TAMPA, Fla — The Colorado Avalanche lead the Stanley Cup Final 3-1 after a huge winning goal from Nazem Kadri in overtime in Game 4.
Most fans had a delayed reaction to the goal, because after the puck went in, it got wedged between the bar and the net. There were a few moments of confusion as fans figured out where the puck ended up. But two Avs faithful in the Tampa crowd knew the goal was good as soon as they saw it.
The television broadcast captured the two fans jumping up and down in the first few rows behind the glass -- before anyone else even realized the Avs had just won it.
Those two guys are Debo Crew and his brother, Jim Crew.
"So Kadri's coming in the zone and makes a move and puts it in," Debo said. "And just from our angle [...] we didn't really see the puck actually enter the net. What happened was the puck got wedged between the bar and the net. And because the bar and the net are both white, really all we saw was just that black circle -- just the contrast of it -- just get wedged in between it. And when we saw that, obviously, we lost it. We knew it was a goal."
Debo said they were a little embarrassed at first, because they were the only ones who reacted. Not even the players were cheering right away.
Debo said they were the only Avs fans in their section -- and they weren't originally supposed to be in those seats. He said they previously had seats in the nosebleeds, but ticket prices dropped after the first two games because the Avs were up in the series. So they got cheaper seats closer to the ice.
The brothers won't be in the stands, but they're hoping the Avs hoist the Cup Friday night in Denver.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Stanley Cup Final 2022