Published May 10, 2011

Bobby Orr flies through the air after driving the winning goal by St. Louis Blues' goalie Glenn Hall in sudden death overtime to win the 1970 Stanley Cup. (AP)

It’s great to see the Boston Bruins doing so well this season. I’m an admitted casual fan, but always get caught up in the hoopla as the team moves further along in the playoffs.

It takes me back to my youth when it seemed like everyone in the 617 area code — back then that was all of eastern Massachusetts — followed the big, bad Bruins. The names Orr, Sanderson, Esposito and Cheevers were spoken with reverence. People actually went out and bought new TV antennas so they could watch the games on TV-38.

Today marks the 41st anniversary of one of the greatest moments in Bruins history. May 10, 1970 was the date Bobby Orr scored against the St. Louis Blues in the opening minute of overtime to capture the Stanley Cup for the first time in 29 years.

I was only eight years old on that hot and muggy Mother’s Day Sunday when the B’s ended that drought. At that age, I assumed that 29 years beforehand, dinosaurs were still roaming the earth. It was basically ancient history.

That was a heady week for Boston. I remember being disappointed I couldn’t get out of Mrs. Fortini’s 3rd grade class to head into Boston for the Bruins victory parade — parades that were unheard of at the time.

[pullquote] Since 1972, the Bruins have made it to the finals a few times, but have always came up short in their quest for the Cup. [/pullquote]

Sure, back then, the Celtics always seemed to win the NBA Championship, but that was the norm, and it seemed to me few people paid much attention. The Red Sox hadn’t won the World Series in half a century and the Patriots had finished their first decade wandering around the area with no permanent home stadium in which to play and only a single postseason victory under their belts.

In May, 1970, Boston celebrated. There were no Duck Boats to haul our champs around the city. I think they rode on the backs of convertibles through the financial district to City Hall Plaza for a rally and reception where they were honored by Mayor Kevin White. I still regret not skipping school that day.

The Bruins did manage to win the Stanley Cup two years later, beating the New York Rangers in 1972, but that’s been it. They’ve made it to the finals a few times, but have always came up short in their quest for the Cup.

Now, 39 years have elapsed in Boston’s current Stanley Cup drought. I can only imagine how wide-eyed eight-year-olds who idolize Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic the way I looked up to Orr and Derek Sanderson picture what life was like in the dark ages of the early 1970s. (Yes, kids, we did have electricity back then!)

The Bruins still must win eight more games before they can claim the Stanley Cup once again. The die-hard fans I know tell me it won’t be easy and there’s no guarantee the drought won’t continue into its 40th year. But for now, it’s nice to see lots of people in the 617 (as well as the 508, 781, 978, 339, 857, 774 and 351) area code bleeding black and gold again!