Photo TR: Ron Francis Jersey Retirement Night

[Jonathan]

Tonight was one of my most memorable sports moments, and an event that 10 years ago I never could have imagined would take place in Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to the Thrashers and Hurricanes game, there was a huge ceremony honoring Francis, and his number 10 jersey was raised to the rafters.

 

 

Since it was a special night, we decided to actually park in the pay lot at the stadium, and do a little tailgating.

 

 

Here I am looking like a zombie.

 

 

Inside the RBC Center, which was sold over capacity with standing room only.

 

 

Ilya Kovalchuk of the Thrashers warming up.

 

 

The Canes all wore Francis jerseys during warm-ups.

 

 

It's me hooray. Now it's time to leave the lower level and head up to our seats upstairs.

 

 

#10 takes the ice for one last time.

 

 

Francis skating the rink with his two sons.

 

 

There were a lot of special guests on hand for the ceremony.

 

 

The jumbotron

 

 

omf digital zoom!!11

 

 

There it goes.

 

 

 

 

 

One final skate around the RBC Center for Ron Francis.

 

 

Oh yeah there was a game to play.

 

 

Cory Stillman was injured and watching the game in the press box.

 

 

 

Final score: Carolina 4, Atlanta 1

 

 

The win capped off a memorable night, and hopefully a landmark moment in North Carolina hockey history.

[PhishyBrewer]

Sweet Photo TR!!!

 

Thanks for sharing!!!

[307]

Thanks for that, Jonathan.

 

Francis was always really underrated, never mentioned with the greats of the game, despite being fourth on the all-time points list [ahead of Lemieux!] and a consistant 20 goal scorer [until his final year].

 

I wasn't impressed with his short, short stint in Toronto, but I was honoured to have been able to watch him play. For sure a first ballot Hall of Famer!

 

And how about those 'Canes this year? Who would've thunk it, eh?

[Hattuchili]

Nice Photo TR! It looks like you had a good evening and your team has won!

 

--Sören

[AznShortBoi8021]

Great Photo TR! Hockey is one of my favorite sports. I'm glad your team won. Hope you had fun!

[momo1tx]

Wow... I've been out of hockey a while. I didn't even realize he retired. New hockey sucks, it's not on basic cable, and half they players I knew well around 2000 have retired.

[Jonathan]

I would disagree with you there. OLN *is* basic cable; right now it is on most cable providers, although admittedly some have not picked it up yet. It is very unfortunate for fans who have a provider that does not carry OLN, but that should change very soon. There is a chance that OLN will get the Thursday NFL package for next season, which would guarantee every cable company in the country adding it. OLN has done a great job with the NHL; they show two or more games every week, and really treat it well, instead of giving it a back seat to poker like ESPN. Also, the NHL is on NBC on Saturdays.

 

As for the game itself; yes, we are witnessing a changing of the guard. This year we've said goodbye to players like Messier, Francis, Lemieux, and Hull, but at the same time there has never been in the history of the league a crop of rookies like this season. There are some amazing young players in the game right now, and you will be hearing names like Ovechkin, Crosby, Kovalchuk, Staal, and Svatos for years to come. The new rule changes have made it more fun to watch, and as far as I'm concerned hockey is better than ever.

 

It certainly doesn't hurt that my Hurricanes have the best record in the league.

[Shockwave]

I almost read that as Ron Jeremy retirement night!

 

Excellent photos Johnathan!

[momo1tx]

Well Cox cable is stupid... with 100 channels, and OLN's not one. For now I'm stuck watching weight-lifting championships and pool on ESPN2.

[Scaparri]

I would disagree with you there. OLN *is* basic cable; right now it is on most cable providers, although admittedly some have not picked it up yet. It is very unfortunate for fans who have a provider that does not carry OLN, but that should change very soon. There is a chance that OLN will get the Thursday NFL package for next season, which would guarantee every cable company in the country adding it. OLN has done a great job with the NHL; they show two or more games every week, and really treat it well, instead of giving it a back seat to poker like ESPN. Also, the NHL is on NBC on Saturdays.

 

Yeah, I really hope that happens. It's been frustrating this year since hockey is back, but it doesn't seem like it because it's not on tv. Fox Sports Net used to always play all of the Blues games but a few weeks into the season this year, they stopped doing it.

 

Anyway, great TR. That must have been an awesome game to go to. Sad to see yet another star leave, but man, those Hurricanes are rockin' this year! I'm hoping to get back to another Blues game or even a Preds game sometime this season. The Blues are unfortunately the laughing stock of the leauge, and they aren't getting any better since they just traded off Weight and Sillinger. Apparently, we are "rebuilding." So are they going to trade off Drake, Lalime, and Jackman next!?