Son brings mother's ashes to Portage and Main to celebrate Jets' Game 7 win
Jeremy Regan says his mother would be 'smiling her head off' watching team's playoff run
A Winnipeg man made the daring decision Thursday to bring an urn containing his mother's ashes to Portage and Main after the Jets' Game 7 win.
Sometime during the final game between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators, Jeremy Regan turned to his friend and said if their team won, he would take his mother's remains downtown to celebrate.
"A pre-Mother's Day present I guess," he said.
Regan's mother, Linda Regan, died two years ago of cancer. The 67-year-old was an avid sports fan. She cheered for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Blue Jays and her favourite hockey club, the Winnipeg Jets. She matched her shoes to team colours and rang a cowbell at games.
"You would not have wanted to sit next to her. She was extremely loud," remembered Regan. "She was like the sweetest woman, honestly, and she was the most competitive."
Regan's mom introduced him to hockey, a sport he would go on to play from age five to age 20. He is now teaching his two young children how to play.
Other fans share in grief
The 44-year-old owns the West Broadway barbershop, Hunter and Gunn. A Jets jersey he got from the team for his 40th birthday hangs on one wall next to a small Dale Hawerchuk banner.
His mom was never the type to party at Portage and Main, he said. But he thinks she would be "smiling her head off" watching the playoffs.
As he walked through the crowds after Thursday's 5-1 Jets win, holding the urn tight with both arms at times, strangers came up to him, he said, sharing memories of other loved ones, missing the playoffs. Some asked to hold the urn.
"It was kind of cool the reaction of other people there because I mean it's kind of a bold move done in kind of an emotional state but people were coming up and kissing it," he said.
"I have no idea but maybe she had a hand in yesterday's win. Who knows?"
The evening felt like an emotional release, said Regan. Some tears were shed, but mostly there were smiles.
"I don't know if I would have done this six months after she passed but it's part of your own journey, getting over someone when they pass."
Regan hopes to bring his mom back to Portage and Main but only if the Stanley Cup is there too.
