Forty-four years in the making. And now it is here. The Washington Capitals are Stanley Cup champions.

It’s Mardi Gras, the Fourth of July, and New Year’s Eve all rolled into one in D.C. right now and I’m happy to be a part of it. Yeah, I’ve only lived here since 2011, but I did watch playoff heartbreak for six years in a row before this one. The “almost” Capitals of the Ovechkin/Rock the Red era are “almost” no more. Cross them off the list of greatest teams never to win a championship. This one can’t be taken away.

As a personal aside, I should mention that yesterday was also my birthday. Number 36 if you’re keeping track. Pretty good birthday present, eh? Interesting that it was June 7, 2011, that my then-hometown hockey team, the Binghamton Senators, won the Calder Cup on the road in Houston. It was Binghamton’s first championship after 30-plus years of hockey struggles.

June 7 is just my lucky day for hockey I suppose.

You know I’ve never put on a pair of ice skates in my life?

Maybe Birthday 37.