Monday, January 29, 2007

I'm drooling at the prospect...

No, not that kind of drooling, but the kind caused by the trade rumors swirling around Peter Forsberg. I know that my jinx luck will never allow me to see the real Forsberg play for the Flyers. His injuries and foot problems will not resolve until he goes to another team...trust me. However, with all the predictions going on, I would be willing to see him go to see some of the players we could get in exchange for him. There are great names, and a lot of them: Briere, Drury, Aebischer, Samsonov, Souray, Toskala...

Peter, I love you and your douchebag style, but you make me so angry when you are out with your foot problems. I know it is not in your head, but it doesn't stop me from calling you a pussy when you are out. Sorry!

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Who knew everyone loves my boy Reid?

Well, last night was the auction for the jerseys. One thing you need to know about me is that I am very easily flustered by hockey boys. I need to work on that. We headed down to Bullies after the game and got a good seat right up front (four rows back). Some of the scratches were already there, including Munroe. Yikes! I was busy telling Rod who everyone was, because apparently he can't tell who anyone is without their helmets. Some of the other players started to filter in.

They started the bidding with John Slaney and his jersey, which threw me off because I thought he and Cote would be last since they are wildly popular. Slaney went for about 600 bucks. That also threw me off, because I thought his jersey would go for about a grand. Next came the mascot Phlex and his jersey. That fetched about 500 bucks. The next few players are a blur to me, because Reid was over in the corner and my oxygen supply seemed suddenly very limited. I kept saying, "is it really hot in here?" and my face was very red with anxiety!

Reid and his jersey came up pretty quickly, about sixth or seventh (again, this is all a blur to me). He got up on the stage and held up his jersey with that doofy smile on his face. Before I could even get one bid in, the jersey was up to 1100 bucks and there was a bidding war between two bidders. Rod kept looking at me and asking if I wanted to bid but I just said no. I didn't want to scare Reid by suddenly bidding 1200 dollars, thus revealing my potential stalker status.

So I let Reid and his jersey get away. Next up was Muny. I think we put a bid in on his shirt, but can't remember due to practically passing out over the Reid thing! Muny's jersey went for around 800 to the same people who robbed me of my Reid jersey!!! Talk about stalkers! (Edit...I have gotten to know these people...these people are Becky and Tom...they are not stalkers! Really!)

A few players later was Bronty (Grenier). As I always say, he is a big dude. He looks way less menacing without his helmet on. Since I was no longer on the verge of passing out, I told Rod to bid on him. The bidding started and went back and forth to about 600. It was going going gone when Rod put a bid in. Folks were shocked, since we hadn't really bid on him yet. We went back and forth with another bidder, pushing the bid up to 900. I didn't really want to spend a grand on Bronty, since for that kind of money I could have had Reid. Bronty was happy that his jersey went for so much and really it would have been worth the money just to stand next to him, since he is so big, but oh well. Also, when he was talking to the people who won his jersey, he seemed like a gentle giant! For such a big dude/enforcer type he was very soft spoken and polite. Now if only he would stop sucking on the ice!!

The next jersey auction is in March, and I vow to buy all three jerseys! I am going to work on my being near players skills and won't pass out when they are in the same room with me. I will overcome this challenge!

Friday, January 26, 2007

Quackers

Tonight, it is Phantoms vs. Baby Pens. It is also "tribute to old time hockey night" where the players will be wearing special jerseys and auctioning them off after the game. I have been looking forward to this game all season. Sure, I have a game worn jersey from last season, but it is not one of the special ones. Last season, they had a St. Patrick's Day jersey, and everytime I see the woman who has the Eager jersey, I want to tackle her and steal it. I have dubbed this woman "Shamrock Eager" and she is at every game, just like me. I am jealous because it combines my two favorite things...the color green and Ben Eager.

Anyhoo, back to tonight's jersey. I have been trying to decide all season which player's jersey I will try to get. It comes down to Reid, Munroe or Grenier (in that order). But then I saw pictures of the jerseys released earlier this week. Yikes:


The players better make these jerseys look damn good, because I hate wearing orange and with the font they used, it looks like the jersey says "Quackers".

In other game day news:
  • Leighton is still down with the Phantoms, but now on the transaction list, they are calling it "Conditioning loan from Philadelphia (NHL)." On Wednesday it just said loan. Hmm
  • I'm hoping for at least one fight tonight. It's been awhile since anyone really went, and it seems like Bonvie has had a pretty busy week, so keep your fingers crossed.
And wish me luck bidding on those quackers jerseys...

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

While you're watching the All Star Game...

I'll be at the Phantoms/Bears game. Goalie Michael Leighton was added on loan from the Flyers today. With any luck, Houle will have a terrible first period and they will put Leighton in so I can check out his skills.

