Some 50 years worth of memories, and our challenge was to boil it down to a Top-10 list. With the Winnipeg Arena getting closer to a date with the wrecking ball, The Sun decided to revisit the 10 most memorable moments in the building's history.
All sporting events were eligible. The criteria we used included the emotional impact the event had, its historical significance, the size of the crowd and, sometimes, just plain old sentimentality.
If the debate we had in the sports department is any indication, you'll probably have something to say about our choices, and we'd be glad to hear from you.
So pour yourself a coffee and take a trip down memory lane ... to the 10 Greatest Sports Moments in Winnipeg Arena History.
1. Canada vs. Soviet Union, Sept. 6/72
The Summit Series still stands as one of the most unifying moments in Canadian history, and a sellout crowd of 10,332 Winnipeggers were lucky to be part of Game 3.
The teams tied, 4-4, as Henderson picked up his first game MVP award for Canada, a sign of things to come.
The result also meant the eight-game series couldn't end in a tie, setting the stage for Henderson's Game 8 heroics.
"I guess war is the only thing that could bring a country together like that series did," Henderson would say later.
2. Winnipeg vs. Edmonton, May 20/79
The Jets won their third WHA title with a 7-3 victory over an 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the AVCO Cup final.
Add the fact this was the last WHA game ever played, with the Jets, Oilers, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers headed for the NHL, and it made for a highly-charged atmosphere for the 10,195 in attendance.
"I've been through five Stanley Cups and Team Canada in 1972 when we beat the Soviets," said Jets first-year GM, John Ferguson. "This club has just made it all every bit as good. Even better."
3. Winnipeg vs. Soviet Union, Jan. 5/78
Another crowd of 10,000-plus jammed the place to watch the WHA Jets close out a four-game series against one of the best teams in the world.
Yes, it was only an exhibition, but those who saw the 5-3 Jets victory, coming on the heels of three straight losses in Japan, will tell you it was one of the most entertaining games they've seen -- and the first time the Soviets had ever lost to a club team.
The trio of Bobby Hull, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson accounted for 10 points.
4. Canada vs. Russia, Jan. 5/98
Nothing brings out the emotions more than international hockey, even if it's the juniors.
The 1999 World Junior Championship featured the dream gold-medal matchup -- with a nightmare ending.
Despite the Russians' 3-2 overtime win, the Arena has seldom been rattled like it was that night, 12,992 flag-waving crazies packed to its rafters.
5. Jets vs. Houston, May 27/76
Three-and-a-half years after it helped found the WHA, Winnipeg had its first professional hockey championship, thanks to a 9-1 romp over the Houston Aeros that completed a shocking, four-game sweep over the defending champs.
"They could play Montreal and beat them, the way they were flying tonight," said Aeros coach Bill Dineen.
A full house of 10,368 fans poured into the streets for a party that went well into the night.
"I've been with a few Grey Cup champions ... and I never saw Winnipeg freak out over a sporting event, not the way it did last night," is how Jack Matheson of the Winnipeg Tribune described the aftermath.
6. Winnipeg vs. New England, May 22/78
For the second time in three years, the Jets captured the AVCO Cup on home ice before another standing-room-only crowd, this time with a 5-3 win and series sweep over the Whalers.
The game also marked a farewell to the two Super-Swedes, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, who were on their way to the NHL's New York Rangers the following season.
"What a way to go," said Hedberg, who scored two goals and an assist.
7. Winnipeg vs. Edmonton, April 10/90
It didn't carry international significance and it wasn't a league championship, but diehard Jets fans still get goosebumps recalling Dave Ellett's double-overtime winner against the Oilers.
The 3-2 win gave the Jets a 3-1 series lead, and bedlam ensued.
Granted, they blew the series, eventually. But for that one moment, the Arena was heaven on earth.
8. Brier Final, March 6/70
Who'd have thought you could fill nearly 10,000 seats for a curling event?
That's what happened throughout the week as Manitoba champ Don Duguid captured his first of back-to-back Canadian curling titles, beating Saskatchewan's Bob (Peewee) Pickering 8-7 in the final.
The event marked a breakthrough for the sport, and helped establish Winnipeg as the curling capital of the country.
"It was like a big party," Duguid said. "It was the centennial year (for Manitoba) and we were winning. The crowds got louder and louder as the week went on."
9. World Curling Championship, March 31/91
Two decades after Duguid packed 'em in, Canadian men's champ Kevin Martin and women's counterpart Julie Sutton drew more than 11,000 each for their gold-medal games, capping a week that saw nearly a quarter of a million people click the turnstiles -- still a Worlds record.
Both Canadian skips suffered losses, Martin's tainted with controversy, as the Alberta skip fell behind the Scots, then switched to old corn brooms in an attempt to junk up the ice.
"The crowd didn't like it, and started to boo him," recalled Bob Picken, chair of the bid committee. "It was a major issue in Scotland, I'll tell you."
10. Jets vs Detroit, April 28/96
A crowd of 15,307 witnessed the end of an era, as the Jets made their final Arena curtain call, dropping a 4-1 decision to Detroit and losing their playoff series in six games.
After the final buzzer, the Jets left the ice, only to return for one final salute to the fans, who ended the evening by climbing the glass and holding the largest on-ice wake in history.
A 24-year love affair was over, leaving a hole in the city's fabric that remains today.
