Tuesday, June 25th, 2013. 10:14 am.

Chicago players come pouring out onto the ice, equipment flying, their screams audible from behind our television sets as they begin their celebration away from home. And after the handshake line, the Bruins kind of just disappear. Our team, they’re all there one moment. They’re all there with forlorn faces and aching hearts. They’re all there feeling the single most painful form of devastation a hockey player can endure, all wrapped up in a moment. As the Cup is raised, Blackhawks hoisting the hardware high one-by-one, the Bruins filter off of the ice. No, we didn’t see them go. They sort of just fade away among the celebration. In that next moment, they’re gone. The season is gone. Championship hope, gone.

But rewind and look back on what was. Look back on how no matter how many times people counted this team out, they rose from the dead and silenced everyone. Look back on how they performed miracles. Look back on how they came back from the brink and stunned the hockey world. And from that point forward, they only grew. This team, this band of brothers, this family, grew together. Shift after shift, game after game, series after series, this team proved everyone wrong. The Bruins did what they do best by playing the underdog role. They were the team that wasn’t supposed to win.

The rough part is that, in the end, they didn’t. But they went out in Boston fashion, didn’t they? As painful as it is to think about, they went down like a Boston team goes down. The exit was heartbreaking but maybe some part of you can smile about it. Why? Because this is your team. They rise and fall with no shortage of drama and no matter what happens, we’re along for the ride. We’ll always be there because this is our team, our family.

Boston you are the only, only, only.

See you next season, boys.