TAMPA, Fla. — Lightning announcer Paul Kennedy couldn't help but sing when he looked into the eye holes.
"Time keeps on slipping into the future," he belted out from the song made famous by the Steve Miller Band.
"Isn’t this amazing?" he said. "30 years of memories in this."
Kennedy's referring to the latest giveaway sponsored by the Lightning and their broadcast partner, Bally Sports Sun. It's called a Viewmaster, a popular retro device used to view three-dimensional pictures through what looks like a pair of plastic goggles.
Every fan who attends Thursday's game versus the Las Vegas Golden Knights will receive one of the Viewmasters, which contain iconic pictures from the first three decades of franchise history.
"When we started, there were no cell phones. There was no TiVo. There was none of this. No computers," Kennedy joked. "This is old school. This is, like, what it was."
What it is, is 30 years of history, built by players and coaches who we'll still be talking about 30 years from now.
"You have some of the greatest players, not only in the 30-year history of this franchise but in the history of the National Hockey League, which is spectacular," Kennedy continued. [Vincent] Lecavalier, [Dave] Andreychuk, Marty St. Louis. Steven Stamkos and the immortal goal scored in the Final against the Dallas Stars."
Kennedy's been broadcasting Lightning games since their first one on Oct. 7, 1992. He said that the 7-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks is his number one memory.
"The first game, which was amazing. Because it had been two years in the making. As a network, we had been a part of helping Phil Esposito and his vision to convince the National Hockey League that this would exist," he explained. "On the first night, there we were playing the fabled Chicago Blackhawks. And they blew them out of the water. It was a great opening faceoff. Dropping the puck. The culmination of dreams. Dreams become reality."
The Viewmaster takes fans on a ride that starts at the beginning of a story that's still being written.
"This franchise shares the memories. They’ve shared the rings. They have a legacy of 300 consecutive sellouts," Paul added. "It’s amazing. It’s the model franchise."
The Lightning faces off with Las Vegas tonight at AMALIE Arena at 7 p.m. in the second of their four-game homestand.
