CALGARY- It’s been a whirlwind journey for one loyal Flames fan, all the way from Cape Breton.
For Christmas, Brenda Macfarlane’s family surprised her with tickets to Saturday night’s Flames game against the Vancouver Canucks.
But that was just the beginning.
With tickets to the evening game, the Flames morning practice at the Saddledome is the last place Macfarlane thought she would end up on Saturday morning.
Before the crowds arrive, it was a chance to see her favourite team warm up.
“She said, she told me we were going for coffee and we showed up at the Saddledome,” Brenda Macfarlane said about the start to her day.
It’s been a trip full of surprises, thanks to Macfarlane’s cousin Kat Macauley.
Macauley along with several local businesses arranged for Macfarlane to make the long journey from Nova Scotia to see the game for her 40th birthday.
Macfarlane was born with spina bifida, it was her first flight in 24 years.
“There’s lots of things that stood in the way. Like getting on and off an airplane is not easy and staying in a strange home isn’t easy. She’s had to make lots of adjustments to her daily routine and she’s done it with a smile on her face,” Kat Macauley said.
Macfarlane first fell in love with the flames in the 80’s when fellow Cape Bretoner Al Macinnis joined the team.
She’s been a loyal fan ever since and that loyalty is paying off.
“The team really, really wants to meet you so I was wondering if you would come down in the dressing room and meet the captain and all the players with us,” Kristin Hallett from Flames TV said to Brenda.
“That would be so awesome,” Macfarlane said.
It was a fan’s dream come true, a chance to meet the players in the Flames locker room and collect some autographs.
“How are you, you made it down,” Flames defenceman Dennis Wideman said. “That’s awesome, it’s good to meet you. Happy birthday, wow.”
“The fact that these fellas took the time,” Brenda Macfarlane said crying. “This is why I am a Flames fan, this is why I’ve been a Flames fan for so long.’
The flames receive numerous requests throughout the year — for a chance to meet the players — but this one stood out.
“This one really touched me. Obviously with Brenda’s presence today on Hockey Day in Canada, on her birthday it can’t get better,” Flames head coach Bob Hartley said.
A visit from ‘Harvey the hound’ was icing on the cake.
“This is one birthday I’m never going to forget,” Macfarlane said.
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