Freshman year of high school in Irving, TX was shaping up to be a continuation of junior high for me. The Dallas Stars had relocated to the metroplex the previous year and I couldn't wait for pre-season hockey.  I wasn't familiar with lockouts but the NHL had one in the Fall of 1994.  I spent days in class sketching the Dallas Stars logo on my binder, and there was a new girl (who I won't name even though she probably will never see this) that I had the biggest crush on, but I couldn't wait to get home and re-organize my hockey cards and posters on the wall.  

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One of my best friends lived on our street.  We made the most of that non-hockey fall by playing roller hockey in the tennis courts.  I had the Bauer Brett Hull skates, which would only last a few skates. And I forget how many times I watched the Dallas Stars VHS "Deep in the Hearts of Texans", but that's kind of what inspired what later became known as the Modano Dome.  Me and my friend Tim decided to create a video documentary of all of my Modano memorabilia (including a cardboard jumbotron that hung from my ceiling) and recycle Modano highlights from tv to the tune of the Clash as the ending.  The highlights went longer than we expected, so we had to add two songs.  We didn't have the fancy web editing tools back then, and this was pre-internet, so it was very piecemealed, but we were proud of the end result. So proud that I was like what if Mike saw this?  What would he think? I sent a copy of the VHS to Mike at the Dallas Stars training facility where the team received fan mail.  

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The NHL and the NHLPA stroke a deal, and we had a new CBA in late 1994 which set-up a return of hockey in early 1995.  I met Mo a few times once the season started back up and he didn't mention the video, so I figured he didn't and would never see it.  Then it happened.  March game.  The Blackhawks were in town and after the game, I headed down to the back of Reunion Arena where the players typically exited.  It was a secured area, so you had to wait somewhat on the intersection of Houston and what is now Sports St.  Mike would always stop in his BMW 840 and sign for the fans.  He was just that kind of person. There were about ten or so of us, and so I waited my turn to approach and get my hockey card signed.  Before I could say "Mike could you please sign...", Mo said, "I saw the video," and I never forgot that moment.  Dave Reid was in the back of the BMW, and he said something like "when are you going to make one of all your Reid memorabilia?"  I was speechless.  Even thinking about that moment now, I still can't believe it.

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A lot of time has passed since then.  College, I even had to get a job, and I keep getting older. Through it all though, I kept all those relics that made the Modano Dome what it was.  Even added some rare artifacts.  My hope has and still remains that Mike visits the Modano Dome in person one day. In the meantime, I hope this site serves as a worthy tribute to one of the greatest hockey players of my generation and to those individuals who made it all the more worthwhile.