I sat in the chair in the Devils new Legacy Lounge prepping for my interview with Mike Bolt, just like any other interview, I scour over my notes, making sure I know what I want to get out of the interview, and then put my notes away and wait.
There is something very different about waiting for a player or coach to enter an interview room. It's routine by now, after 15 years in this business, it's part of the day-to-day grind.
I thought to myself, why do I feel nervous about an inanimate object arriving. I think to myself, I'm going to be distracted sitting next to it. Time to focus.
The Stanley Cup was coming to Prudential Center.
The nerves might sound crazy, but I'm being honest when I say they were there. When Bolt, one of the Hockey Hall of Fame's Keepers of the Cup arrived, out of his trunk came the box that holds Lord Stanley. There is nothing unique about the box, it's like any other travel box on wheels to make it easily transportable. And yet, everyone knew what it was. As it made its way through the Prudential Center garage, someone stopped and asked, 'is that the Stanely Cup?!'. Even in its box, tucked away in the blue velvet lining, people just know.
Twice more it happened while rolling through the Prudential Center hallways.
In the smallest way, that is the allure of what has to be the greatest trophy in all of sports, and I was honored to sit down next to the real one (there is a replica that spends its days at the Hockey Hall of Fame) and dive deep into its history and the behind the scene stories of this incredible Cup.
So many great stories are ahead in this week's 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.
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