Hopefully the boys can snap their losing streak, although it is unlikely since the Bears lead the season 4-1. Oh well, at least I can hope for some fights...

edit: hmm. well the only thing good about tonight's game was the 5 margaritas i downed. it was 6-1 at the end of the second period. they didn't pull houle mid period, as i would have done, but they did put in leighton for the third. at least he blocked all nine shots that came his way. also, i watched the warmup from the Phantoms end instead of my usual visitors end and may have a new favorite goalkeeper.

sorry for all the drunken typos...

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Well when you put it like that...

"Three home wins in 20 home games," general manager Paul Holmgren said yesterday. "It's abominable."

I didn't realize it was that bad. Guess I should make a road trip if I want to see a win...

At least it wasn't a shootout...

Just a regular old loss in OT.
Phantoms 3, Admirals 4

I'm glad we play Norfolk three more times at home this year, because they seem like a bunch of jerks and I see lots of potential for Koci and Richmond getting their asses kicked. Plus, I have some good ideas for signs brewing for these guys...

Hello? Did you not hear me say that I hate shootouts?

It should come as no surprise that the Flyers lost last night since the Devils have taken the last 7 from the Flyers. It was a tough loss though, because it was a decent game and the Flyers played with a lot of energy. I watched the game on demand when I got home from work, but only had enough energy to watch until the halfway thru the third period.

There was a crappy call on Forsberg for diving, I guess the official felt he embellished on the way down. I love when Forsberg gets called because it gets his ire up and then he gets a little scrappy and plays like he should.

Anyhow, the game went to a shootout and if I have the stomach for it, I will watch it later.

EDIT: Okay I decided to finish watching the game and man was it depressing. They should not have lost that game! Poor Nitty, the look on his face said it all as he just laid there on the ice after getting scored on with 20 seconds left in regulation!!! I am not sure if I should be sad, or mad, or just indifferent. *sigh*

Saturday, January 20, 2007

I hate shootouts!

So last night was the highly anticipated (by me at least) Phantoms/Bridgeport game. It was a decent game, with the Phantoms scoring first and holding off Bridgeport until the third period. The Sound Tigers had two quick goals in the third, but we were able to tie it up and send it to OT and eventually a shootout. This is all info you can get from the boxscore, but here is what you won't find in the boxscore:
  • Munroe went down hard blocking the first shooter. At first, I thought his ego was bruised because Tambellini scored and Muny takes his job very seriously, but he stayed down, flat on his face for a scary long time. Two guys plus the trainer helped him off the ice, and even that wasn't really enough. He looked very shaky and I didn't think he would make it off the ice without falling. Yikes. Don't know what they will do for a backup keeper now as Beauchemin is out and there is only Houle...maybe they will send down newly acquired Michael Leighton from the Flyers. I wouldn't mind taking a look at him.
  • If you are going to make signs for a game, make sure you set aside some time to do them right. Doing them in the trunk of your car right before you go in is not a good idea. Our signs were totally ghetto and did not have the desired effect. We learned a lot and will know for next time.
    • Other tips for sign making:
      • Use half a posterboard...a full posterboard was a little too big.
      • Get there early enough so you catch the whole warmup. We missed maybe the first 5 minutes and they were so busy warming up we didn't hold it up towards the end and by then it was nearly too late.
      • It is too much to hold up the signs during the game itself, too distracting for the players...unless you have a player specific sign like the one I saw after a fight that said "Grant's Fight Club" not the greatest sign but their timing was good. Having a variety of player specific signs would be a good idea.
      • Have a second piece of posterboard to put over the one you are holding up, so that the small children and delicate adults behind you can't see that your sign says: "Reid...we wanna see some action from that hot stick!!!!
I think that is all for now. The guys in our section had a good laugh at our "hot stick" sign. When Keeli held it up, she tried to put her hands over the part that said hot stick so as not to offend the kids behind us. The guys next to us said "yeah, don't worry about all those kids over there that can read it!!!"

The most important part of the evening is that we finally found the bar that is in the Spectrum (it is downstairs and a pain to get to and you have to get a ticket for re-entry) and games will never be the same again.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Flyers 2, Islanders 4

Well, everyone was back and healthy, but it was hard to tell. Maybe it was the margarita I had immediately upon arriving home (which incidentally was 6 minutes before the game started) or maybe it was one of the 3 margaritas that followed, but this game did not really hold my attention.

Yes, Sanderson and Richards were back and Forsberg was healthy, but I didn't notice their presence at all. The highlight of the game was seeing Nate Guenin play in his first NHL game, as he was called up from the Phantoms the day before. But seeing one of my Phantoms play is marred by the fact that this team really stinks. It is getting a little depressing to watch game after game when this team doesn't even show you a glimmer of hope. Okay, so we've written this season off and the best we can hope for is a good draft pick (is there anyone good in the pool this year?) but would it hurt this team to play with a little *oomph* sometimes? Saturday's loss against Pittsburgh at least had some heart to it, why can't they give us at least one period like Saturday's second period every game?

