New Jersey Devils 2003 Championship: A Story From A Fan Who Was There

Present Day: Today is a special day in New Jersey Devils‘ history. I was at this special day in person, so let’s go back in time and tell the story, as best as I can remember. It was 18 years ago and I am only 26 now so bear with me.

June 9, 2003: It was a Monday morning probably around 7:30 A.M. when my eight-year-old self woke up for one of the last days of second grade. But I also knew what was on the agenda for later, going with my dad to Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final at Continental Airlines Arena.

So I get off the bus around 3:30 P.M. I sprint inside and my dad is already waiting, he knew we had to leave shortly even though it was an 8:00 P.M. puck drop. I quickly get changed and right into the car and we are out the door by 4:00 P.M. because we do not want to get into too much rush hour traffic either. It was a 20-minute drive to the Meadowlands complex.

We are parked and it is time to tailgate in the parking lot of Giants Stadium. That time goes by and it is now 6:30 PM which means one thing, time to take the legendary walk across the walking bridge from Giants Stadium over to Continental Airlines Arena. We get in the door and this building is LOUD already.

(An energy the Prudential Center NEVER experienced. 2012 was close, I was at Game 2 and 5, it was bonkers but it was just not quite the same feel as the old building. Do not even try 2018 on me.)

It was 8:00 P.M. Which meant it was time to hear our National Anthem performed by none other than our legendary Arlette! Take a listen above, I skipped right to it but feel free to watch the whole video and feel the energy all over again. (I got chills all over again, Arlette still going strong with us may she never leave.)

Now it was game time! The energy was all over the place. It never wavered. The first period ended without a goal from either side, and that made the building extremely tense. The second period got underway we passed the two-minute mark of the period and then…

CHAOS! Rookie Mike Rupp with the beautiful deflection above and the Continental Airlines Arena went bananas. The Devils were 10-0 to that point when they score first, so the energy was high. Jeff Friesen, the playoff sensation in 2003 banked home a rebound, and New Jersey took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. I was going crazy my dad had to keep me from knocking into the people around me but they were just as rowdy as me they did not care.

The third period got underway and as time went on the arena was still crazy and then with under four minutes left……

Friesen again! And this time everyone knew it was certain. Nobody sat down for the rest of the game. Ken Daneyko was out on the ice for the final seconds of his career and it ended with the Stanley Cup! The New Jersey Devils won the cup and I was going nuts. I could not believe that I got to experience this in person. On top of all that I got my ticket signed by New York Giants legend Michael Strahan.

It is a day I will never forget. I would not trade it away for anything in the entire world. But I sure would give a lot to experience it one more time that way I can fully appreciate the magnitude of the moment.