I'm Going To Be Emotional As Heck When Eric Lindros Gets His Jersey Retired Tonight
True love is the soul’s recognition of its counterpoint in another, and I love Eric Lindros with all of my heart. Some kids pretend they’re Batman when they’re growing up. Other kids pretend their Superman or Spiderman. The only superhero I ever had interest in when I was a kid was Big E. And I’m sure there are plenty of other people who grew up in the Delaware Valley who were the same way. So we’re not just watching a Flyers jersey going up in the rafters tonight. We’re watching Superman’s cape get it’s rightful place in Flyers history.
The weird thing about tonight, however, is that I guess it means it’s finally all over. It was awesome when Lindros and LeClair were inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame together especially because up until that time, we haven’t really seen much of Eric in Philly since he was a Flyer. It was great when Lindros was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame because you’re watching your childhood idol get immortalized as one of the best to ever play the game. And now we have tonight. Eric Lindros will become the 6th player in Flyers history to have his number retired by the team. For an entire generation of Flyers fans, he’ll be the first Flyers that we were actually able to watch to receive the honor. Which is great to see your guy receive that legendary status. But there’s not really any more awards or accolades that come after this. Eric Lindros becomes a legend, we tell younger generations of Flyers fans how much they missed out on not being able to watch him live, and that’s about that. So soak it all in tonight because outside of a few random alumni games here and there, this is probably the last time we’ll get to see Eric Lindros at center ice of the Wells Fargo Center.
I could go on and on about how incredible Eric Lindros was as a hockey player. There are very few players in the history of the game who have had the rare combination of size and skill that Lindros had. When healthy, he was the most dominant player in the world at his time. He could skate circles around you, dangle you to death, murder the back of the net, and then kick your ass in a fight all in one shift. He was a freak of nature with the kind of size and talent that will transcend time. But people always talk about how great Lindros was as a hockey player. I’m just here to remind you that for as dominant as he was on the ice, he was also equally as handsome.
People often forget that. So congrats, Dad. Nobody has earned this as much as you have.