St. Louis Blues: What’s Your Favorite Blues Memory?

While it’s hard to pick from for those of us that have supported the team as long as we can remember, we all have a favorite memory of the St. Louis Blues. Let’s roll back the memories and think of them.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been a St. Louis Blues fan. It was something I didn’t really have a choice in. I suppose I could have changed after I had grown up, but the team was always around even back in the days when only a handful of games were shown on KPLR 11. So, it was ingrained on me at an early age.

With a six year gap between us, my brother and I didn’t always have the most in common but it seemed like he’s somewhat responsible for many of the things I like. Star Wars comes to mind. We practically wore out the bootleg VHS copies of the films we had (yes, we’re terrible people doing that, but I’ve more than made up for it with Star Wars purchases since then).

The same can be said of the Blues. He would be watching the games in the living room television and I would watch until I got bored (I was like 6) and then I would grab my little plastic golf club and pretend it was a hockey stick and shoot a foam ball at the front door.

Between that and Ken Wilson making every game exciting with his overuse of the Oh Baby, I didn’t stand a chance. It’s somewhat similar to how many fans became Cardinals fans. Someone in the family just had it on and the kids got hooked.

So, it should come as no surprise that my favorite Blues memory involved my lone sibling as well. I’ll be up front and say I can’t remember the exact date of the game in question.

The Blues almost certainly won, which unfortunately doesn’t narrow down the field much. I don’t remember it being cold, so that would cut it down to either a warm winter day or the game on April 5, 1994.

Regardless of all that, I remember many things very vividly. My parents had been given two tickets to the Blues-Blackhawks game by a friend. They instead let me and my brother go. He was still in high school, so it was a big bit of responsibility being thrown his way.

We drove up to the game in his old Buick. It was the very definition of a boat. Brownish exterior with doors that swung open almost as wide as a jumbo jet’s wings, faux white leather interior that burned any exposed flesh during the summer months and a hood so long that if you crashed, the car might not reach the cab for five minutes.

The game was at the St. Louis Arena, aka the Old Barn. I remember, even as a kid, noticing how dirty the place could be. It smelled of beer, popcorn and other smells that probably should not have been there had it been a more sanitary environment. I remember seeing the cats wandering around the inside of the building after St. Louis Storm games.

Even with all that, it was still a fun building. It was loud. Too loud for me as a child. However, as I got older, I appreciated it more. Yes, the seats were uncomfortable and close, but there was just an atmosphere in those old arenas that can’t be quite matched in today’s buildings no matter what amenities they offer.

We sat in the upper deck, but had good seats. I remember sitting behind a railing, so there weren’t any people directly in front of us, which was good since I hadn’t hit my growth spurt yet.

The game was exciting. You could tell, whether you were a longtime fan or a novice, the game meant something. The rivalry was palpable even in the seats. Though there weren’t near the numbers you see at today’s games, there were still the usual handful of Blackhawks fans there.

I remember going to the restroom after the game and seeing two separate fights break out. One was just a loud argument inside of the restroom. Not the place to get into a scuffle since people’s aim was not the best by that time in the night.

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There was also an actual physical altercation out in the concourse as well. Although it could have been an ugly situation and probably should have been viewed differently, I just remember thinking how awesome it all was. How it just added to the atmosphere.

I’m almost positive the Blues won, which would make that April game where the Blues were 5-1 winners the most likely game. I know there were several fights during the game too, which while becoming a bit passe now, was still a huge draw then. Regardless, it was just a very fond memory that I hold to this day.

The Blues of that era were in their hayday before Mike Keenan came in and started tinkering to make things in his image. They had all the old greats that seemed like they had been there forever even though their time with the Blues was actually short.

Brendan Shanahan and Curtis Joseph were around. Craig Janney was still trying to get a handle on the big shoes left by Adam Oates. Kelly Chase and Garth Butcher were beating people up. Phil Housely and Steve Duchesne were laying the groundwork for today’s offensive defensemen and Jeff Brown was doing it all.  Of course, there was Brett Hull to see in person too, but that goes without saying.

There wasn’t a ton of talking on the drive home, but there didn’t need to be. We sat in the parking lot a little too long for a kid’s attention span, but it really didn’t take long to get out since we had stayed in the arena awhile.

Though the team regularly exited in the first round, it was still a great time to be a fan. The Old Barn, the players, the rivalry, the fights. It was a fantastic night.

As a close second, I do have to quickly mention my other favorite memory. The night my wife and I got engaged, we went to a Blues game.

The entire thing was planned around the game. As an early Christmas present, I got her a personalized Blues jersey with my last name on it and her favorite number. Wrapped up in the jersey was the engagement ring. When she opened up the jersey, she seemed to sense something was up due to the last name being mine and not hers and when the box popped out, I proposed.

Of course, in typical girl fashion, she started asking why I would make her cry right before heading over to the game, but she said yes and that was the main thing. Interestingly enough, one of those picture takers noticed how happy she looked and mentioned that she looked like she just got engaged without even knowing.

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Sadly, the Blues could not win by more than two goals. I kid. They won the game over the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-4, which capped off the experience. We both walked down to Kiener Plaza to look at the Christmas lights after the game. Like the experience with my brother as a kid, it was a night I will remember.

Those are my favorite memories involving our beloved hockey team. What are some of yours? Let us know in the comments and see how many are shared with other Blues fans.