The Loop
The Tampa Bay Lightning play-by-play guy losing his mind as they win the Stanley Cup is the best hockey call since that one about the miracles
The date is September 29th, 2020. Notable because A. HOLY SH*T HOW IS IT ALREADY OCTOBER and B. because this morning, the Tampa Bay Lightning—after countless nearly years and postseason letdowns—finally woke up Stanley Cup champions. Congrats to the new greatest sports town on earth. Don’t let any “WeLl iT wAsN’T a TrUe CuP rUn” jabronis try to take this from you. In the immortal words of Jackie Childs, this is real, and this is spectacular.
But while the boys were sipping some ice cold Labatt™ out of Lord Stanley’s chalice, veteran Lightning play-by-play guy Dave Mishkin was popping a couple of Ricola® after his incredible, larynx-lacerating call as time expired. Ladies and gentleman, if sports are just a game, then how do you explain this?
Sorry Al, but that miracles mumbo jumbo is SO 1980. This is the new GOAT call in the hockey hall. In fact, send the footage straight to Toronto where it belongs, throw it on a projector, and blast it against the side of First Canadian Place as the entire city is swept away in a tsunami of their own tears. Oh, and as long as we’re doing apologies, sorry Leafs fans, that was uncalled for.
Perhaps the best part of all this, however, is color guy and longtime NHL veteran Phil Esposito, who, in stark contrast to Mishkin’s histrionics, grasps for words, clearly emotional at the sight of the Lightning lifting the Cup. Mishkin is going to be the star of the IG feeds, and rightfully so, but sometimes a little says a lot.