It is abundantly clear to the Gisriel family why the Washington Capitals have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over the Montreal Canadians in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is because Melissa Dodge, Rebel Team Photographer Extraordinaire, is wearing a magical shirt.
You see, Charlie and Melissa spent last Saturday night at our house after attending a wedding over in Myersville, MD. They arrived during the 3rd period with the Caps trailing 4-3. They sat down and, of course, we agreed that if the Caps scored, then they could not switch seats. Indeed, the Caps tied it, but with a little more than 5 minutes to go, Montreal went ahead. Clearly, there was no Cosmic Influence coming from the chairs and so the Dodges felt free to get up and change out of their good clothes and into their play clothes. (You have to be of an age to understand those terms.) Melissa came back to the living room in a Caps crimson tee shirt and in no time, defenseman John Carlson sent a rocket to the back of the net with precious little time remaining to tie it for Washington. We all recognized immediately that the Cosmic Influence was coming from the shirt.
For you doubters, consider this: Melissa has donned The Shirt (unwashed, of course, lest the magic rinse, spin, and cycle, down the drain) for each of the last two games against Montreal and each time the Caps have won. Naturally, tonight she will be wearing it again. Charlie, meanwhile, will be attending the game with their son Noah. Should Washington lose, then we'll know that Charlie must be in close proximity to The Shirt for it to work its magic. I'm confident, however, that the shirt is independently powerful. Way to go, Melissa!
P. S. Does anyone have a magic shirt to wear for the Orioles?
Ironically, as I am the bearer--uh, wearer of the Magical Shirt, I've never been one to indulge much in sports superstitions. Though I fully understand them and respect the need for others to employ them, I have been more or less a bemused observer. So, I concurred with a wink and a nod when Martha pinpointed my shirt as the catalyst for the Caps rally madness on Saturday. To at least humor Martha and Austin and keep the 'joke' alive--I wore the shirt again Monday--couldn't hurt, right? Another win and more reminders not to wash the luck out. Come Wednesday when a win didn't look as certain as we hoped I actually caught myself thinking about either turning the shirt inside out or around backwards in order to activate a much needed magical power boost. Just after those thoughts swirled around my melon Ovie and Chimera each scored 52 seconds apart to blow the game open. Ok, I'm skeptical but not stupid. I've been won over--there is power in this magical shirt. Now I'm feeling the pressure of tonight's game -- I've got to Rock the Red with the right mix of urgency, hope, and confidence. I hope I'm up to the task!
Now Austin, if the unthinkable happens then I would like to go on record to say that mentioning the Garment of Greatness and the Orioles in the same breath is taking a mighty risk... and that my friend, is all on you. ;o}
Posted by: Melissa Dodge | April 23, 2010 at 02:14 PM