I got the Pens Alert about it yesterday, right before we decided to go up to Mellon after their practice and get some more autographs. I started crying. I started bawling. I screamed into my bed. Then Megan played music and I did that thing where you laugh and cry at the same time. Then she and Deanne danced around and I laughed even more. And cried. I got to see him one last time yesterday and made an ass out of myself by crying the whole time. The rest of the day was spent bursting into tears randomly. Every time I thought about him, I cried. In fact, my eyes are burning right now from it. I can't cry anymore. It's ridiculous.
We had a very special relationship, and I mean it. Not to sound like I'm making a lot out of nothing, we really did. Here's how it all began: First off, if I say that we "rushed" a game, I'm referring to the Pens' Student Rush program. Basically, one hour before every home game, they start to sell the remaining tickets for that game to students with valid IDs. For $20. Now, these are A/B/C level seats. That usually run anywhere from $75-$100 and even more. It's an incredible deal. Anyway... I started off last year despising Sabourin for being put in when Fleury played badly. Because Fleury was my fave. That all died off and I really don't know how or when, but soon Sabourin was my favorite. Especially after Christensen got traded to Atlanta. During playoffs, I came up with a brilliant nickname for him: D!Sab. (Before, it was just a boring D-Sab with a hyphen, but ever since my thumb slipped in a text and spelled it "D!Sab" it's been that way ever since. I like it, because I think it adds a little pop and when I think of Dany Sabourin, it's always !!!!!!!). I don't know where the idea for the nickname came from. It just happened. Deanne bought me his shirt over summer break. I was ecstatic.
We rushed the game against Carolina on October 23rd, and I wore my Sabourin shirt. Deanne wanted her Dupuis shirt signed, so we went down and I ended up getting Sabourin to sign my shirt. He never stops because, well, no one really waits for him to. So I walked down to where his truck was and held up my shirt for him to see his name enblazoned on the back. I could see him laugh and I pointed down to the second gate where he usually left. Then some bastard seeker was all like, "Did he say he was going down that way?" And I replied, "No. But I said I was." D!Sab signed it and I told him how awesome he was against the Bruins. I was ecstatic.
Then, on November 6th, Megan wanted a Crosby jersey signed for her brother-in-law, so we went up to Mellon before a game we weren't rushing. (Irony: it was against Edmonton, D!Sab's new team). Within the first five minutes of us being there, she got her Crosby jersey signed and then Sabourin came walking out with friends and kept walking out to the sidewalk, bypassing his truck. He turned the corner around the security booth and I was right there. He looked me in the eye and I swear to God we were face-to-face. He smiled and looked at me expectantly, the look on my face probably gave me away. I was too scared to ask him for a picture, and was thus debating it in my head, but when he smiled at me, I blurted it out. I think he had remembered me from getting my shirt signed two weeks before. He said yes:
The second-best Sabourin encounter came the very next week on November 13th. The Pens were playing the Flyers and we were rushing. I wanted to make Sabourin a sign that said "D!Sab", but I didn't want to make it and have him not know what the hell it meant. I got the bright idea to ask him permission first. Yeah, my conscience was not working that day. If he had been anyone else, he would have run away screaming. But he's D!Sab. He is the sweetest man ever and absolutely adorable. My goal for last year and now this one is to give him a hug. I had my perfect chance, and I completely forgot. Who knows when I'll get it now... So after their morning skate, I went down and I felt like a complete idiot because I didn't have anything for him to sign. He stopped and rolled his window down and this is kind of how the conversation went:
Me: "I don't have anything for you to sign... but can I ask you a question?"
I kind of had my arms crossed and was leaning a tad bit on his open window, and after I said this, he looked at me all wary-like.
Me blurting: "Can I call you D!Sab? Like D... Sab?"
He laughs in an adorable and nerdy way, like he was gasping air into his lungs in short bursts, you know? It was th cutest thing. "Yes, okay."
