My name is Christopher F. DiMaio III. I’m 47 years old, a lifelong resident of Rhode Island and a passionate sports fan of all things local.
I was at the Vikings-Patriots game in 1994 when Drew Bledsoe set the single-game passing record.I’ve seen numerous legends of golf perform at the CVS Caremark Charity Classic in Barrington, and was awed when I shook Arnold Palmer‘s hand.
I paid a “fortune” to sit on the right field roof with my father that frigid night at Fenway for Game 1 of the 2004 World Series. I warmed up quickly when he told me, “You don’t know what this means to me.” Sadly, the last game we listened to together was the Mother’s Day Miracle in 2007, but, yeah, I still do, Dad.
As fortunes have changed the last few years and the “locals” have overwhelmed us with their success, we’ve seen the Bruins climb the ladder with teams that not only play with heart, but with skill, grit and determination. Last year’s playoff exit and the injuries we’ve suffered only serve to strengthen my hope that we will reach the summit, now. While all of New England was enamored with the Red Sox when they signed Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, my total focus has been on the B’s.
My earliest (and fondest) memories of the Bruins are listening to a transistor radio in bed while Bobby Orr was doing one of his patented end-to-end rushes. But, the moment I’d like to relate to you now occurred on Sept. 17, 1988. My father and I had standing room tickets for the Red Sox-Yankees game and were sitting behind the plate as the game began. The next thing I knew, Cam Neely was walking up the aisle. I jumped up to shake his hand and ask for his autograph, and I will never forget how callused his knuckles were. It just got better from there, as Kenny Linseman was close behind and then came Ray Bourque.
Dad gave me a pen as Ray got tied up with some other fans. As I followed them to their seats, Cam asked me to show Ray and another member of their party where their seats were, which of course I did.
When we got to their seats, I passed my ticket stub down the row for them to sign. To this day, I don’t know who the other guy is who signed the ticket. He asked Ray if he should sign it, and he just said “go ahead.” That’s more than fine with me.
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