You're suited up in the dressing room. The game clock is ticking down. Hours are down to minutes. Minutes will soon tick down to seconds. Mere moments from now you're going to lead your team onto the ice at Mellon Arena before a sold out crowd. Nerves are high but anxiety is higher. Let's get this thing going, you think. Let's get fired up.
You lead the team out of the dressing room and make a right turn toward the ice. To the right Max Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury go through their shadowboxing, pregame ritual. Evgeni Malkin stands behind you, shifting from side to side in anticipation. Toward the back, Brooks Orpik clenches his stick, ringing it out like a dirty rag, cold dead eyes focused straight ahead.
The crowd is surging and waiting for your arrival. There is a pensive feel to it all, a calm before the storm.
Fans at Mellon are prepared to explode when you show your face and step onto the ice, leading the Pens out and over to the bench. One song and only one song is going to complete this moment for you.
The hum of the mic buzzes through the speakers, subtle as it may be. "Ladies and Gentleman," the announcer booms. "Your 2009, 2010 Pittsburgh Penguins..."
There's your cue. No holding back. Get onto the ice and give the fans what they want. As your skate hits the ice, ready to fire you into the vast openness of the arena, the speakers explode with...
(Link it up with a youtube if you can)