The magic that was the Avalanche’s 2010-2011 opening night had its impact on me.  The 15 year reunion of the 1995-1996 team had the crowd excited.  The introduction of the team that was going to battle this season was great as well, but it was the link between the two that had me sold…literally.

After the fans were reacquainted with the team that brought the first world championship ever to Denver, the newest Avs team was introduced.  The introductions were in numerical order, and there was one exception.  Adam Foote was left to be the last player, and for good reason, as he’s the only player left playing in the NHL from that 1995-1996 team.  Check it out.  (Thanks to YouTube user BroncoRamAvs26 for the video.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atemxOq6SlU[/youtube]

The tribute and ovation was really cool to be a part of.  It’s very clear that Adam Foote is a fan favorite.  His style of play and longevity have led to that well-deserved admiration.  The pre-game ceremony was special and memorable.  I thought being there was as close as I was going to get to everything that went on.  Upon further review, I was wrong, and that’s a very good thing.

The jerseys that the 1995-1996 team wore were signed by the players and then auctioned off to benefit Kroenke Sports Charities.  As one can imagine, these jerseys went for a pretty good chunk of change.  The history behind these jerseys and the names associated with that team contributed to some of these ending prices.  Here’s the Sakic, the Forsberg, and the Roy.  Even the Adam Deadmarsh and the Claude Lemieux jerseys went for over $1,000.

I did a little research and found out that the company that sells all of the game worn jerseys for the Avalanche were conducting their pre-sales for the first set of jerseys that are currently being worn by this season’s team.  I went to the site, took a look at who was still available, and found out that Adam Foote’s jersey, the same jersey that Milan Hejduk handed to him in the above video, was still available.  But don’t worry about going there and trying to buy that jersey now because I already did just that about a month ago.

So that’s why I said, on my Twitter feed and my Facebook Fan Page for my podcast, that Adam Foote is simply borrowing that jersey from me until he’s done using it in early to mid-December.  That jersey will then be sent back to MeiGray, I’ll pay the rest of the balance I owe from pre-ordering it, and then they’ll send the jersey to me.

So obviously there are a few reasons that I can’t wait for Adam Foote to return from his recent head injury.  One, this team is better when he’s on the ice.  And two, I want him to use this jersey as much as possible before it’s sent to me.

I’ll post part two of this story, along with plenty of pictures, after I get the jersey sometime in December.  To be continued…