THE GIFT OF THE CUP

This is the story of one man’s goal to give the gift any avid NHL fan would enjoy: A ticket to go see their favorite professional hockey team get the chance to win Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Stanley Cup Finals are here again!

If you haven’t had a chance to read the history and experiences from prior years, I’d like to give you some background as to why I’m offering a ticket to the game. Nearly four years ago my brother contacted me asking to go to the Blackhawks vs Bruins game in Boston on a Monday night. A game of which neither of us had tickets to go, nor did we live in Boston. We rarely had a chance to see each other given he lived in Upstate New York, I lived in Connecticut, and both of us had completely different lives. We made a wager, I said “If the Blackhawks could win the Cup on Monday night after a victory on Saturday, and if you drive to Hartford pick me up take us to Boston to watch the game, I’ll pay for the tickets.” Sure enough, the Blackhawks won on Saturday, and could win the Cup on Monday, so we had a deal. Little did we know we would see one of the greatest games in Stanley Cup Finals history. In addition to enjoying such a spectacular event with my brother, I was lucky enough seeone of my former hockey teammates hoist the Stanley Cup on the ice. (Not one of the players in the game) After such an amazing experience I realized this is something that I wanted to do every year and that every fan should have the experience of watching their team win the Cup. One of the unfortunate parts of professional sports is the cost of attending games, so I decided to save money every year to take hockey fan to the Stanley Cup Finals, and give them the opportunity to see their team win one of the most coveted trophies in sports.

The game of hockey gave me so many great experiences, exhilarating feelings, and unbelievable opportunities to meet tremendous people that I want to give something back to the hockey community and provide an opportunity for such a great experience of which I feel every fan should at least be given a chance to enjoy.

The intent here is to take someone who doesn’t make it to games often or otherwise would not be able to afford to go to a finals game. I would like to hear why you feel you should go to the game, and understand more about your fanaticism for the team, maybe how it developed, and your experience as a fan. In the spirit of giving, if you feel there is someone you know who deserves to go to the game, please forward the site and have them send me a message, or send an email sharing why they should be at the game.

The plan is to go to the game where the Stanley Cup can be won, so the first game I would expect to have a ticket for would be Game 4, and subsequently games 5, 6, and 7, if necessary. If the schedule permits, I may have tickets to additional games.

Looking forward to another great Stanley Cup Finals!

Click below to enter yourself or to nominate someone you know:

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“Many wonder why someone would be willing to give away a ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals, especially to a complete stranger (I prefer the term “random superfan” 🙂 ), and even more people are skeptical that the offer is nothing short of a scam. In fact, each person I’ve met through the Gift of the Cup experience has eventually made some joke as to how they thought it may have been an elaborate prank by the opposing team’s fans! Therefore, the main reason why I created the website was to provide some legitimacy to the experience, as well as share the story from each year, and provide a place for others to talk about their own experience at the Stanley Cup Finals.If you are wondering about me, I am not extremely wealthy, nor famous, or even do something fascinating for a career. I am an average guy who grew up in Nebraska, was given a tremendous amount of opportunities through the game of hockey, and I would like to give back to a sport which has been a big part of both me and my family along the way in the journey of life.

The premise of the experience is the spirit of giving. Additionally, there are a lot of times where things go wrong, you get hit with tough times, and you need something to turn the tides. Sometimes you need a catalyst to get back on your feet, or remember good things can happen, hockey did that for me. If joining me at a hockey game can do the same for someone else, then I’ve done more than what I could have ever imagined with the game of hockey.”