A Slice of Life … with Andi Joseph – After nearly three decades, this loyal fan hopes for a Stanley Cup

Published in the May 2 – 15, 2018 Issue of Gilroy Life

Photo courtesy Andi Joseph
The 16-year-old author at a San Jose Sharks game in 1993. She is rooting for this to be the year the Sharks finally win a Stanley Cup.

It’s been a long time. Almost three decades. I was in high school when it all began — and I’m still waiting.

Hockey has been a part of my life practically since I was born. We lived in the Los Angeles area at the time and, as a longtime Kings fan, my dad’s love of the game rubbed off on me. My family moved to this area when I was in fifth grade, and when the San Jose Sharks came along when I was in high school in 1991, I finally had a home team.

Little did I know that nearly 30 years later, my team would still be chasing the trophy coveted by every National Hockey League team and their fans: the Stanley Cup.

I can’t count how many games I went to that first season, but what a season it was. Those first two seasons at the Cow Palace in San Francisco were rough, but that didn’t stop me from supporting my new team, cheering for Pat Falloon and Doug Wilson, wearing my Arturs Irbe jersey.

The third season saw the team move into the new arena in San Jose — that move seemed to bring them some luck and they started regularly making the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

While I enjoyed games at the sparkling Shark Tank, one of my favorite games was when my dad bought tickets for a Sharks/Kings game. We took a quick flight down south to cheer on the Sharks in Inglewood at The Forum, which was the Kings’ arena at the time. Much to Kings’ fans chagrin, the Sharks won that night.

My professional hockey enthusiasm rubbed off on my high school friends and we’d often go to games together in San Jose. To get playoff tickets back then, we’d get in line in front of a now-defunct music store the night before and camp out until it opened the next morning.

The excitement of having those tickets in hand was always eventually quelled by the Sharks losing every round. It’s been that way for 26 seasons. A couple years ago, they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in history. But it wasn’t their year — again.

And though that’s the only time the Sharks have made the Stanley Cup Finals, they have made the playoffs on many occasions. But it’s always been the same story.

Now here we are, in the team’s 27th season — which is also my 27th season — and the Sharks are once again in the playoffs. They swept the Anaheim Ducks 4 games to 0. Now they face the expansion Las Vegas Knights. Game No. 4 is scheduled for May 2 and you can bet that — although I won’t be physically at the game — I will be cheering on my team.

Because it’s gotta happen eventually, right?

Andrea “Andi” Joseph worked in newspapers for 18 years before transitioning to her current career as a website content writer and marketer. She lives south of Gilroy with her two dogs, Bailey and Cricket. Email her at [email protected].