The Bruins Win the Cup!

Ladies and gentleman, the Boston Bruins are your 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Champions.

It’s a little hard to believe, both for the old-timers who remember all the way back to 1972, the last time the B’s brought home the Cup, and for those of us who came of age in the latter parts of the Jacobs era, when the Bruins became the penny-pinching ugly ducklings of the local sports scene. That the Patriots, Celtics, and Red Sox all ended their previous seasons in disappointing fashion, and the Bruins are the ones not only with the championship trophy — but a talented, young core and a blazingly bright future — well, we’ve seen it all now.

The real salute in all this, as Bill Simmons recognized in a tweet last night, goes to the hardcore Bruins fans who’ve stuck with the team through all the bad years, frustrating ownership decisions, and even the lockout season. Like so many others, I fell off the Bruins bandwagon back in the 90’s, when the team kept letting its stars walk for more money elsewhere. Last night was a nice trip back — and judging by the number of crisp, new looking Bruins shirts and hats I saw out on the streets, a lot of people made that trip with me — but the Bruins’ triumph just means something different to those who never abandoned the team.

So we salute you die-hard B’s fans, but last night was a great night for all of Boston, even us bandwagon jumpers. With all the cheers and chants and beeping horns and high-fives from strangers, it was the type of night that makes this city great. And thanks to the magic of YouTube, now we get to re-live it forever. So screw work, spend the rest of your day watching videos like these, of people in bars and out on the streets celebrating — wait for it and say it slowly — The Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.