This is so cool!

Hockey Weekend Across America

Check it out- and if you live somewhere that it makes sense (those of you actually IN Buffalo and the surrounding suburbs might have a shot at this) then check it out!

And wear your favorite jerseys to work/school tomorrow. :) Awesome.

Just wanted to share.

I haven't forgotten

AND today is Wednesday (well it was anyway) and I have a SAB for you!



-Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner

AND



-Former NHLer and analyst Ray 'Chicken Parm' Ferraro

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge!

*That's one thing to like about watching football- it has provided me with a few SABs now. Very useful because I was running out there for a bit. :)

Let's go Buffalo!

So I'm back to my proper Sabres-supporting self. I did wear my Devils shirt under the Sabres jersey, and flashed it to some folks behind us as a way of authenticating my Devils fan-ness but I was cheering for Buffalo tonight loudly and proudly. :)

I thought the game was fun. It had some frustrating and some slightly boring parts but overall it was an enjoyable experience. Royzie- ahem I mean Mair (I didn't see him touch it at all, must have been a deflection?) scored a beautiful goal that I saw from start to finish- as it happened right in front of me. I often miss the actual goals at the arena because there is so much going on that the goal itself is lost on me, but rather the sensation of scoring, and the puck in the net are all clear, where the logistics of the goal fade away. This one was clear as day- it looked like slow-motion going in. It was really cool to watch.

And that play in the 2nd period.. was it the 2nd? when the puck totally crossed the line but the Sabres swiped it out last minute and then played out about 2 more minutes of clock time before the whistle-- I swear that was a goal. And I thought that in days past the team could ask for a review by the next whistle but maybe that rule is dead or maybe they just didn't want to bother but it looked like it went over to me. Anyone who say the game on tv want to weigh in on this? Just curious.

The people sitting around us tonight were great. There was a cute guy next to me, a SUPER cute guy right behind my friend, so I could see him out of the corner of my eye by turning to see her, then another hottie (in a Devils jersey no less) down the row, and even one of the ice cleaner fellas was looking pretty fine. It was a nice night for some eye candy. Then there was a dude in the first row who kept banging on the glass like a crazy man any time the Devils were close- it was hilarious. He would stand up and dance and just act like a moron but in the funniest way possible. We were all laughing at him.. then the ghuy next to me stood up and clapped when Kaleta smashed a Devil right in front of us and I lost my mind laughing. It maybe was something you had to be there for but it just struck me as really funny in relation to the other dude and I laughed, and then I couldn't stop laughing. It was so random and just absurd.

And as usual, I got to enjoy the stylin hair of the Zamboni driver- this time I took some pics of him. We named him 'Twister', which is a tribute to his '80s hair and rockin style. We also named one of the ice cleaner guys 'The Boss' because well, he looks like he's in charge. Or at least he looks like he *thinks* he's in charge. Too much fun. I shall share pics eventually, but I'm tired.

All in all, a good night. Fun crowd (at least around us), decent game- some fine work by Mr. Miller tonight-, got to see MARTY- which is always grand-, and the Sabres got a WIN! I like it!

stuff that rocks

Assuming anyone still reads this after my confession the other night, I want to share some fun things with you!

Of course, most of y'all have probably already seen/heard this, but the San Jose guys doing an impression of RJ was too great not to share:



Also, this fantastic discourse on why the Devils are amazing is also too great not to share- The Devils Own. It's from this blog i just found- The Two-Line Pass Blog- but for all I know, y'all have been reading that for years. If you haven't, you should. If you have, why didn't you share it with me? LOL

Enjoy. I may try to watch the Canucks game tonigh, because I rather enjoy them, but only time will tell if I'm feeling in the mood. ;)

cheating on the Sabres... again

Guys, I promise I really am a Sabres fan. I'm not one of those people who grew up as a Sabres (or any sort of hockey) fan though. I came to hockey on my own, thus I have no family or place loyalties to cloud the issue. That being said, my allegiances have shifted a bit over the years. My first favorite team was the Vancouver Canucks because I was (and still am even if he's not playing anymore) completely enamored with Pavel Bure. I embraced the underdog Canucks as my own team and loved them for years (even with those strugglin uniforms of the early/mid 90s) but eventually, when they traded Bure and Bret Hedican (the last 2 members of the 1994 Cup Final team) I moved on with them to Florida. I didn't have any serious love for the Panthers, though I did enjoy them a bit, and of course Pavel did very well there so I appreciated that. But they were yet another team who barely made the playoffs one year then never again. I do however, own 2 Panthers jerseys, and I am okay with that.

