One by one, Flyers of eras past walked down the path across the field at Citizens Bank Park and onto the ice. And one by one, each received applause from a standing, sold-out crowd.
No one was cheered louder than Eric Lindros.
Not Bernie Parent. Not Bobby Clarke. Not Jeremy Roenick. Lindros, whose departure from Philadelphia in 2001 was ugly, whose long-running feud with former GM Clarke took attention away from how gifted a player he was, was received by Flyers fans at the start of the Winter Classic Alumni Game just as he should have been.
It was real nice, Lindros said. Just to walk outas soon as I went through there, I felt warm. It felt real special to walk through there and to be announced. It was great.
Really, though, the renewed love for Lindros started months ago in Philadelphia. As soon as he confirmed he would participate in the Alumni Game, jerseys with No. 88 on the back started appearing in the crowd at Flyers games at the Wells Fargo Center. Suddenly, donning a Lindros jersey was no longer verboten.
And, for a while there, those jerseys were absolutely on the forbidden list, forced to the back of closets to collect dust. But Saturday afternoon, there was no more popular attire for those in attendance at the Alumni Game than the Lindros, C adorned orange sweater.
They were out in full view.
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Was it smelling up there? Smelling like moth balls in the crowd? Lindros joked. No, that was real special. It really is. Its 45,000 people out there.
Lindros departure from the Flyers marred what could have been a wonderful legacy for the player originally dubbed The Next One. Thats old news. Fans took issue with him for years after he left the organization, and not just because he joined the rival New York Rangers. When he retired because of lingering concussion symptoms, fans called him soft, poking fun at him.
The ultimate irony, of course, is that Lindros was indeed right when he retired. Post-concussion syndrome, as we know now, exists. And its ended, or threatened to end, the careers of plenty of talented players. Lindros, as it turns out, was simply ahead of the curve.
At Fridays alumni practice at Skate Zone, Lindros couldnt speak enough about the quality of medical care he received in his playing days. He said he was lucky to have his health, to be able to skate in weekly outdoor hockey games on Sundays in his home in Toronto. To be able to participate in this event, even.
His return to Philadelphia has been a long time coming. When other captains returned to the city ahead of the Spectrums closing in 2008, Lindros only recorded a video message to fans.
But Lindros committed fully to his return this time around. He and Clarke spoke a number of times Friday and Saturday, though Lindros only smiled and said the two discussed trainer tips when pressed to get specific about their discussions. But catching up with Clarke, as well as a number of his other teammates, has been a big part of what this weekend's about for Lindros.
That really felt special, he said. Its been a while since Ive been back here, and Im real happy to be back, for Paul Holmgren to give me a shout, for my former teammates, and to catch up with some of the other guys from the 70s whove been players for so long and stuck around.
The Flyers alumni won the game, 3-1, and Lindros finished with one assist and one penalty in 10:10 of ice time. Like he was known for back in the day, he led the Flyers in faceoff percentage, too, winning 57 percent of the draws he took.
Its been special, its been real nice, Lindros said. Its nice to be back, it really is. Its nice to come back and to be heading out to the restaurants and the well wishes around town, its really special. Im happy to be here, and to catch up with some people that I havent seen in a while and making new friends now.
Lindros may be older (hes 38), but on Saturday, he still carried with him the same presence on the ice he did back in the 90s. He was still big (even without shoulder pads on), still skated in that distinct Lindros style, and still found chemistry with linemate John LeClair.
The two-thirds of Legion of Doom line on the ice were responsible for the games first goal. Mark Recchi forced a Ranger turnover the in the Flyers zone, which allowed Lindros to skate down the right lane and set up John LeClair with a cross-ice pass that was picture-perfect, even by todays NHL standards.
Oh, Johnny, Lindros said. That was a good skate, Mark Recchi just finished last year, this is his first year off, so it was nice to have him on the other side. So yeah, things were clicking around pretty good. The ice wasnt bad, either. The ice got a little sloppy, but I think it will be great with the weather changing later tonight and tomorrow. I think the guysthe real guyswill have a terrific surface to play on.
E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com