Hockey Pictureshow

For my birthday, I got 4 sets of hockey tickets. For starters was the Redwings/Panthers game on the 15th. I was so excited because this was surprisingly my first NHL game. It was also dollar hotdog night. I ate 4. Did I mention they were only a dollar? I was surprised at how little "promotion" and "show" there was surrounding the game. There were no player introductions, no cheesy promotional games, and nothing more than a blaring siren when a player scored a goal. At intermission, they had a little kid hockey player shootout. The Redwings were 3-6 on the powerplay and 1-2 on penalty shots (the first time in team history they've had 2 in a game). In the end, they won 5-2. Here's a look from our seats.

On my birthday, Stacey gave me an envelope with two Bluejackets tickets (thanks Stacey!!! I love you!). I was pretty excited, but even more so when I realized that the game was that night. I was then ecstatic when I realized they were 3rd row seats. Hockey is a little different when you are sitting this close.


The hits look a little like this


And I got to see my first live hockey fight.


The game was interesting because you can DEFINITELY tell the difference between a team that is 25-6 and another that is 14-13. The Bluejackets finished the game with 10 penalties - if they played the Redwings like that, they would give up at least 5 goals while shorthanded. Fedorov is ineffective - he has 6 G 11 A in 33 games. The one thing the team does well is making the game exciting. They had great intros, funny jumbotron clips, cheesy intermission games like musical chairs on center ice, a scantily clad "Mountain Dew Ice Crew" that cleans the ice during breaks, and they shoot a freaking cannon off after goals. Too bad we only got to see one during their 3-1 loss to the Flames.

A Bluejacket, by the way, refers to a Union soldier and is "celebrating patriotism, pride and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and, city of Columbus."

After watching two NHL games live, you realize how poorly it translates to TV. The hits are louder, the scoring opportunities are more exciting, and there is so much more happening on the ice than the small portion that you see on TV. I'd rank sports the following in terms of how well it translates on TV: basketball, baseball, football, hockey. The only reason why I rank baseball 2nd is because a good portion of the enjoyment comes from sitting in the beautiful, open ballpark. I love hockey, but I am growing tired of watching it on TV.

Oh, and the other two hockey games? The Fri/Sat night series of MSU at OSU. Can't wait!