Then came the dark time of Pavel being sent to the evilickyRangers, which we won't really discuss here. I like to pretend that never happened because it wounds me to the quick. There are 2 things about that time that make it almost okay. Bure always wanted to play in New York City, so I'm glad he got his one wish, even if it was THEM, and Gretzky said that had he known Bure was going to be a Ranger, he would have stayed an extra year in the League to play with him. That's about the highest compliment a hockey player could want, I think.

But we won't discuss that time anymore, and of course, shortly after that dark time came a darker time, that of Bure's early retirement due to too many knee injuries that just wouldn't heal. :( He wasn't the first (Bobby Orr and Cam Neely, anyone?) and probably won't be the last to have suffered that fate, but I believe he would have absolutely thrived in the post-lockout NHL and had several more 50-goal seasons in him. 33 is just too young to retire. Alas, I am getting totally off track here.

So anyway my team was where Bure was for years (except the dark time), and the Red Wings. The Wings were my sister's favorite, and the closest team to Dayton, OH *this was before the Blue Jackets* so they just made sense I guess. I followed the Red Wings too, along with the Canucks and later the Panthers. Of course, then the Wings got good and everyone started calling us bandwagoners but I don't care. I know the truth, and you like who you like.

Then came the Devils, or should I say Marty Brodeur. I vividly recall watching game 4 (well all of the finals) in 1995 and being absolutely astonished about this young goalie (in his 2nd season) who managed to shut down the (just starting to come into their potential) Red Wings in 4 games. But more shocking was the way that during the entire post-game/series analysis (and yes, I watched all of it, even though *my* team lost), I don't recall them giving Marty ANY credit for the wins. It was all "Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer and co are great shutdown defencemen, Claude Lemieux is a great agitator, he really got under their skin.. etc etc etc", but no mention of this fantastic young goalie. I was rather miffed for Marty but got over it. I continued to enjoy the Devils on the side, but the Wings were still my main team (and the Canucks at the time too). It wasn't until 2002/03 when I really got a chance to watch a lot of Devils games on their way to the final and a Cup that I appreciated all of the Devils. It started with Marty and grew from there. They are now (and have really been since then) officially one of my TEAMS.

There was also a brief affair with the Blue Jackets, who I actually still enjoy. When Ohio (finally) got a team in 2000, I was very excited. To that point, I had been a hockey fan for 7 years and been to 2 NHL games. I went to 4 that year- 2 preseason and 2 regular season. I got to see Pavel Bure twice (and he scored a goal the 2nd time), and also saw the Red Wings, which was super fun in CBUS, as the rivalry was already underway and there were lots of fans from both teams there. Say what you want about the Blue Jackets and their lack of success on the ice, but their arena and fans and overall presentation (especially in the early years) was contagious and totally fun. Then when I got into minor league hockey in 2001-03, the team in Dayton was an affiliate of the Syracuse Crunch and then the Blue Jackets, so I followed them even more closely. We also got all of the games on FSN so that made for some fun hockey viewing at home too. I still enjoy the Blue Jackets, though I rarely get to see them play (and they always beat the Sabres for some reason.)

And now we come to present times.. and the Sabres. I moved to Western New York in the fall of 2003. I had paid some attention to the Sabres in previous years, but they weren't really on my radar. I went to a Sabres/Wings game in 2000 or something when we were visiting my sis for Christmas. It was a good time, and of course everyone knows about Hasek and Mogilny and all those fellas but I don't really know much about the Sabres of old. My real Sabres fandom starts in 2003/04. We got all the games on tv, so I started watching when I could. And I often found myself listening to games on the radio when I was driving home from working at Niagara University. I still remember listening to one of Derek Roy's first games as a Sabre.. and RJ and Jim Lorenz kept talking about how feisty he was and how fun he was to watch. (I miss that Royzie, can we please have him back?) I followed the fellas with casual interest and was a bit sad and annoyed when they missed the playoffs by ONE point that year! (almost but not quite, remember?)

