CTV News on CTV - Canadian television's online home for news and entertainment

If Vancouver showed us the ugly side of hockey, prepare to see the beautiful side.

An estimated 100,000 people will descend on downtown Winnipeg on Sunday. They'll be in the arena, they'll be gathering at Portage and Main, they'll be dancing at the Forks. They'll be drinking beers and watching hockey at bars and restaurants throughout the downtown.

The difference between today and Vancouver four months ago… these people are happy, Ecstatic really.

These people have their Jets back.

This day has been 15 years in the making. Manitobans had always hoped the NHL would come back to Winnipeg; most never believed it.

Then last May, an announcement that suddenly made this real: A deal to move the Atlanta Thrashers away from the Sunbelt, north.

The reception couldn't have been warmer.

Since that day I've seen more smiles. The city seems friendlier.

I'm not saying hockey defines us. For the past decade Winnipeg has been growing. There's a sense of renewal here. More big building projects, a new airport, a new museum at the heart of the city, the downtown campus at the U of W is growing and more young people are coming to Winnipeg.

Our unemployment rates are among the lowest in the country. More families are calling this city home. Winnipegger's always had a reason to smile, the Jets return just turned that into a grin.

I was talking with Roy MacGregor of the Globe and Mail a few weeks ago, He left Ottawa to come to Winnipeg and live here for a month. He's been writing about the city and Jets fans for weeks now. He's impressed. We were talking about the recent sudden deaths of three NHL players this year, we were talking about Vancouver.

"In hockey terms," he said "we've been waiting for a happy story for a long time now. It's been an ugly year. This is a wonderful moment and people are going to embrace it for that.

Oh, they are.

A city with a new team. A city that has a new feel.

Even if their team loses today… This city has won. Just by having their Jets fly home.