The Angry Inch
- michael832652
- Feb 19
- 4 min read
Montreal, QC October 30 - Nov 1, 2025
This was the last one. The last hockey tournament of my son's career and of course mine too. Montreal was decided upon for many reasons. A great town, a great spot for the parents and in Quebec, the legal alcohol consumption age is 18 which MOST of the boys are.
The weekend, planned in August, just happened to coincide with games 6 and 7 of the World Series in Toronto. NOOOOOOOOOO! Who knew the Jays were going to make a run - unreal really, unbelievable and we were all freaking out. Game 6 was scheduled on the Friday night with the Jays coming home, as we found out on Wednesday, up 3-2 and a chance to win it all. Dilemma, major dilemma. I had a decision to make - a serious decision to make. Talked it over with the Mrs. and the boy and they both agreed I had to come home if there was a chance to win it in game 6 or 7. I didn't want to miss his tournament, but how could I miss a chance to witness something I hadn't since 1993! Well, don't you think they win game 4 and 5 in LA after a heartbreaking 18 inning game 3. So, off on the 5 hour journey on a team bus and everyone getting along and laughing and arrive to the Sheraton, with the intention of coming home the next day to catch game 6. Night one is a blast and having fun, so much so that we ended up securing a private room at a local bar for the whole team to watch game 6 for the Friday night. Morning comes and I talk it out with myself at the rink. How bad would it be to watch the Jays win the World Series on a tv in Montreal with my boy? Pretty good experience right? Making memories, right? I decide to stay an hope for the best. Everything about that night was amazing except for the loss - a real stinker. Ok, so now what? Morning comes and I talk it out with myself at the rink. How bad would it be to watch the Jays win the World Series on a tv in Montreal with my boy? Pretty good experience right? Making memories, right? Not this time - I hop on a 6:15 pm flight, catch the express train into downtown and in my seat at 8 - my brother by my side and very anxious. I gotta tell you, it's really the best way to travel, with just the shirt on your back, got to the airport at 5:30 and by the time I got through security, I was boarding. Well, we all know what happened that night - an inch away in the bottom of the ninth. 1 ANGRY INCH - I mean it's no Hedwig angry inch - but what a great time to be conservative on the base paths - World Series, game 7, the winning run 90 feet away and the putz manager is worried about getting doubled off! Idiot. Anyhoo, was it worth leaving the boy on the final hockey tournament of our careers? I know that I had his blessings, so that's all that mattered. It was a magical run with 0 expectations to get there, but when you get there, you start to taste it and it was unfortunate that they couldn't get the top prize. Always next year, except there won't be any hockey tournaments. I'm sad about that, but I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to go to places like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Peterborough, Niagara Falls - both sides of the border - and Montreal a few times. 8 or 9 of them all told, all unique and all the time making great memories.
SET UP
2 Queen beds in the Sheraton Centre Ville. That's downtown for those who don't want to look it up. Nice hotel, big hotel, lots of conferences happening, big spacious rooms and what one would expect from a Sheraton in a big city. Good lobby bar to relax in and close to everything you need in Montreal - restaurants, bars, the Bell Center, shops, Vieux Montreal et al. I left in a heartbeat so no pics of the room - but it was lovely.
MATTRESS
Classic Simmons Beautyrest hospitality medium pillowtop. Comfy and cozy for a few nights - this didn't bother me the way some of the Sheraton's do as it was fairly new and you could still feel the on topness of the bed. Would I purchase this at home? Maybe for a spare room or guest room, not sure I would want to lay my body here every night as it doesn't provide the contouring I like, but again for a big hotel chain for a few nights it works just fine.
SLEEP
As you know from previous years of me posting on hockey tournaments, there is not much sleep, late nights, and early mornings. So tough to judge the mattress on it's sleepability as I only had 5-6 hours a night. I wasn't restless or tossy and turny which makes me think it was either the adult beverages getting in the way or my body was just so damn tired. I would have to go back to really give this a fair review but I know that it is a decent mattress that does the job.
OVERALL
Another weekend in Montreal for another and final hockey tournament. I can honestly say, that every tournament was special for obvious reasons and I will miss them. We made the most of this one and it was extra special because of the Jays. Any weekend away with a kid is special - it was great to see him and his teammates having a blast and really enjoying themselves at the same time realizing this is the last one. For anyone going through it or that have gone through it, or will go through it - I hope it brings great memories and an appreciation for truly what is important. 🍟🌭🚌❄️🏒🥅🏅⚾
GREAT REALTED LINKS
Comments