*sigh*

Thursday, January 18, 2007

It was 20 years ago today...

Actually, it was one year ago, 365 short days ago, that I attended my very first hockey game.

I received tickets to 2 sporting events for Christmas 2005: a Sixers game and a Flyers game. The Flyers game was January 19th, the Sixers on January 20th. I kept my expectations low for both events, after all, at the time I was into baseball and doubtful that anything could change that. The Flyers game was enjoyable enough: sold out crowd, lots of noise and beer drinking going on, and of course the horn when they score a goal. I was intrigued.

The next night was the basketball game…it never stood a chance. All I could think was “why are those guys moving so slow?”

I was intrigued enough by the hockey game (and I guess the lameness of the basketball game really underscored the excitement of a hockey game) that I wanted to see another hockey game, just to see if I liked it. Since the Flyers season was pretty much sold out at that point, I decided to check out the Phantoms. They were right next door and tickets were cheap and plentiful. On January 27th, I went to my first Phantoms game. It was a 2-1 overtime loss to the Manitoba Moose, but there was lots of fighting and physical play…I was almost hooked.

Scheduling conflicts and away games prevented me from seeing another game until February 17th. When I went online to get tickets, ice row tickets were available. Again, it was a loss, this time a 2-1 shootout loss to the Chicago Wolves. But man, sitting up against the glass was the best thing ever. It was a very physical game with a lot of hits and especially a lot of hits RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, and I was totally hooked.

For some reason (work?) I didn’t make it to a game again until the end of March, although I was online every day to see what tickets were available. When I finally went again, I attended every game left in the season, including 4 games in 2 weeks to end the season.

With the season over, my obsession continued. I went to 2 Flyers playoff games, 2 Calder Cup finals games in Hershey and watched nearly every playoff game up to and including the Stanely Cup finals. I placed my order for Phantoms season tickets as soon as was actually possible, and so far this year I have a perfect attendance record at every home game. As I write this, I am watching an away game on my computer. I will sleep tonight in my Flyers jersey, go to work tomorrow wearing my Phantoms shirt and really I could go on and on, but I guess you get the point.


So yeah, it was a year ago today that this problem started…

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

why?

i just spent 40 minutes writing a post about my one year anniversary of seeing my first hockey game then accidentally deleted it in ecto. i am too tired to re-write it. argh...

It was 20 years ago today...


Actually, it was one year ago, 365 short days ago, that I attended my very first hockey game.


I received tickets to 2 sporting events for Christmas 2005: a Sixers game and a Flyers game. The Flyers game was January 19th, the Sixers on January 20th. I kept my expectations low for both events, after all, at the time I was into baseball and doubtful that anything could change that. The Flyers game was enjoyable enough: sold out crowd, lots of noise and beer drinking going on, and of course the horn when they score a goal. I was intrigued.


The next night was the basketball game...it never stood a chance. All I could think was "why are those guys moving so slow?"


I was intrigued enough by the hockey game (and I guess the lameness of the basketball game really underscored the excitement of a hockey game) that I wanted to see another hockey game, just to see if I liked it. Since the Flyers season was pretty much sold out at that point, I decided to check out the Phantoms. They were right next door and tickets were cheap and plentiful. On January 27th, I went to my first Phantoms game. It was a 2-1 overtime loss to the Manitoba Moose, but there was lots of fighting and physical play...I was almost hooked.


Scheduling conflicts and away games prevented me from seeing another game until February 17th. When I went online to get tickets, ice row tickets were available. Again, it was a loss, this time a 2-1 shootout loss to the Chicago Wolves. But man, sitting up against the glass was the best thing ever. It was a very physical game with a lot of hits and especially a lot of hits RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, and I was totally hooked.


For some reason (work?) I didn't make it to a game again until the end of March, although I was online every day to see what tickets were available. When I finally went again, I attended every game left in the season, including 4 games in 2 weeks to end the season.


With the season over, my obsession continued. I went to 2 Flyers playoff games, 2 Calder Cup finals games in Hershey and watched nearly every playoff game up to and including the Stanely Cup finals. I placed my order for Phantoms season tickets as soon as was actually possible, and so far this year I have a perfect attendance record at every home game. As I write this, I am watching an away game on my computer. I will sleep tonight in my Flyers jersey, go to work tomorrow wearing my Phantoms shirt and really I could go on and on, but I guess you get the point.


So yeah, it was a year ago today that this problem started...

Friday, January 12, 2007