Hockey at the Centre

Twenty years ago, in March of 1996, Centre Bell (then Centre Molson) swung open its doors to a new generation of Montreal Canadiens fans.

If you grew up in an era when the Montreal Forum was the physical and spiritual home of the Habs, you probably never quite warmed up to its replacement. Certainly the pitiful way in which the old facility was gutted to accomodate an ill-conceived retail and entertainment centre didn't do much to endear old-school Canadiens fans to the new building.

Twenty years on, Centre Bell has developed its own unique character that deserves recognition and appreciation. Credit is due in large part to the Montreal Canadiens organization who have used the building as a showcase for the team's storied history. Everywhere you turn there are reminders of the organization's past glories and what it has meant to the city it calls home. Credit is also due to the architects who had the foresight to design the lower bowl seating as a virtual duplicate of the Forum's red seat section, something that lends an authenticity to the building itself, but also provides an intimacy that few modern arenas offer.

Though it has been twenty years, fans and media still talk about the ghosts of the old Forum, with whimsical musings about whether said spirits have at last commuted down the road to Centre Bell. In many ways, the organization itself has played up this mythology with ceremonial torches, film tributes and montages set to inspirational music that borders, at times, on religious fervor. For me, the ghosts are just a metaphor for those clinging so tightly to the past they cannot appreciate the history being made today.

As with many NHL arenas, watching a hockey game at Centre Bell is often a bombastic audio/visual assault on the senses. Certainly that wasn't the case in the era of the old Forum, but that was a different time. Let's face it, even if the old building were still around, you can be assured it would kitted out with a comparable sound and light show. Though much has changed, when Centre Bell's pipe organ starts chiming the signature 'Go Habs, Go' jingle, it feels every bit like games I attended as a child. I did so with my father at my side, watching wide-eyed as my hockey heroes dashed and darted and battled their way to victory.

With deep appreciation to an exceedingly generous family friend, I get to attend more than my fair share of Habs games. I know that the experience my son enjoys is very different from my own, but I cannot help but think that Centre Bell will mean as much to him as the old Forum does for me. These are his hockey heroes and this is his hockey shrine. When I look around the building, see the faces, hear the cheers and jeers, I sense not only the spirit of Canadiens fans, but also the soul of Montreal, vibrant, ecclectic and alive. My home.

Happy belated 20th birthday Centre Bell. Here's to all the memories to come.