Then came the season that was no season. We don't want to talk about that do we?

Then I moved away to Salt Lake City, UT. It was not easy to follow the Sabres from there, since I didn't even have cable so I watched no games (till the playoffs) and I was working for a hockey team so I was busy most weekends. But when the playoffs started, and my team was done so I had more free evenings, I splurged and paid for cable for 2 months and boy and I glad I did! I watched as many games as I could (though I often missed the beginning of games with the 2 hour time difference) and I very much remember jumping up and down in my apartment yelling like a maniac during a few of those games. Then the Hurricanes series broke my heart but sealed the love for the Sabres.

Then I moved back to WNY in June and became a proper Sabres fan, and here I am, 3 years later. I've been to lots of games, own some merch and all that and I love the boys, even if they don't always love us back.

So this long rambling history is to tell you something that I did. I feel kinda dirty about it.. but I bought a Dallas Stars calendar. I know, i know, y'all are like SAM, are you crazy? It's the Stars! THE ENEMY! THEY STOLE OUR CUP WITH BRETT HULL'S FOOT IN THE CREASE! I know this.. I know all of this. I saw that game too and I was cheering for the B-lo. But.. I've always enjoyed Brett Hull, I must say and I don't particularly have any love for the Stars either. but... see, they have this calendar. And it's got these pictures.. of the fellas OFF THE ICE! Wearing Armani Suits and sunglasses and looking ohsofine and I just had to. Actually, i was going to be cheap and not buy it. ($20 for a CALENDAR, are you nuts?) but then my best friend bought it for me and how could I refuse a gift?

So I can try and justify it and say I didn't *buy* it, it was a gift, but I'd be lying and we all know it. I can't help it if I'm a sucker for a man in a nice suit. (what can I say? I'm female and hormonal and single LOL) I particularly enjoy Brenden Morrow and James Neal for the record.. and how can you forget Marty (the chirper) Turco and (OLDMAN) Mike Modano? It's a brilliant idea and all the proceeds go to charity so I can feel okay about that but guys.. it's still the STARS and I still feel dirty. But only a little.

I just felt like I had to confess that. I feel bad enough cheating on the Sabres with the Blackhawks (and believe you me, if THEY had a calendar (which I didn't see when I was there) I would have bought that baby in a heartbeat and we wouldn't even being having this discussion) but they aren't THE ENEMY. They are just the guys who took Soupy off our hands, and are raising our native son, Pat "20cent" Kane. So they're okay. They didn't steal any Cups from us and their skates haven't been in the crease. But I didn't live here when it happened so I can be okay with it.

I hope y'all don't defriend me over this. ;)

And then there were Sabres

Last night I watched the Sabres for the first time in weeks! I've been really busy lately so I've missed a bunch of games. I listened to the 2nd half of Monday's game on the way home from the airport but missed Tuesday's because I was.. doing something. Oh yeah I think I was playing Rock Band. Hahah that stupid game is so addictive! (Glad I don't actually own it, we're borrowing it from a friend so I can't play it all the time which is a good thing.. LOL)

But yeah last night's game being in LA and all made it a 10:30 start and since I wasn't doing much at 10:30 I decided to hit the basement and do my old time-honoured tradition of watching/listening to hockey while putting together a puzzle. It's great fun and the game was awesome! I'm really glad I stayed up.

It's always so weird listening to the other teams' broadcast crew. (and unlike many of my friends, I don't have Center Ice so I don't get to see anyone other than the Sabres.) I must admit though, and I'm hardly alone here, that RJ is the best of the best of the best, sir. he may get a little crazy at times but he is VERY good at describing what's happening ON THE ICE and not getting too sidetracked. That's one of the things that bugs me most- when the announcers forget there's a hockey game on (ahemVS!ahem) and spend the whole time blathering on about what Ryan Smyth did over the weekend or something. I can appreciate the occasional tidbit about the players, or stats or items of interest- possibly more than most folks (as I'd LOVE to be a color analyst one day) but I also appreciate the value of what's actually happening IN THE GAME and I want to know about it. I often do other things while hockey is on tv (this is not new, I used to do homework to hockey games in high school, as the margins of my notebooks can attest- I used to have all sorts of random hockey stats and tidbits written in there LOL) so I listen more than watch and if you aren't describing the play, I get very cranky.

