Achi news desk-
Hockey fans will remember it well: the birth of the Red Mile during the Calgary Flames’ Stanley Cup run in 2004.
That season, the Flames weren’t even supposed to make the NHL playoffs, but they did, and the team still won.
A Cinderella story for the Flames that ignited fans in a way we haven’t seen since.
When the team knocked out the Vancouver Canucks in Round 1, a spontaneous party erupted in the streets of Calgary. Fans were so excited to see the underdogs take the win that they filed out of bars along 17th Avenue Southwest to celebrate.
The sea of red shirts that can be seen on the street is how the Red Mile got its name. Those celebrations continued after subsequent games and grew to tens of thousands of people as the Flames battled Detroit, San Jose, and finally Tampa Bay, to whom the Flames lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Red Mile is one of those “where were you when” moments. If you were in Calgary during that cup race, you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing.
The Melrose Cafe and bar, no longer on 17th Avenue Southwest, was considered the “Heart of the Red Mile” in 2004. Owner Wayne Leong recalled that the energy was electricity.
“It was organic,” he explained. “No one knew exactly how it would develop. The energy was incredible.
“We brought television sets and put them out on the patio… on the street, and it grew organically one series after the other. It was so exciting.”
Shane Bycuik said he only went to the Red Mile twice. But he had Flames season tickets and got to go to many of the games at the Saddledome.
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During Game 6 of the final round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, two small bottles of champagne snuck into the arena.
“I was ready to pop the cork when we won the Stanley Cup that night, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen,” Bycuik said.
He said he kept them, expecting the Flames to win the Stanley Cup to open them.
“I’m going to crack them when we eventually win the cup. Hopefully it will be in my lifetime. If not, I have two sons who can carry on that tradition.”
Shane Bycuik with the two champagne bottles he has had since 2004, waiting for the Calgary Flames to win the Stanley Cup before he opens them.
COURT: Shane Bycuik
Fans may also remember a song that became the unofficial anthem of that 2004 cup run. Set to 50 Cent’s “In Da Club,” Brendon Sanguinetti wrote “In Da Dome,” with references in the lyrics to Flames stars Miikka Kiprusoff, Jarome Iginla and Martin Gelinas bringing home the cup.
Sanguinetti performed the song alongside Drew Allum under the stage names “Don Getti” and “Drew Atlas.”
The two performed on the Red Mile, on television, in Olympic Plaza during the Flames party after the season ended. They also even performed at the house of the late Ken King, who was the president of the Calgary Flames at the time.
“He had a big party, or dinner, and he booked us to be the dinner music,” Sanguinetti said.
The fandom from 2004 stretched across the country. The CCM factory made tens of thousands of shirts a day and shipped them across Canada. Flagship cars kept selling out the second they got in stock. Even the prime minister at the time, Paul Martin, jumped on the bandwagon, calling the Flames “Canada’s team.”
The legacy of that ’04 team lives on. You can still see “Red Mile” signs along 17th Avenue Southwest. Iginla and Kiprusoff’s jerseys now hang in the rafters at the Saddledome. Those shirts will be moved to the Flames’ new arena once the ‘Dome comes down.
Photo taken in March 2024 during Miikka Kiprusoff’s shirt retirement night.
Dallas Flexhaug/Global News
Supporters are hoping that a new arena will bring a fresh start and another cup run for their team, before another 20 years are up.
Allum said fans will be ready.
“Nothing has changed in terms of Calgary’s passion for their sports teams,” he explained. “So, I don’t know if you get such an iconic moment with one song (“In Da Dome”) summing it up, but as far as the energy from everyone in town: 100 percent.
“Come on, Flames.”
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
