I don't often talk about my family or my parents but I feel the need to tell everyone a little about my Dad, Leo Holstine on this Father's Day.
My Dad might not have been perfect but I owe him my love of hockey. My Dad had hoped for a son and was expecting to have his only son in 1987 but instead got me. With three girls, my Dad probably thought that his dream of sharing his love of hockey was a long lost dream but he was wrong. My sisters and I learned to love hockey in our own way but I learned to love the game of hockey just like him.
My Dad was born in the Mid-Fifties and would often go to Olympia Stadium with his father and various other family members. Catch him on a day where he wants to tell a story and he will recall one of his favorite memories of Olympia and it really has nothing to do with the players. The story goes that there was a older lady who used to sit in front of my Dad during the game and all she would do is complain about the team and arena. I mean, who really complains about the teams of the 50's? My Dad and his family loved to get bags of unshelled peanuts to crack and eat. Hell, my Dad still does. While other people threw the shells on the ground, my Dad's family would pass the shells down to him and he would fill up the hood of the lady's coat. When the time came to leave, the complainer would go to put her hood on and get a shower of peanut shells. A sort of payback for being a bad fan. Stories like this are often and many when it comes to my Dad. I can say that to this day, he holds the birthday that he spent with Gordie Howe as one of his best.
Many often point out that I dislike the NHL officials more than most. Which is 100% true. Why? Because I got it from my father. Instead of hating the Hawks or the Leafs, we hated the likes of Fraser and LaRue. In Chris Chelios' first game as a Red Wing, my parents were sitting front row. Cheli got into a scuffle with another player and an unhelmeted Kerry Fraser stuck his head between Chelios and the opposing player. My Dad jumped up and could be seen on the television screen screaming for Chelios to hit Fraser because he had an open shot. In later years, my Dad and I would take our complaints about officiating directly to the NHLOA. Some might find this a bit weird but it was a bonding thing that my Dad and I got used to.We have since stopped doing that but we did it for many years.
Until the 2008-2009 season, I had very rarely gone to a single game without my Dad. Every game we had our routine, a routine that I have modified to make my own in the past four years. My Dad and I would go out to eat at a small restaurant in Greektown called The Golden Fleece then take the people mover over to the Joe. I still routinely head to Greektown and take the people mover over before every game. My Dad can't attend the games like he used to due to back problems but I still hold the games I attended with my Dad as some of my favorite. I attended Steve Yzerman's Banner raising with my Dad, Saw championship banner raisings with my Dad, Sat on the glass for the first time on my 20th Birthday with my Dad, and attended my first game ever with my Dad. The picture shown above is one of the last games I attended with my Dad and it is a game that I will never forget.
So Happy Father's Day to all the Dads but most especially to my Dad, Leo Holstine.