Phew.. all that said, the Kings folks weren't too shabby. They were kinda fixated on Ryan Miller and his positioning and the way he handled time outs and random minutiae like that, and also were all about both teams activating the d-men from the backend, (which they did quite splendidly actually) but even with that, they gave the Sabres some mad love and called the game quite well. Even their token 'girl' reporter, Heidi Androl wasn't too bad. She wasn't dressed like a skank and seemed to almost have a clue what she was talking about! (major points there- and of course I'm mad jealous of her and want her job like whoa.)

On to the game- and it was a good one! The Sabres put a lot of pressure but couldn't seem to finish in the first (and Quick is a solid little "quick and thick" goalie. I like him.) and the scoring was back and forth. There was a lot of action all over the ice, but it seemed like both teams kept it pretty clean but didn't let up at all on each other. I can't comment much on the actual action, since I wasn't watching, just listening with an occasional glance at the tv, but it was a fast-paced and fun game. It's a shame the Sabres had to lose but the Kings certainly played well enough to win.

I hope the boys can bring it into San Jose tonight.

NO GOAL!

I don't know if y'all have heard about the Red Wings/Stars game yesterday when Steve Ott won it on a phantom goal.

Well, I was there and of course they didn't give us any good replays at the arena, but it didn't seem to go in all the way and the ref who was RIGHT there waved it off immediately.

Then they went to the phones and we waited.. and waited.. and waited and eventually they called it a goal. (but was his foot in the crease?)

I saw an article today which includes video- pause it at 1:20 and you can clearly see that the puck did NOT cross the line. It doesn't matter if it was 9/10 of the way over the line, it must COMPLETELY cross to be a goal.

I call bullshit.

In other news, the poor Red Wings just lost another shootout to the Blackhawks. At least it wasn't a phantom goal.

Riddle me this...

Derek Roy played 21.5 minutes of tonight's game. It was by far the most minutes of any forward on the Sabres. Yet he has nothing to show for it except 6 faceoff wins. NOTHING else. Not a shot, not a point, not even a +/- rating.

WHAT THE?????

Words fail me.

continuing the Blackhawks love..

Business first..

Are the Sabres ever playing again? Just wonderin.

I wrote up the stare-off the other day when I was bored out of my mind at work but I don't feel like typing it out right now so.. you will have to wait.

I am very tired because I've been working in my yard trying to create some ice so I can skate. It's working.. I think. But the process is a very long one so it will be next week before any skating can be done. But.. I think it might actually happen this year! *crosses fingers*

Anyway I do have a SAB for you this week. trying to stay on top of things, and in keeping with the latest trend of Blackhawks love, I present this week's entry:



-My lover Adam Burish from the 'Hawks

AND



-Actor Russell Crowe

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge. I like it, personally. :)

Had to happen

The Sabres lost tonight in an 11-round shootout. Rats. I didn't watch the game at all but I listened to the 2nd half of OT and the shootout. Looks like the boys gave up an early 2-0 then 3-1 edge to Colorado and even though they managed to tie it, they didn't have quite enough to put it away in the shootout. Oh well. They had won 6 in a row... it was bound to happen at some point. At least we gave away the 1 pt to a Western Conference team rather than Eastern.

I had a really weird dream about Brent Seabrook last night. I think the Blackhawks are trying to invade my life! I mean.. yeah I bought the Sharp t-shirt and a bobblehead (which came in the mail yesterday, woohoo) and I've been (not so) secretly enjoying them for about a year now but still.. now I'm dreaming about them? I guess it's not quite the first time, since I had some really weird dreams last week (when I was in Chicago) about Kane and Toews- they weren't exactly dreams per se- more the weird non-awake, non-asleep wanderings of my subconsious mind. I only had a few hours to sleep and I kept waking up because one or both of them were telling me that it was time to wake up- almost like alarm clocks. Odd.

