A word about the Vegas Golden Knights and their Stanley Cup win last night. Those of us that lived in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017 remember how we felt after a gunman killed 58 people and injured hundreds of others, shooting into a crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival from a Mandalay Bay window. Las Vegas isn't that big; we all knew people in that crowd, we had friends that were hurt or killed, and the community was in shock. The Golden Knights were less than a week away from their very first game as an expansion team. In the days between the shooting and their first game, the players visited blood centers and hospitals, they were genuinely good guys, clearly affected emotionally just like the rest of us, and they went above and beyond and started to galvanize a relationship with the community. Then they started playing, and they were good. Really good. It was perfect timing; Las Vegas needed something to believe in, to rally around, and the Knights were there to provide us with a point of pride, adopting "Vegas Born" as part of their identity. In their inaugural home game, they paid tribute to the victims of the shooting and to the first responders, and Las Vegas began to fall for this team of cast-offs who called themselves the Misfits. As the season went on and they kept winning, tickets got harder and harder to come by. We really couldn't believe they were this good, hovering near first place all season long, and eventually winning their division, unheard of for an expansion team. Then, before their last home game of the season, they retired the number 58 and raised a banner with the names of those we had lost, forever commemorating the victims of that horrifying night. The Knights went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals that year, eventually falling to the Washington Capitals. It was an incredible run, and the Las Vegas community was hooked. So as we watched them win it all last night, I think it was bigger than other Stanley Cup championships. There was something more at work last night. Las Vegas remembers that inaugural season, how the Knights helped the Las Vegas community start to recover from the unspeakable evil we experienced, and we remember the names on that banner hanging above the Knights players as they took turns hoisting the Stanley Cup and celebrating. Go Knights Go!
You are spot on. That inaugural season was a galvanizing force a city that was hurting. Watching them lift that trophy was simply amazing!
This is so well said, I said the same thing today. I remember that date well and how we all rallied around the Knights.
Thank you for posting and writing the above Scott. We old LV residents and or Transients will always remember. Last night performance as well as their first year in LV is great medicine for those of us that love the City. Hope all is well. CT
Well said, Scott. The Knights were here when we needed them and they continue to give back to this city in so many ways. Watching them take turns with the cup was amazing - well, what I could see through my tears anyways.
That’s powerful.
Awesome post Scott! 💯 eloquently explaining how so very many of us feel!
Great sentiment Scott. Hope you are well. #gopreds
Sports at its best -- Serving as unifier for the community. Congratulations!
Really well put Scott
Congrats! Though I personally liked the outcome of the 2018 Stanley Cup better :) #ALLCAPS