Last night was the start of the SPHL season. Eight teams and a dozen of my former teammates faced off against each other.

October 19th Matchups featuring former RiverKings, and Jordan Ruby- Macon’s goalie (I’ve always loved his helmet). — *October 19th Matchups featuring former RiverKings, and Jordan Ruby- Macon’s goalie (I’ve always loved his helmet).*

Going into last night I had very mixed emotions. Sad, for the obvious. No hockey here, no team for me. Happy because so many I love are still living their dream playing the sport they love. Conflicted because they were all facing off against one another. Who do I cheer for? Can they all win...?

As pucks started dropping around the league I easily fell back into old habits. I pray, not for a certain player to score or a particular team to win, but that everyone stays safe. No broken bones, no skates slicing into arteries, no sudden cardiac arrest. You know, normal mom/sister stuff lol. Not only do I want them safe, I genuinely want them to have fun and be happy, no matter how they as an individual or as a team plays. So listening to them battle back and forth it really wasn’t much different than the past three seasons. Yes I’ve loved the RiverKings, and yes they were “my favorite team”, but it was never actually the team. It’s always been the players. And they’re still the same wonderful people with jokes and laughs and sorrows and fears (just kidding, they’re not afraid of anything!). They just wear different colors now. But they’re still my team, and I’ll cheer for all of them. It’s going to be a fun season.

*Derek Sutliffe (19) and Matt Harrington (74) of the Mississippi RiverKings 2017-18*

*Matt Harrington (74) of the Pensacola Ice Flyers, and Derek Sutliffe (19) of the Macon Mayhem 2018-19 [photo credit: Sandy Sutliffe]*