Playoff fever has gripped the city with the same stranglehold the Habs could have on the Bruins with another win tonight.
Everywhere you look, everywhere you go, the Habs are the sight and sound of the day. Fans are having tailgate parties, out in the street for some ball hockey fun, and even gathering in scholl gymnasiums with Habs jerseys to form a big CH!
Last week, le Journal de Montreal asked readers to send in pictures of the Habs biggest fans and here are the results of the
photo essay they ran. The "Go Habs Go" painted lady pic is from Four Habs Fans, and had it been included in the Le Journal contest....
1 - This is our 8 year old son, Maxime Gagnon, who is the Canadiens biggest fan!
2 - Sylvain Bernier and his 9 year old son William are dreaming of the Stanley Cup in Montreal. Nice COUPE de cheveux!
3 - Some of the Habs best fans: In front, middle, Frédéric Domicent-Hébert, 11 years, on the left Pamela Dagher, 14 years, and on the right, Valérie Domicent Hébert 14 years.
4 - "I'm sending in this photo to prove that I am the Canadiens biggest fan. I am certain they wil win the Cup this years, because they won it 15 years ago when I was inside my mother's belly. That's how she passed the hockey fever onto me". - Etienne Laurence
5 - The Chamberland family salutes the Habs.
6 - Samuel and Mathieu Pepin are big Habs fans - really!
7 - Two big Habs fans: Emery Charles Pétigny, 7 years and Francis-Samuel Pétigny, 15 months!
8 - A birthday cake for Frédéric Drew and Stéphane Houle!
9 - Jean-Paul Da Silva writes, " I have been a Canadiens fan all my life. I was born March 4, 1971, the very same day the Canadiens celebrated Jean Beliveau's 500th goal! I'm also a big fan of Maurice Richard, and before every playoff i go the cemetary in Côtes-des-Neiges and pray for the Habs at his gravesite". ( See next photo )
10 - "In my living room, I have a complete wall dedicated to the Canadiens and Richard in particular. When things aren't going well for the team, I stand before this wall and summon the Habs ghosts to come to their rescue."
11 - Karine Bernier sends in this photo of 16 month old Félixe Tellier. "He has the perfect little Habs fan kit and he is very proud of it."
12 - With a tattoo of the CH on his heart, Danny Carozza exclaims, " I AM the Canadiens number one fan, ask anyone in my circle of friends!" His friends can rest easy - Dany is a serious candidate for the Habs biggest fan!
13 - Élyse Houle believes her co-worker, Jean-Pierre Drapeau is one huge fan. "He wears a different Habs jersey with a different number on it to work each day."
14 - Isabelle Latour left the snowbanks of Quebec behind for the sandy beaches of the Dominican Republic, but not without sporting her allegiance! Hurry back soon!
15 - Pierre Lozeau and his friends have just one thing to say: "We're ready!"
16 - William, who is three and a half months old in this photo, is one of the youngest Habs fans around. His parents say that he watches all Canadiens games from the comfort of his father's knee, even screaming just like Dad when they score!
17 - Here is Frédérique Audet, Canadiens fan on the beaches of Cuba!
18 - Little Arielle, five months old, is one of the Habs youngest fans. Rumour has it, her first words were "Go, Habs, Go", but we're still waiting to hear the tape!
19 - If ever you hear barking when the Habs score, it just might be from four year old "Pogo". "He always put on a Habs jersey when they play", swears his owner!
20 - Gaétan Bosse of Gatineau has been a Habs fan since age 7. Now, 40 years later, and sporting the trendiest of Habs hairstyles, declares that he is the Canadiens biggest fan. "I have my spot reserved for the Stanley Cup parade down Ste. Catherine", he says.
21 - Mylène Cusson laughs when thinking of all the Habs fans jumping onto the tattoo bandwagon. "I had mine done last summer, so there! This is a serious fan folks!
22 - Jonathan Cha is such a part of Habs fandom that it's hard to see him burried in all that memorabilia.
23 - There 's a rivalry going on in Three Rivers between smart Habs fan Kate Masson and Jonathan Cossette, Bruins fan.
24 - "Looking for true Habs fans, look no more!" say Nadine and Benoît.
25 - Nadine and Benoît say that "there is no better place to catch a Canadiens game than in our Habs decorated Temple!"
26 - Nadine and Benoît admit their are ni high price items on display here, but as you can see, many hours of work went into it's creation.
27 - According to Serge Godin, "the Bruins better be eating some big steaks because....( see next photo )
28 - "....The Canadiens have big hands". Mr Godin made the fake hands and steak, but testifies the jersey is the real deal!
29 - Last November 8, in a 2-1 Canadiens win over the Bruins in Boston, Ian Bruneau and his friends Jonathan and Olivier courageously braved an angry mod of Bruins fans to get this shot in.
30 - Proof there are fans of every age!
31 - Mario Raymond of Mirabel swears he is the Canadiens biggest fan. He presents as evidence, artifact # 5. "I wore a pulley with the CH on the Great Wall Of China."
32 - Little Gabrielle Anne Desjardins, now in Atom B, has played for the Montreal Canadiennes since the age of 2. Her mother says she led her team in scoring with 16 goals, and scored a hat trick in 3-0 shutout of Sorel!
33 - What says "true fan" better than a Canadiens coloured cast!
34 - Daniel Brochu and Hélène Couture, of Longueuil, pose proudly in their apartment.
35 - Frédérick Boulet calls his living room, "The Temple Of The Canadiens". Says Fred, "With over 200 Canadiens logo's everywhere, the place looks more like a dépanneur!"
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I heard a funny / sad tale driving around this morning on CKAC radio.
