Good Luck Charms For Flyers Sing God Bless America Against Bruins Tonight

   As the Philadelphia Flyers prepare for game 6 of their Eastern Conference Semi- Final at home this evening they know that two  of the best good luck charms in sports history will be in attendance  ( 1 live and 1 in spirit) to sing God Bless America before the game. The Flyers, who trailed the Bruins 3 games to 0 have rallied and now trail 3 games to 2. The team is definitely building momentum and with the combined efforts of Lauren Hart singing live mixed in with the legendary Kate Smith singing on the big screen scoreboard the Flyers may be able to stave off elimination again tonight.

    The Flyers record when God Bless America is played before an important home game is 80 wins – 21 losses- and 4 ties or a winning percentage of .789. The Flyers first started playing a recording performed by Kate Smith during the 1969-70 season and during the first 3 seasons the Flyers were 19-1-1 when it was played but only 31-38-18 when the star Spangled Banner was performed. Soon Kate was doing live performances for special games such as game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals against the Bruins where they clinched their first Cup, the famous January, 1976 cold war game against the Russian Red Army team ( the Flyers won of course), and the 1975 Game 7 semi- final victory over the New York Islanders. A funny note from that game was after Kates live , stunning rendition , Islanders captain Ed Westfall presented her with a bouquet of flowers in the hopes of ruining the Flyers good fortune. Yes, Kate Smith was definitely inside the oppositions head. Imagine standing on the blueline listening to her perform knowing full well that you were going to lose and Dave Schultz or Bob ” Hound Dog ” Kelly was going to tear your head off! It is almost like a scene out of the great movie “The Gladiator”. I remember watching Kate Smith during these games as an 8- 10 year old kid and being spell bound by the power of her voice and the bedlam created by both the Flyers and Flyer fans. That was hockey!

       Kate Smith passed away 20 some odd years ago but thanks to video and the creativity of current performer, Lauren Hart, who just so happens to be the daughter of legendary Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart, the magic of God Bless America lives on. I will tune in to the game tonight to hear this stirring rendition and I fully intend to see this performed live at a Flyers home game in the not to distant future.  This is history. This is culture. These are the Stanley Cup playoffs !