Anyway I will share the details of the Seabs dream later, along with some further extrapolation on the "Trifecta of Hotness" that I mentioned in last entry. I also have a ridiculous stare-off between Ryan Miller and Jonathon Toews written. I found the pics last week and wrote the dialogue today at work when I was bored out of my mind. I can only hope that my readers (all 2 of you) will find it half as amusing as I find it myself. I have this insane and slightly unhealthy obsession with Toews' eyes. Seriously though, LOOK at the kid. It's rather frightening, and once such an idea takes shape in my mind, there is nothing to do for it but let it happen. :)

So there's your presell. Hopefully you will all come back and read what's to come. One of my not-quite resolutions for the New Year was to be more active with my blog and to make it more interesting, so I am trying to do just that. I was pelted with inspiration on my trip to Chicago, and I apologize if my entries are a bit Blackhawks-centric for a while. It's not that I don't like the Sabres anymore, it's just that I've found a new and more interesting (I maintain that the Sabres might have personalities, but until their management/internet folks decide to share those personalities with us, we'll never know for sure) crew to play with.

Back on track

Hello Friends and Neighbo(u)rs.

GO USA! I'm happy they won the WJC, even though I don't really follow. (ahem, CAN'T watch the games even if I wanted to!)
*Side note, what is up with that? The WJC games are only available on TSN and the NHL Network? I don't live in Canada and I don't have the NHL Network. I do, however, get all ESPN channels, as well as VS and CBC but that's not enough. Nope. Boo on that!*

Meanwhile.. the young Americans showed some spunk and surprised Canada and everyone else by winning the tourney. As a fellow countryman (woman?), I say: well done, lads! And that's about all the commentary I have on the game as I was unable to watch it.

Moving right along. The Sabres won another game tonight. This time they were ahead 3-0 and almost lost it, but managed to recover enough to win the game 5-3. I halfway watched about half of the game. That is to say that the game was on, and I watched part of the 1st and 2nd period then read my stack of The Hockey News issues I'd been neglecting (and did the crosswords) while listening to/glancing at the 3rd period. I've seen worse but I've seen better too. But a W is a W and that's 5 in a row for the Sabres (first one of the 5 that I finally got to actually watch tonight, I've been away) and that is greatness. The boyos are also 2nd in the conf (tied with the Caps, who re-signed T-Sloan for 2 more years--SWEET!) and well in first for the division. Excellent. :)

I really must be getting some sleep, but with the new year I'm trying to get back on top of things like posting in this humble blog and re-upping on one of my favorite features of FFITB, which is, of course, the "Hockey Separated at Birth". I've been quite inspired lately so there should be a slew of them headed your way in the new few weeks. :) Enjoy tonight's issue: (major props to my dear friend Emmy for the suggestion of this one.... it's hilarious!) :)



-Brent Seabrook of the Blackhawks*

AND



-"Eddie Munster" played by Butch Patrick

C'mon.. tell me that's not a Separated at Birth? You be the judge. :) (if you can stop laughing long enough.)

*Seabs is one of the newly named "Blackhawks Trifecta of Hotness" (a.k.a. Patrick Sharp, Adam Burrish, and Brent Seabrook) that I am currently rather smitten with. I will elaborate on this in a later (but soon) post. In fact, I have another ridiculous post up my sleeve regarding Jonathon Toews' crazy eyes vs. Ryan Miller's eyebrow and all sorts of madness. Stay tuned, things are gonna get fun around here again! :)

a Treatise on hockey fandom- or Don't Question Me!

(this got a little rambly along the way, but bear with me, I do have a point. Somewhere.)

I call myself a hockey fan.
I would even go as far as to call myself a hardcore hockey fan.
I've been watching hockey for 15 of my 28 years.
The game wasn't born and bred into me, I came to it on my own. (with a little help from my sis and a boy named Lance Links)
I've been to hockey games in many exotic locales (Las Vegas, NV; Baton Rouge, LA to name a few).
I've cheered on teams at the ECHL, AHL, NHL, and college levels.
I own 12 hockey jerseys- 3 of which are game worn.
I have an entire shelf of hockey books and a wish list probably longer than my arm of the ones I still want to own.
Name me almost any city you want (of a certain size, or anywhere in Canada) and I can tell you if they have hockey and many times what the team name is and what league they are in.

