When it comes to scrolling through the cerebral Rolodex of memories made during my four-plus years at Boston Sports Journal, the task of singling out just one evening amid such a crowded field stands as an arduous undertaking.
Because, frankly, there are countless games and events that spring to mind during my time at TD Garden, Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park.
There were the numerous locker-room chats with players in the Bruins’ locker room — back-and-forth conversations that helped spark stories such as Charlie McAvoy’s love of surfing with his father, Oreos raining down on Jake DeBrusk, Jeremy Swayman’s treks in the Alaskan wilderness, the origin of Boston’s goalie hug and the tales of Darla Forbort.
There were numerous treks on the road — be it multiple jaunts to New York, trips out to the West Coast and especially a visit to South Bend for the 2019 Winter Classic.
There was documenting Tom Brady’s return to a rainy Foxborough last October — and countering such bittersweet musings with the revelry found at Fenway during the Sox’ playoff run just a few weeks later.
And of course, there were the many highs (and occasional lows) of documenting the last few years of the Black and Gold, especially their run to the Stanley Cup Final on my first full season on the beat.
And yet, when it comes to plucking one memory or moment that lingers for me, I always look back to May 29, 2021 — the night when full-capacity crowds flocked back to TD Garden after more than a year of canceled contests and barren barns.
It helped that the Bruins bested the Islanders, 5-2, in the playoff bout. But that Saturday night meeting on Causeway Street represented more than just a hockey game — it represented all that is beautiful about the world of sports, and why I’ve always been drawn to it.
More than just the highlight reels or the drama drawn from a playoff run, sports has always been about the community – and the camaraderie forged between family, friends and even complete strangers when your favorite team is battling out on the ice, diamond or field.
As we chronicled in the immediate aftermath of that matchup:
"It definitely kind of warms your heart,” Pastrnak added. “Kind of reminds you why you play this sport.”
Maybe that’s it, maybe that’s what makes sports so great ... why we keep coming back for more.
It’s not always about the game or the event itself. But about the memories forged between you, your friends, your loved ones and plenty of complete strangers in the midst of this bizarre thing we call sports.
Because what makes something special — if you can’t share it with others.
It’s why we wait outside in line for hours on end with your buddies to scoop up some same-day tickets.
It’s why we pack ourselves into uncomfortable bleachers or rickety seats year after year.
It’s why you looked into the stands for your family after burying your first goal.
It's the lump in your throat when you bring your kid to Fenway for the first time, as your pop did with you years before.
As time passes, some of the details from our fandom might fade: the final score of a playoff bout, who sank the winning basket, etc. But what rarely gets lost is the memory of who we were with when we shared those moments together.
Years from now, perhaps you might remember that David Pastrnak tallied a hat trick on the night of May 29th, 2021.
But the final score might be a bit fuzzy. Hell, perhaps 40+ years ahead, you may not even remember who Boston played that night — or even what season it was.
But what won’t be lost are the memories made by you and those closest to you — nor will any of us forget the sights and sounds that Cassidy and his players cherished out on the ice this dreary, late-spring evening in Boston.
The sights and sounds of a city and a way of life reborn. And the validation of this bizarre, beautiful thing that we call sports.
Welcome back, everyone. pic.twitter.com/pkhz0YdbSa
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 30, 2021
To witness that validation firsthand and get the opportunity to document it stands as a memory that I won’t soon forget.
And now, as I pen my final pieces here at Boston Sports Journal, I feel grateful not just to the Boston sports community as a whole, but especially the loyal readers and subscribers here at BSJ — a group of passionate diehards who welcomed me with open arms back in 2018 and made every day working here a pleasure.
Whether it be our weekly mailbags, game reports, analytics breakdowns or various features, your readership and engagement made my job the opportunity of a lifetime, and I’ll carry all of the lessons learned and memories forged from my time here at BSJ with me moving forward.
And of course, I can’t thank Greg enough for taking a chance on me as a newcomer back in 2018 and giving me a shot to cover the pros. I’m extremely proud of the work that Greg, Sean, John and the entire BSJ crew puts out, night in and night out — and that won’t change any time soon.
As for me, I’ll still be around — whether it be following along with the fantastic coverage that this great website churns out, or even jumping into the comment section from time to time. :)
The headline above might read “farewell”, but perhaps the apt salutation is “see you around”.
Because given all that I’ve seen and heard from the BSJ community over the years, I know it’s just a matter of time before I run into a few of you at the rink in the coming months.
After all, there are plenty more memories to be made this season.
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Editor's Note: On behalf of everyone here, including my family, I can't thank Conor enough for the great work he did here — often beyond the call of duty — in the last four-plus years. We're all big Conor Ryan fans, and knew it was only a matter of time before he moved up and out. We wish him nothing but success and will watch with pride as he continues to surely climb in this business.
We never want to lose anyone, but this business is what it is in this day and age. We try to do the most with what we have, and sometimes that means saying goodbye. BSJ will continue on, we'll continue to cover the Bruins as you would expect. I would just ask for a little bit of patience. The timing is a bit rough, and the important thing for us is to make we make the right hire, not the just next one. We'll likely be trying out a few people over the next couple of weeks — I'll even be covering the Winter Classic due to the timing — to make sure the fit is right, with the goal of having the right person in place to cover a possible Stanley Cup run.
Good luck, Conor, don't be a stranger - and I know you won't. And thank you to the BSJ community. It's because of your support that we can give someone like Conor a real shot to show that they can do — not just churning out copies for clicks — and to make Boston sports coverage better on the whole as a result.
- Greg A. Bedard
