Why I Joined DDP

It’s now June 2009 and hockey is but a distant memory. The Penguins won Lord Stanley’s Mug and the Hershey Bears beat the Moose to win the Calder Cup. On a personal note, I’ve exchanged my Marlies blue for TFC red. As the news of signing Ryan and Engel and the pre-season schedule comes out, I can’t help but think of all my fellow DDPers and how much I missing seeing them; this gets to the essential reason why I helped to found DDP with the original crew.

A few weeks ago I was at Walmart in my grey TFC jersey and I saw someone with a red one on. We had never met eachother but there was an instant bond – one pre-determined by our team colours. Everytime someone honks, or drops by my desk to talk about the TFC, we instantly have made (if only for a brief moment in time) a connection tied by our support of the Toronto FC. The “reds” talk about BMO Field as “our house” and their rallying cry is “Toronto till I die”. It is precisely that sort of camaraderie that DDP was created for. DDP is about the Marlies, but is also just as much about friendship. I have made many wonderful friends, got closer to other friends, and have had many, many amazing moments that I will never forget. To all of you who have joined, sit with us, come to our activities, drop by for a chat, I thank you because in the end, that is what DDP is all about.

Although it is the summer, DDP is growing. We are doing more and having more fun (all year round). I encourage all Marlies fans to join in over the summer with our activities and get more involved with one another. That is what makes us united in our cause…..the Calder Cup being hoisted in Toronto by the baby buds. As Toronto FC fans say, loyalty really does run deep, but only if we allow it to.

There are a few more months before the puck drops in Edinburgh, Oshawa, and ultimately Toronto. As the days of the off-season dwindle to a close and the days to the frozen pond for the 5th Marlies season at the Ricoh Coliseum draw nearer, let’s all band together, shoulder-to-shoulder to support the Marlies in their bid to hoist the Calder in June 2010.

GO MARLIES GO!!!

You can email Chris with comments and questions about the blog, Duke’s Dog Pound Supporters Club, or the Marlies anytime to dukesdogpound@yahoo.ca.