I think you get the point- I. LOVE. HOCKEY.
There are many facets to this love, not the least of which is my well-documented enjoyment of the personality and attractiveness of players, which just keeps things interesting. (However, that is just gravy to the meat of hockey, which takes place on the ice.)

Hockey is a game of contrasts:
Brutality and grace
Cold surfaces and hot sweaty players
Tiny puck- big net/goalie
The speed of an up-ice rush and the almost slow-motion of a perfectly timed play
The physicality and anger exhibited by players on the ice versus their off-ice, charitable, kind, gentle selves. (this has been true for many of the players I've known personally and it is always the most striking.)
The heated rivalries of playoff series which end in handshakes and hugs

Why do I write all of this? What does it even mean? What's the point of throwing it out there? I guess it's a defence of sorts.. a way of saying that while I may be silly and flip and all fluff sometimes in this blog, hockey runs in my veins like fire and I'd be lost without it. (let's not talk about the 04-05 season that wasn't. I think I literally went through a hockeyless-related depression during part of that year.) With me, though you may not know it from the writings, it really is all about the game. THE GAME. Everything else is entertainment for sure, but The Game is where it all begins and ends.

Watching hockey (live or on tv), listening to games, and reading about past and present hockey stories from all walks of life and all levels of the pro game is one of the things that keeps me going. Something happened to me 15 and a half years ago; hockey sunk its hooks deep in my soul and hasn't let go. There have been times when I've tried to shake the NEED for the game, but it would not relinquish its hold. I've been to some awesome places because of hockey. I can't even tell you how many friends I have because of hockey fandom that I wouldn't know otherwise. Whatever IT is, I have IT, and I'm teaching the game to my nephews and will eventually (should I have any) teach it to my children. It's that important. It's a vital part of who I am.

With all of that said, I did not watch this year's Winter Classic.

I watched the first one, in 2008. It happened in Buffalo (which is near where i live and my current favorite team) but I wasn't at the game. I wasn't even in the state, as I went home to visit friends and fam in Ohio for a week after Christmas. However, I had some friends over and we watched the game in my parents' basement and had a wonderful time. It was the original "Sidney Crosby Day" and set the stage for a host of jokes that are still valid among the group and also was the formation of the "87 Club". The game itself, of course (who knew there was actually a game on?) looked absolutely perfect, with the Sabre faithful (and some Pens fans too) packed into The Ralph and the famous Buffalo snow falling quite heavily at times. It was unqualified success for the teams, the League, and the fans and it was a beautiful thing. I loved watching it and would have loved even more to be there.

Fast forward to December 25, 2008, when I learned that my sister had procured tickets for us to see (along with our dear friend Emmy) the Winter Classic Part II: Blackhawks v. Red Wings! Definitely one of the best Christmas Presents EVER! I have been a Red Wings fan since I started watching hockey, and by this time last year I was flirting with the idea of liking the Blackhawks so of course it was a brilliant idea. Plus, hockey in Chicago with great people on New Year's Day IN A BASEBALL STADIUM is just too cool to pass up, right? So of course we went. It was incredible and oh so much fun. The fans were amazing, the venue was fantastic, it was cold as anything but that didn't matter. It was glorious, definitely the coolest hockey game I have ever been to (and possibly ever will be to unless I see a Stanley Cup game 7 that ends in my team's favor or something). The atmosphere- everything, just can't be touched. It doesn't I can't go to games anymore but just that obviously this was special.

(side note, I watched the "making of" dvd the other night and it brought me to tears. Yes, I really am that sappy about hockey.)

