Get to Know your Fellow Subscriber

Meet your fellow Colorado Hockey Now subscriber: Dwayne Hall

Published

5 years ago

July 19, 2019

Adrian Dater

DWAYNE HALL (@Dhall4013)

By Adrian Dater

First, what Dwayne sent me in his email:

First, let me start off by saying I’m enjoying the content your new site is providing. Second, unfortunately, I no longer have access to you on Twitter since you blocked me. Understandable, if I remember correctly I wasn’t enjoying the tone of some of your tweets in regards to how the Avs were playing in a preseason game and got the block after I went keyboard warrior on you. For that, I apologize and hope you unblock me at some point (@DHall4013).

I apologize too Dwayne. Unblocked. I have no idea what I blocked you over, but if it was over a preseason game, I probably was off my meds and you didn’t deserve it.

A thing about the whole Twitter/blocking phenomenon: Some people deserve to be blocked, and forever will be blocked. Some people are just assholes, and it’s best to just excise them from your life. But too often in the past, I had a quick hook for bad tweeters. Say something I thought was mildly offensive and (bleep) YOU – block! I showed you!

(There will be occasional profanity on here. Not much, but some).

Most of the time, both sides regret their actions. So, it’s with full “been there, done that” that I express shame. I’ve mellowed quite a bit with time, and also from going through some tough times and realizing that…hey, idiot, why did you sweat the small stuff so much?

I welcome Dwayne Hall back into my life. And thank you, Dwayne, for the kind words.

Dwayne Hall has a 10-year-old son who is an avid hockey player. And, just like dad, a very avid Avs fan.

Dwayne can tell his story better than me, so here is his and how he became a big Avs fan:

As for my story and my road to becoming an Avalanche fan unconventionally.

I fell in love with hockey fairly early in my life after my parents relented and put a tv in my room, albeit black and white. One of the first things I watched was the 1984 Winter Olympics and fell in love with hockey. I enjoyed the anticipation of the game at both ends of the ice. The excitement in the offensive end for the possibility of a goal, and the drama on the defensive end hoping the US didn’t get scored on.

Going back to 1982, my parents attended the MLB All-Star game in Montreal and by proxy, I became a Montreal Expos fan (learning, later on, I had seen several future Expos when they were Denver Bears). In the spring of 1985 while waiting on baseball scores Ron Zapollo started running off hockey scores which is when I learned Montreal had a hockey team. Imagine the naivety from a 10-year-old. Growing up without MLB baseball or NHL hockey in Denver as well as not having cable TV back then my only source for knowing about either the Expos or Canadiens was the box scores in the newspaper. This is where I learned the name ROY.

Again being a naive kid in the suburbs of Denver Colorado I pronounced his name as you would expect. It wasn’t until another kid in school who was pretty up on hockey told me the correct pronunciation. Nevertheless, Patrick Roy would become my favorite player. To me, he could do no wrong and in truth, I may say he’s my all-time favorite athlete ahead of John Elway, though not by much.

Fast forward to 1995 when the rumors began flying that NHL hockey might be returning to Denver in either an expansion team or an established team moving to town. I preferred the expansion idea because I enjoyed the process with the baseball Rockies. Of course, that wasn’t what ended up happening. And worst of all as a Canadiens fan it was the Quebec Nordiques that were coming to Denver. There was no way I was cheering for them. I was staying true to the Canadiens, until that night. Detroit and Mario Tremblay embarrassed Roy.

The moment it became apparent Patrick Roy was going to be traded I decided I was following him to whatever team traded for him. I would remain a Habs fan, but I was rooting for whoever traded for Roy. To my surprise the Colorado Avalanche completed the deal. It was as if something wanted me to root for the hometown Avalanche. Any thought that they used to be the Nordiques was forgotten. The love affair has been full-fledged with the Avalanche ever since. The only time it is tempted is when they face the Habs.

After college and work in Kansas, I moved back to Denver during the summer of 2000. On a whim, I went to the first day of training camp. On another whim, I was able to score a ticket for the home opener and was there again less than a week later when we celebrated Roy passing Sawchuk. I’ll never forget the game against Vancouver when a co-worker sold me her tickets. We got to the arena late. As we pulled into the parking lot the Canucks had scored early. Before we were up the escalator to the main concourse they had made it 2-0. By the time we left the arena that night it was a 7-3 Avalanche victory. My last trip to Pepsi Center that year was game 2 of the first round against the Canucks. By this time I had made the decision to move to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area looking for a job opportunity. My timing wasn’t exactly the best, I was packed and driving to DFW in the middle of the Conference Finals. Ironic after watching the Dallas Stars eliminate the Avs in back to back years I was watching the Avs win the 2001 Cup in Dallas.

I’ve had either NHL Center Ice or NHL.TV since I moved here. When my schedule allows I’ve tried to be at American Airlines Center as much as possible when the Avs are here. My 10-year-old is now playing hockey taking advantage of the Stars outstanding youth program. But he does so taking the ice in an Avalanche jersey when he can. I’m hoping in the next year or two my son will get to enjoy watching an Avalanche Cup victory from Dallas like I did in ’01.

Thank you, Dwayne, welcome to you and your boy to the CHN family.

TAKE FIVE (QUESTIONS)

1. What’s your happiest Avalanche moment? Game 7 2001 Cup Final. Hard to top that night.

2. Who is your favorite Beatle? Ringo Starr

3. “On a day off, I’m most likely to be doing…” Unproductive nonsense around the house.

4. My first car was… 1972 Ford Torino. Bought from a Glendale police officer. Had it parked near a major street. He was on duty when I handed him cash for it. It didn’t escape me how fishy that might have looked to a passer-by.

5. If you were offered a trip to Mars tomorrow, to spend a whole week on the Red Planet and have the entire planet all to yourself, but were told by NASA there was only a 50-50 chance you’d make it back alive, would you do it? I’d decline. Too much sacrifice for a 50/50 chance at not getting home.