The sky in the State of Hockey got a little dimmer today as it was reported that the man who sang the National Anthem for the better portion of 3 decades, Jim Bowers, passed away at the age of 84. 

Bowers had a big voice, and is remembered for not only his National Anthem singing before the puck dropped but his rendition of O Canada. You can feel him singing. Here is a video I found during the Glen Sonmor era of the team, in which the game was delayed two hours due to a snowstorm, against the Canadians.

 

I have vague memories of attending games in 1991 and 1992 with my dad. He got the tickets from work, and we'd be on a row up from the glass. Stale smoke hung in the air, and generally, there was a guy or two that had a few too many and ended up using language maybe not suitable for a 5 or 6-year-old to hear at that time.

The games that we always seemed to attend were against the Chicago Blackhawks.

A fierce rivalry that many remember between the two hockey clubs, but no matter how heated it got between fans, it was immediately civil once Jim stepped out to belt out the National Anthem at the ol' Met.

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