Then they announced the 2 teams for the 2010 Winter Classic, and to be perfectly honest with all of you- I couldn't have been less excited about the choices. I really really really CANNOT STAND the Flyers. I rather despise them with pretty much all of my being. And I don't enjoy the Bruins much either. I don't hate them, per se, but I don't like them either. I feel like the Sabres have to play them a zillion times a year and the games are never interesting or exciting at all. So all in all, I was feeling an almost negative amount of enjoyment in that announcement. Really, the only way it could have been worse would be if it were the Rangers and Flyers. Suffice it to say that I had very little intention of even watching the game, and certainly no emotional attachment to it. I have often watched hockey just to watch it (particularly in the playoffs) even if it was teams I didn't care about. But I will rarely watch a game in which I dislike both teams, and don't even care about any individual players. (It doesn't happen often. I have dream lovers on almost every team and many fellas that I enjoy watching all around the League, but none of them happen to play for either of those teams.)

So in the end, here I was on New Year's day- having been to a Blackhawks/Devils (now there is a game I can care about!) game on New Year's Eve and out to a party till 5 am. I didn't even wake up till almost noon Chicago time (which was puck drop I believe) I woke up and enjoyed some warm (well cold in memory) rememberances of "a year ago at this time I was at Wrigley WATCHING HOCKEY!" and thought... maybe I should watch this game. Then I dismissed it and played on the internet till Emmy and 'Nee woke up and we ventured out to brunch at a friends' place.

Thus I did not watch one moment of the 2010 Winter Classic (though I did watch the clip of Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke just for fun and because I was reading a book about Bobby Orr) and I am totally okay with that. Part of me feels the need to justify that not watching so as not to be taken as less of a fan. But the rest of me just doesn't care. Anyone that knows me realizes that I am a serious hockey fan. (and if you didn't know before, and you actually read through all that rambling stream of consciousness up there then you sure as heck know now!) From what I heard and read about the game, it wasn't terribly striking or even all that exciting (aside from the novelty) until late in the game. I'll take last year over that any day.

No way you can top my experience in 2009. NO. WAY. However, should they schedule better teams for next year (ahemHabs/Leafsanyone?) - and really I already told you the only way it could get worse and that can't happen- then I will most likely check it out come 2011 and beyond.

When it's all said and done, I am truly, irrevocably and eternally, a hockey fan.

to update y'all

We did not get there early enough for warm-ups, thus I did not get to drool over my boy Sharpie all up close and personal. That will have to wait.

We did have a great time though, of course. The Blackhawks won the game 5-1 and there was much rejoicing. As I enjoy both teams, I was not dismayed by this score, and joined in the revelry. (and I was wearing my friend Emmy's Kyle Calder Blackhawks jersey so it would have looked a bit odd for me not to be cheering. I'm pretty sure it was the only #19 jersey in the place that didn't have Toews on the back. ;) )

So I did not manage to get any pictures of my boy, but the game was fun and I did acquire some souvenirs. I purchased a Sharp t-shirt and the Winter Classic dvd. I am very excited about both things, and already watched the dvd. It made me cry. yes, I'm a sap, but I WAS THERE! I am especially excited about the dvd because I had seen it advertised on the Blackhawks website (when I was there for illicit rendezvous with my secret lover team that's really not such a secret anymore) but it is not available online, only at the Blackhawks store or their kiosk at some mall. Well I was quite saddened my this, as I was not (at the time) planning a visit to Chicago any time soon and was considering placing an order with a friend and having it shipped. But then fate intervened in the form of Emmy inviting us up for what has sort of become an annual tradition- visit to Chicago for New Year's. And not only was it a visit, but it involved a Blackhawks game so I could procure said dvd myself and all is well.

I also purchased a Patrick Sharp bobblehead from ebay today. I've been wanting one for quite a while now and just decided to go ahead and buy it. :)

And, while we're having the SharpieLoveFest, I may have a plan. My sister Brett has invited the young nephews and I to a Blue Jackets game. We haven't picked a date yet but my brilliant self has decided that we need to see the Blackhawks- and lo- they play in Cbus on February 14- AND the kids have no school the following Monday. So it might actually work and I can think of a lot worse ways to spend Valentine's day than staring at one of my favorite non-Sabre hockey gentlemen. Sounds pretty great, eh? We'll see if we can pull it off. I'm rather excited about the idea though. :)