself as John Mcdermott, the anthem singer...He says this is your lucky day as everynight i pick someone to take my seats...Then he escorts us and says follow me...

At this stage i am like, WOW, my sons first game and we are moving down to platinums...That was the half of it..

We walk through the pressbox , right by Howard Berger..I am shocked at this point and cant get any cool remark at him out..I just smile and nod..John then procedes to take us to the organ room..He introduces us and Adrian to him and says this is his first game...He procedes to let Adrian play a few notes on the organ...HE ACTUALLY PLAYED A FEW NOTES through the ACC..So cool ...At this stage I am like this is awesome and he has the biggest smile on his face..

Then we are escorted through the back, down the elevator and John says come back here...He takes us to the Zamboni area, introduces us to the drivers and Adrian gets to sit on the Zamboni...HE SAT ON THE ACTUAL ACC ZAMBONI..Like wtf , this is insane already..

Then we walk by the Tampa dressing room, we have to wait as the players are coming back from the pre game skate...First player that walks by is Stamkos, I tell Adrian watch that guy he is very good...Then we walk by and John says come here..We go into this mini dressing room and yup its the referees and linesman putting there skates on...We are introduced to them, they all sign their cards for Adrian and have a cool chat...I am still in shock and one of the refs is Auger...I dont have the guts to say, hey I know you and the stuff you been through earlier this year..I dont say anything ...Then John introduces to a whole bunch of staff and they are high fiving and having fun with my son...

So we make our trek to the seats..We are literally 10 rows back of the net...As if that wasnt enough the game turns out to be everything I could of imagined..We see the Stamkos goal right in front of us..A wicked wrist shot that was like WOW...The Leafs tie it 1-1...Then after Stalberg and Bozak score we go to OT...

The save on Lecavalier in OT, followed by the Kessel winner was just a perfect ending to a perfect night..The smile on my sons face was priceless...He will never forget his first NHL game , and i wont either...

I cant thank John Mcdermott enough for the amazing night he provided us , he is truly an amazing gentleman....

And thanks to the Leafs for playing the part and providing a very exciting game.

That is f*cking epic.

I'm sure you thought it would have been a good night just watching the game, but can't ever have imagined it to go so perfectly. That is f*cking awesome. The odds of everything falling into place like that is one in a million. That is insane. Congrats dude, couldn't have happened to a better dude.

That was just an amazing story. What a night for the both of you as Father and Son.

How the living hell do you not introduce yourself to Howard as "Serge from Pickering"?

Good read man, mazeltov.

That is awesome! The word epic fits.

congrats buddy, Im very happy for you+Adrian, thats an amazing memory you will both cherish forever.

Thanks guys..It was so fun..After that night losing the AHL 7th game doesnt hurt as much..

wow, that's so awesome. thanks for sharing.

That is a lifetime experience that you simply cannot buy..... amazing... congrats.....

Very nice. Sounds like an awesome time. I always sneak down to the Golds all the time. Congrats.

VERY cool Serge!

Nice, Serge.

That is a great story serge. What a great night that you and your son will always remember!

Sounds like it's literally straight out of a storybook, couldn't have written the schedule for the night any better yourself

That's freaking awesome Serge!

wow talk about running good.

I think Adrian is officially a Leafs fan forever after that. Stellar night.

I'm happy for you guys.

lol ya..I never run good at the game..They always lose when I go and nothing like that ever happened to me in my 30 years of going to Leafs games.

its definetely his luck...

way to be a kick ass dad

I got to be honest, I started reading this and thought you were practicing some fiction writing. I was thinking, "yeah, wouldn't it be nice if this all worked out like this?" but then realized - it actually did. Congrats and I'm jealous.

What a great story - thanks for sharing it!

Nice story, glad to hear that things like that still happen in this world...and yes, those seats are WAAAY the fk up there.

Did I miss the part where it was revealed if (or should I say what) Chris had anything to do with these events?? He's good people already, but even moreso if this played out as I suspect it might have.

Serge, I have no idea who any of the people are that you referenced in your story, but it sounds like an amazing once in a lifetime experience.

How old is your boy?

The referee, Auger, is the one who was involved in the Burrows brouhaha.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=305786

thanks..he is 5..

OK here is my story, not near as good as Serges, of when I first took my step son to a Habs game in the old forum.
we bought tickets from scalpers, went to our seats in the blues. shortly after the game started some else showed up with duplicate tickets. turned out ours were stolen from the mail when they were mailed to the season ticket holder to whom they belonged. we were taken into the police security area while they inquired about where we got them. They were going to toss us out of the building but when they checked my ID and found I was from BC and had never been able to take my son to a Habs game they asked us to wait a few minutes. when they returned they gave us two tickets in the whites, in a section reserved for Habs alumni and family. So we got much better seats and managed to catch the second and third period.

Awesome experience! Write that story down on paper and get a copy of the game and put it away for your son. He will be telling people that story for the rest of his life.

I'm glad the Leafs could pull out the win for you guys.

thanks..I actually got the pre game notes from the press box..that will be a nice souvenir..

Tonight we will be going to Adrian's first Raptors game..

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!!!

I hate basketball. I hope you guys have fun.

While basketball isnt my favourite sport, i find going to the games exciting..They do a lot of stuff to entertain the fans

Me too but the kid loves it. Have fun at the game.

I have purchased from scalpers many times and always fear this was going to happen to me. "Knock on wood", it has not occurred.

You're welcome.

I think he'll like the fact that he doesn't have anybody in front of him in the front row of the upper bowl.

Yes thanks Bob..Much appreciated..Epic things happen when he goes to games..Look for something out of the ordinary to happen..


Like a Raptors win....

magic

This kid really has some luck..Awesome game , where the Raptors trailed most of the second half..Down by 11 pts and win it on a last shot by Bosh with 2.1 seconds to go...

2-0 record in MLSE games...

I really think for the success of the teams of MLSE they need to send us season tickets to both the Leafs and the Raptors...

Awesome!

This is gold...

I had to read this thread, did not expect this kind of story !

Way to go, such a cool tale to tell his kiddy buddies'..