Patience pays off

Growing up with parents raised around the Kitchener area, junior hockey, more specifically, the OHL was held in high regard, although usual from a Kitchener Ranger perspective. From what I understand from my dad, Kitchener is a great town for junior hockey and after sitting in the crowd at the Aud in 2008 for the Memorial Cup, I found out first hand how classy and knowledgeable the Kitchener fans are.

So of course when it was time to 'settle down' I picked a location that has not only an OHL team but one of the most storied franchises (if not the most) in the OHL, Oshawa. Of course, it helped to have friends living there. The Generals have such a storied past and graduated perhaps the best hockey player ever, Bobby Orr, into the NHL. Okay so I am biased towards number 4 but he ranks right up there with the likes of Gretzky, Howe and the Rocket.

Almost five years has passed since first moving to Gens Country (just made this term up if you hadn't realized...it's rather lame) and in that time I have purchased a couple jerseys for OHL teams but not one from my new hometown Generals. (The two were Brian Kilrea's Ottawa '67's and of course the Rangers). That all changed this year with the release of their alternate (a.k.a third) jersey. The retro blue sweater worn at the time Orr was in junior hockey. It was almost a given since I had been trying to decide whether I should buy the red or white Generals jersey for a while now. I saw the blues around the rink last year and was wishing those were an option to buy.

Thanks to the HST cheque that was just received I was able to make this purchase. Of course there was money left so I took a drive to Belleville and purchased their third jersey that I have wanted since the 2008 Memorial Cup. That's right the 'ugly' gold jersey with the red bull dead centre. I don't even like the Bulls but that jersey will definitely stand out wherever it is worn. Perhaps my love for that jersey stems from my sister's dislike of it, who knows. For me it is another jersey to add to my collection. 4 OHL jerseys down, 16 to go...maybe only 14. Brampton's is possibly the worst in sports and I don't know if I can bring myself to buy a Petes jersey, at least not if I want to retain my Oshawa friends.