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Skating pair prepare to bask in final glory
And not just for Barb Underhill and Paul Martini.
That magical spring evening in 1984, when Canada's best-loved pairs skaters weaved a special moment in this country's sports history at the Civic Centre, won't ever go away for the thousands who witnessed it.
Underhill speaks warmly, yet almost incredulously, of still running into fans who remind her of that night. As if it were really necessary.
"I was at a coffee shop (in Toronto) the other day and a woman saw me and said 'Oh, my God, I was there that night in Ottawa,' " said Underhill, 35. "That happens so often. Whenever I even just say the word Ottawa ... I have such a fond feeling for it."
Says Martini: "That was no doubt the highlight of our amateur career -- there isn't even a close second."
Without that world championship, which came on the heels of a crushing seventh-place finish at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics and a near-retirement shortly after, there would have been no 14-year professional career filled with even more highlights.
And no chance for one final special moment, Underhill and Martini: One Last Time, a farewell show tomorrow night at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto that will bring together such skating stars as Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Robin Cousins, Lu Chen, Yuka Sato, Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler, and Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.
It's also because of that one night in Ottawa that Martini and Underhill seriously considered doing it at the Civic Centre.
But production logistics, and the simple fact that most of the skaters' friends and families are in the Toronto area, weighed against a return here.
"It's just not the old Civic Centre we remember," added Martini. "They've redone the building inside and it doesn't even look the same anymore."
The two skaters, who enjoyed 21 years together, admit this farewell was a day they could see coming many months ago.
Both have families, both have built careers in television -- he's a skating commentator for CBC, she's with CTV, which will offer up a television special on their farewell in the fall.
It's just time, they say, to close the door for good.
"We wanted to put a period on the end of it, to have a point of finality, of closure," said Martini, 38. "It lets you prepare yourself for what comes next."
Letting go won't be easy. Martini said skating "has been an all-consuming passion for me" since he was six years old.
"There are things I'll definitely miss, like the performance aspect of it. I don't know if I'll be able to find anything to replace that."
Underhill admitted she was going through "a complete roller-coaster of emotions" as the countdown neared its end.
"Overall, the emotion I'm feeling is how much I'm going to miss skating. It's going to be harder to give up than I thought it would be.
"But to be able to go out this way, to skate one last time and to say goodbye and thank you to everyone ... for us, it's an amazing opportunity."
And maybe, they hope, maybe another Ottawa to cherish.