:: Last Call ::
With everyone else writing farewell's to Slapshots on their respective blogs, I figured I should do the same, since Slaps is certainly worthy, considering how many hours, days, and pints were spent there over the past handful of years.
Tonight was the final night for Slapshots as we knew it. It will eventually just fade into the ajoining restaurant, and while it will still serve alcohol, it won't be the same but for the name on the door.
Tonight's Canucks' game was the last hurrah - although it could be argued we really went out proper on Friday night.
Although it was just a little watering hole that never made much money (and had been know to close down for months at a time due to lack of funds) it was still our home base, and it wasn't uncommon for us to be there three or four times in a given week, depending what games were on the tube.
We'll miss it, no question.
It was the place we went on boring Fridays, the place we went after ball games, the place we went to when any sporting event required a large T.V.
And the place we'd go to just 'cuz.
The food wasn't always very good, and they went through managers and owners like they changed a keg, but in the end, the bartenders knew our names, always had our table ready for us, and had our drinks on the table before we even ordered them. It was ours.
I think Amanda said it very nicely yesterday on her blog, when she said of Slaps:
"Slapshots was the place that welcomed you in before you were legal and kept you comfy when you were."
And with that I present to you... my Five Favourite Slapshots' Moments, in no particular order:
5. Bucholtz' 19th Birthday
Buch's 19th - Dec. 23, 2003 - was a killer night. I didn't live here at the time, being in Peace River. I flew home for Christmas the night of his birthday. My parents picked me up from the airport, I went home to drop off my bags, picked up Mike and went straight to Slaps. The guys were already sloshed - Buchs especially, of course. On last call, a hammered Chris demanded mine and Mike's remaining cash (which we drunkenly handed over), and he came back with something like 13 highballs for us to pound back. All I remember of Buchs is that he spilled two full pitchers of beer in Ian's lap, and ended up passed out in the parking lot by midnight. After four months in solitude in Alberta, it was good to be home.
4. Super Bowl 39
January 2005. A whole team of us were there to see the Pats' win another Lombardi Trophy as the best team in football, but I ended up winning a trophy of my own - a Sleeman's mini-fridge fully stocked with beer. For every Sleeman's beer you bought, you put an entry form into the bucket for the fridge draw. Having gone pretty hard the night before (read: Hammered) I didn't figure that downing beers at noon the next day was wise. I'd just have one, I figured. Well, one soon escalated into one bucket (3 beers), and one bucket soon turned into...well, you get it. Then the draw came and lo and behold, Lisa the bartender announced my name. So me, Chris, Ian, Sean and Dave the manager hauled it off to Chris' truck, and it was mine. It's been in my room since.
3. Canucks playoffs (2003-04 season)
I wasn't even in the bar, or the province for that matter, for this one, but I still remember it. It was Vancouver's first round series against Calgary. Yes, that series. I know the Canucks lost it on Martin Gelinas Game 7 overtime goal, but before that, I remember many, many phonecalls from my Peace River apartment to the guys - Chris, Ian, and Jer mostly - as they watched from Slaps. There was a ton of noise - and thanks to cheap drinks when the 'Nucks scored - a lot of boisterous activity. Even though I was miles away, it was still fun to hear what was going on. In a province where everyone was cheering for the Flames, it was nice to still know what it felt like to be shitfaced in a bar, cheering on the good guys.
2. New Year's Eve 2004
Oh boy, was this one ugly. I remember this one for the sheer number of people we were there with. It was one of the rare times the place was actually packed - and over 30 of us were there. Close friends. Acquintances. Hockey buddies. Friends of friends. We started drinking real early, and to be honest, I don't remember the details. One of the highlights for me was when Dani (waitress) was coming around with complimentary tiny shot-glass size plastic cups of champagne on a tray, and Me and Garski took the whole tray and did about 15 shots each of champagne. Incidentally, it was also the one-and-only time I've ever puked at Slaps. There were a pair of other solid moments - from a tanked Bucholtz getting physically shot down (pushed away) by one of Bre's friends; and Jeremy and Katie disappearing for awhile to a roller hockey dressing room...I'm sure they were only talking.
1. The last Friday
This night has already been mentioned on the blog this week, but it was still a good one. Cheap/free drinks. Brian giving us all kinds of free shots, and us leaving hammered with half the bar in our pockets. Glasses, candles, pitchers, chairs. Didn't matter - if it wasn't nailed down, we scooped it. And in Jer's case, even if it was anchored somehow, we took it anyway. Was it blatant theft? Yep. But I prefer to think of them simply as parting gifts - a way to reward the best customers that place ever saw, so we can remember the joint long after it's gone.
Sure, they can take our bar, but we'll take a bit of it too thank-you very much.
So goodbye sweet, wonderful bar. May your taps never run dry.
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