Tags
In January 2014, my sister-in-law surprised my brother-in-law, David, and me with two tickets to the Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs game ….in Boston! David, has ALWAYS been a Boston supporter, from when he was a kid and had black and yellow skates and had to be No. 4 for Bobby Orr, his hero. Me? I’m a Leafs fan, win or lose, I support them! Off we went with David in his Marchand jersey and me in my Kessel jersey – the thing to remember is that Kessel used to play for Boston.
For those of you who know David, know he’s been going through a rough time the last few years after a skiing accident so when Linda purchased the tickets, she made sure we were seated in the “disability accessible” section so David would be comfortable. The seats were great! As David had trouble walking, I was more than happy to be the beer runner. After waiting in the line-up, I ordered my two beers….and was then asked for ID! WTF? I look under 19??? Boston bi-law – everyone shows ID or no drinks. Are you serious? I knew I left ID back at the hotel thinking I wouldn’t need it so in a panic, I hurried back to David to ask him if he brought his. Yes! “Walking stick and all, you’re it!” I told him. Poor David ended up the beer hobbler….several times! To add insult to injury, on my way to the washroom, several times thanks to the beer, I was heckled about my Kessel jersey to the point that I had to say “Look, I’m not really Kessel; I’m far too thin!” It was a great game, and the Leafs won 4-3 to make it even better.
Afterwards, we decided to stop for a pint at one of the pubs . Again, thanks to that damn bi-law, the doorman wouldn’t let me in. So, on to the next pub ….this time with a plan. No doorman! David would go in first and order the drinks while I went to the washroom. Feeling smug that we’d beat the system, I called my wife to pass on the results of the game, then handed the phone to David. While he was on the phone, I was took a seat at the bar and noticed two separate groups come in, ending up on either side of me. They obviously had been arguing outside and decided to continue the discussion at the bar, with me in the middle! One of them piped up and said “If you’re going to fight anyone, fight Kessel”. After being heckled all night at the game, the comment didn’t really bother me. Then he said it again. Hang on! After the third time, I blew a gasket! I looked the guy straight in the face and said “If you say that one more time, I’ll do you!” I’m not sure whether it was the surprise of my English accent or the “I’ll do you”comment, but it shut them up. Seeing what was going on, David told my wife he had to go as “Trevor had found some new friends”.
We ended up chatting with one of the groups and even though they were Boston supporters they said “we hate Kessel, but we like you!” Boston has a reputation of being a tough town, but don’t piss off Kessel!
troubleswithtrevor 