When Eric Lindros sat out the 2000-01 season for the Flyers, demanding to be traded after recovering from a disease (post-concussion syndrome) that had not been officially recognized or even known to the NHL, the fans turned on him.
When he was traded to the Rangers that summer, it seemed 60-40 with fans against him in his years-long battle with the Flyers and general manager Bob Clarke.
At the time, I never envisioned that he would be welcomed back with the kind of love and devotion I saw Saturday at the Alumni Game.
That he drew a louder, longer standing ovation than Bernie Parent, perhaps the most beloved Philadelphia athlete of the 1970s, was stunning to me and others who have been around the game all these years.
The reason for that ovation, I believe, is not rooted in a simplistic explanation that fans simply forgive or forget.
Its more complicated.
For starters, most of todays generation of Flyers fans werent adult season ticket-holders for much, if not all of the Lindros Era. Theres a whole, new generation that were kids watching him. A generation that wasn't even born when he began playing. Those who were there then and remain here were bitterly divided between supporting the club and supporting Lindros in his numerous battles with Clarke.
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A generation has come and gone. Everyone involved from back then has moved on. Even Clarke himself has said repeatedly that Lindros belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and no one would have thought hed say such a thing in 2001.
But the biggest reason I feel Philadelphia again embraced Lindros is that anyone watching todays game now understands that concussions and post-concussion syndrome is the No. 1 enemy facing hockey.
It has ruined livesPat LaFontaine, Paul Kariya, Keith Primeau -- and endangered careersSidney Crosby.
We didnt understand then what we do now about this disease and we still dont fully comprehend its dramatic after-effects.
That, to me, has changed the public perception of Lindros in Philadelphia and everywhere else. People now see him as being at the forefront of this terrible disease when, back then, they questioned his sincerity to play hurt which is the axiom of hockey.
Their view of how he played through and suffered through concussions has been altered.
Thats a good point, Rick Tocchet told me. I think maybe that has a lot of people thinking differently about him now. A good point.
Concussions are an individual thing. You cant judge people on concussions. Sidney Crosby is the best player in the league and who knows if he is ever gonna get back.
Regardless of why things have changed, it was great to see the Big E once again embraced by a city to which he gave so many quality years.
And it was even better seeing him laughing and joking with Clarke.
Time doesnt always heal all wounds, but in this case, time and knowledge about concussions seems to have allowed it to happen.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net.