That night at the game, the Pens weren't doing so hot. Emily insisted I make my D!Sab sign during the first intermission. So I did. It's in two different shades of blue and says "D-Sab". Pretty simple. Philly was winning and Fleury had allowed two shorthanded goals, so Chelsea kept grabbing my sign during the second period and making me hold it up, just jokingly, as a signal to put Sabourin in:
After the second intermission, I screamed like a loony when I saw that Therrien had indeed pulled Fleury and put Sabourin in. He didn't allow a single goal throughout the remaining period. Or in Overtime. Or in the shootout. Which went into multiple rounds, btw. He was a wall. I was a nervous wreck, but I. Was. Ecstatic. I don't think I breathed at all whenever the puck came down our end. But I had no reason to worry, because he was a wall!
After the game, we started walking back to school. I didn't want him to sign my sign because I didn't want him to think I was a stalker. D!Sab came out right as we decided to leave and we stopped about ten feet past where he was signing. I wasn't going to, but Deanne and Chelsea made me. I ran back just as he was finishing up and almost got hit by him as he was starting to pull away. He was rolling his window up and I kind of shouted, "One more, one more!" He rolled it back down and I shoved my sign in. He read it and laughed. All my conversations with him are this awkward, I swear to God. I always think of what I'm going to say beforehand, but as soon as I look at him I lose all my breath and my mind goes blank.
Me: "Do you like it? I made it just for you!" DUH.
DS: Laughs again. "Yes, it's very nice!"
Me: "Awesome job tonight!"
DS: "Thank you."
He was listening to techno music and I loved that. So great. Then I got out of the way so more people could get stuff signed and I hear a guy go, "Sabou, man! You kept us alive tonight!" And I grinned like a fool, I was so happy for him. We began walking again and got about 50 feet when he went blowing past, his techno beat going THUMP THUMP THUMP. :D
Not much happened until my birthday. But holy fuck, was it worth the wait! We rushed, of course. And as it was the Islanders, we managed to get pretty good seats together. I sat with Megan, Deanne and Emily in B3. Which is in the opposite corner of the runway where D!Sab sat in case they needed him. The Pens were destroying the Isles. And I was steadily drinking the whole time. Yeah, it was my 21st birthday, haha. It was 8-2, including Sykora's first career hat trick, midway through the 3rd and I was wearing my Sabourin shirt and I had my D!Sab sign and I really wanted to see him. Corey and Jim had seats right by the runway and I texted Corey and he said there were four seats right behind him that had opened up. Some lame-asses decide to leave early when the Pens are sure to win/lose. Fairweather fans piss me off. Except in this case when I appreciated the people who left.
We moved over to where he sat next to the runway and I was RIGHT NEXT TO D!SAB!! Creeper pics courtesy of all of us:
Adorable.
So dramatic.
This picture sums up my entire birthday experience.
Megan, Corey and Jim kept yelling at Sabourin and saying it was my birthday, but he was talking to a trainer:
I got out my D-Sab sign and turned it sideways so he could read it. He grinned and gave me a thumbs-up. I died a little. Megan finally got his attention and told him it was my birthday. I then turned and looked and he said, "Happy birthday!" I thanked him and turned back to the game. I was kind of watching, but not really into the game when Megan grabbed my arm and whispered, "Oh my God, Cierra! He's getting you something!" I had no idea what she was talking about and I told her so. She continued, "Sabou said something to the trainer and he headed back into the dressing room." I looked and sure enough, the trainer was gone. Well, I thought he could have left for any other reason under the sun, but a little part of me still hoped... And then I started flipping a bit. "Megan, what if he DOES bring me something? I would die."
And then the trainer returned with a PUCK and a SHARPIE in his hands. I completely lost it. I started whining to everyone and kept repeating, "Oh my God, oh my God! He can't give me that! I can't! I'm going to hyperventilate! I'm going to puke!" I seriously worked myself up so much that I was going to do either of these things, if not both. Corey, Jim and Deanne laughed a little but then looked at me, worried. Deanne later said that all that was running through her mind was, "Do NOT puke on Dany Sabourin if he gives you that puck." HAHA! Then Dupuis got HIS first career hat trick and all else was forgotten. I celebrated along with everyone else and turned my back to Sabourin, making sure he could see that I was wearing his shirt. Then, the usher next to us tapped me on the shoulder and handed me the puck:
I hugged it close to me and thanked D!Sab very much. He grinned and nodded and I sat down again, all sorts of discombobulated. Needless to say, it was the best damn day of my life. As we were leaving, I started crying and I swear to God, I said all of the following: "You guuuuuuuuuys! That was the sweetest thing everrrrrrr! He didn't have to do that. I didn't even ask! Sidney CROSBY wouldn't have even done that for one of his fans! And it's so sad, because I'm his only fan! No one else loves him!..." I was too oblivious to even realize that instead of sympathizing with me, my friends were laughing at me. This is me after the game in the snow:
Brianna bought me NHL Monopoly for Christmas and I thought it would be a cool idea to get all of the Pens to sign the board. So this past week, on January 14th, I took it up to Mellon and had some of the guys sign it. Like with my shirt before, I held it up for Sabourin when he got in his truck and he grinned. He pulled around and rolled his window down...
Me: "D!Saaaaaab!"
He grinned again and I handed him my board.
DS: "Hey! How's it going?" OMG he started the conversation! This meant so much to me.
Me: "Eh, okay."
I was too blown away by the fact that he started the conversation that I kind of put it on repeat.
Me: "So, how was your day?" Keep in mind it was 11/12 in the morning. The day had just begun.
DS: "Pretty good, how about you?"
Me: "It's pretty good!"
DS: "Are you cold?" I'm completely numb, actually, may I have a ride in your huge truck?
Me: "Yeah!"
I got the feeling he was saying it to keep conversation going, but I couldn't find a way to elaborate without sounding like an idiot. So I clamped my mouth shut. Smart move on my part. Otherwise I probably would have spouted off about how it was totally worth it because I love him more anything and would have his illegitimate children if I didn't think faithfulness was so important in relationships.
Friday we went up again. I thought it would be too soon, and he would indeed begin to think I'm a stalker, but I had a picture of Sabourin that I wanted him to personalize. He signed it and that was that, nothing too special happened. Except that now he knows my name. ;D
I must say that we never go up to Mellon that much. Seriously. I just got so obsessed with getting my board signed, and Deanne has a hat she wants signed. We are definitely done for a while, as we all hate seekers with a deathly passion. (Seekers= dumbass fucks that get players to mass-sign cards and jerseys and pictures and such so they can sell them on eBay for triple the cost)
Yesterday, I got the text. We went up to Mellon and I was a mess the entire time. I cried when I saw him come out. I cried when I gave him my IceTime with him featured on the cover and I cried the whole time he signed it. He was smiling and looking at me that way that people do when they see you cry and they want to show you that it's all okay and you should really stop blubbering like a baby in front of your favorite hockey player and all the stupid seekers.
Me: *sob* "I can't believe you're leaving!" *sniff*
DS: "I know. It sucks."
Me: *sniff* *sob* *hyprventilate* "Well, good luck!"
DS: "Thank you."
Of course, he kept smiling the entire time because this is probably what he wants. Every goalie in the NHL wants to be #1. No one ever strives to be the back-up. And Marc-Andre Fleury has already cemented himself as the Pens' go-to guy for the next, oh... seven years. D!Sab needs to get away from Pittsburgh so he can be #1. And there I was, bawling like a silly girl. Goodness. I hope he doesn't think I am totally lame. I really do wish for his happiness. I just had to get my selfish tendencies out of the way first.
Here is where I must mention how awesome and supportive my friends are. They took care of me at my birthday game when I couldn't keep track of any of my shit. They helped me get my act together when we saw D!Sab for the last time when all I wanted to do was lay in a ball on the sidewalk, crying. They pushed me to approach him and had everything all ready... if I didn't have them, I would be an even bigger mess. Not to mention all the cheering-up they've done since. I love you guys!
In retrospect, it was soooo embarrassing. The part that really sucks is that we only play Edmonton once and that happened months ago. But like Jim said, at least he knows I'm a dedicated fan and he means a lot to me. I'm still very proud of the fact that I am Dany Sabourin's fan. Not one of his fans, his FAN. Crosby, Malkin, Fleury... they all have so many fans and see so many people that it's really hard for someone to stick out, and not in a creeper-like way. They see so many faces every day that they all become a blur. But after days of being the only person to make D!Sab stop, I think I've established myself. Besides, I gave him probably the coolest nickname he will never forget. We are united by the D!Sab and I will continue to follow his NHL career, no matter where he goes. And if that means I have to cheer for Edmonton, then so be it.
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