If you have had the misfortune to stumble across some of my work before, you know that Red Wing Hockey means something extraordinary to my family.
Ever since moving to
Lucky in the way "old timers" who remember attending Brooklyn Dodger games were "lucky" to have such indelible memories, the Detroit Red Wings are so firmly etched in the fabric of my family history, that we could never completely lose touch. Still once living far from the D, we knew we had to do everything we could not to allow such an important part of our lives diminish.
Maybe it’s more than just hockey. Maybe it’s a bit of the fact that we love this team, this 11 time Stanley Cup winning organization almost like family. That they share with their fans such revelry and joy; that all the players young and seasoned, continually embrace Wings fans, showing as much gratitude for us as we feel for them. That they’ve become so important to us because they participate in the community. That rather than a trip to a strip club, a Red Wing is more likely to take the cup to Baskin Robbins and let all the little kids in the community eat ice cream out of it. Maybe its because we feel like we know these players so well and we care so much about them and know they love us so that Red Wings fans continually show up 1,000,000+ strong to support the team when it achieves great things. Proving that from Helm to Mr. Ilitch, the Littlest Red Wing fan to Mo’Cheese,
Maybe its one of the last links my brother and I maintain with our hometown and its memories. Maybe its because all the strength, success and memories these Wings give us cements a bond between a mother, brother and two sisters, who share their love of the game. Maybe all of the above.
Whatever the motivation, my brother and I made a deal- each year for his birthday I get him gets tickets to the first Wings-Kings game of the year. Obviously, we hope to see great hockey, but we also hope to show our love and respect for our team, reminisce a bit and to relive some of the magic and love this Red Wing franchise has brought our family over the last 20+ years.
Foolish mortals that we are, we thought a single Wings game, once a year would be enough… HEDHS (H-E-Double Hockey Sticks), I know guys who have waited 10 years to see a live game. My Uncle Rick who lives 20 minutes from the Joe, has been a Wings fans since before I was wearing double bladed skates and I am not sure he’s seen more than a handful of live games. Nevermind that during the original glory years we were incredibly spoiled by family members with season tickets who generously took us to home game after home game…..upon moving to LA, we convinced ourselves that "really, it would just be good to see a live game and watch the Wings, once or twice a year”…
My first year here, we sat 18 rows up behind the Wings goal for the October 2005 Wings-Kings Match Up, overwhelmed by the sea of red coating the Staples Center and loving every minute of the win. Feeling nothing but love, choking up just a little when we watched Stevie Y stand at the blue facing our section for the National Anthem and my brother said “could be the last time we ever see him play.” And when the announcer called “One Minute of Play” we knew it would never be enough. We actually walked out dejected and feeling like we had lost something.
Each year since we have added more games, picked better seats, justifying with the most transparent logic: “Oh well, what’s $200/seat when season tickets at the Joe are in the thousands??” or “It’s the only game of the year on a full moon where we will get to see the Wings play the Ducks- We have to go.”
We started increasing our attendance, hitting 2 Kings games and a Ducks game a season, joking about
Then the idea took hold and we knew soon we’d have to achieve the great Californian Dream: To hit a Wings game against each of the
Yesterday we kicked off our Great Cali Hat Trick- Detroit Stylee Tour. This Season, my Brother and I will (did) attend a Wings-Kings game (10/27/08), a Wings- Ducks game (1/15/09)with our Sister and for the piece de resistance,...
The January 17 match up between the Detroit Red Wings and Los Tiberons of
Hence I bring you the first blog in my Cali Hat Trick Series: Wings Kings: October 27th, 2008.
Soo, Cats and Pajamas grab your Guinness and your favorite flavor of ice cream… it’s a long one…
*Warm Ups and Puck Bunnies.*
Ok ok. Really just one Puck Bunny- me. In all the years at the Joe, when my brother would insist on getting to the arena in time for warmups, I never went down and stuck my nose against the glass. If anything I hung back 4-5 rows and let the little kids all play. Not sure why… But this year, for some completely inexplicable reason 6 pm Downtown Los Angelean rush hour traffic on the 101 parted like a Red Sea, opening it up for my Brother and I to arrive at the Staples Center well before the warm ups began, and I knew I’d be sitting on the glass when the boys skated out. I was super excited.
First, Goyo and I wandered the
We grabbed some chow and brew and we made our way into the arena, which despite being colder than we ever remember the Joe being, would not produce a fast slick solid ice surface for 60 minutes (but more on the Kings “Ice Girls” later). We meandered to our seats, 13 rows up, high enough above the glass to see the ice clearly, but a little too near the goal end for my tastes, even if it was near Ozzie. My brother declined to accompany me to the glass, where some 150-200 Wings fans were slowly beginning to congregate around the edge of the arena. I hopped several rows of seats to land on the glass, three seats away from the Wings’ chute. Pucks were being stacked, sticks being set out.
And everyone waiting was just awesomely friendly and nice. I made friends with a record executive who had loved the Wings long before she landed in LA, who had flown back to the D, just to attend Game 5. She described the roller coaster of living through that game in the Joe: the way in the final minutes of regulation, the Wings staff had started prepping for celebration; the Crowd constantly chanting “We want the Cup”; the stunned heartbreaking silence that befell the Joe just 34 seconds before the end of regulation. A group of us were enthralled with her story until I felt a tiny tap on my shoulder ...
There stood three of the most adorable little boys you ever saw, a sandy brown shaggy haired, tan little surfer boy about age 10, a little feisty blondie who looked like _Calvin_ sporting a Phoenix Coyotes hat, and a towhead in a toddler sized Wings sweater- the spitting image of my brother as a baby all smiled shyly at me. I felt like I had been transported back to the days of watching my brother Goyo and his best buddy Jay sit on the glass at the Joe.
“You boys want to come down here?” I asked, looking around for their parents, but not seeing anyone who looked like they were claiming these rapscallions for their own. The boys just shyly looked at me, not blinking, not answering. I knew their dad had probably told them to stay put, but gosh!
Rock, hard place, meet Juice. You can’t just start picking up other people’s kids and lifting them over three rows of seats. Parents get really nervous about strange people touching their kids. But I knew those boys wanted to be in the front row, and there was plenty of room. I kept looking for the mom or dad or something, while _Calvin_ hopped up and down and said “Know what, know what?”
“Uh un, what?” I asked.
“I have a Phoenix Coyotes hat.”
“I can see that, are you a Coyotes fan?”
“Yep.” He said sticking his finger behind a loose canine and wiggling it. Still no parents. Ugh! The players would be out any minute.
“Well, are you boys ready for the game?”
“Yeah!” in a raucous singsong chorus.
“Whose your favorite player?” I asked each.
Surfer Boy responded “Doughty.”
Despite that fact that the boys were surrounded by five women all sporting Red Wings gear we were enchanted by these little hockey fans and we enthusiastically responded:
“Alright! He’s good!”
_Calvin_ jumped up and down, and raised his hand.
Yea, he _raised_ his hand. I loved this kid.
I could not help but laugh as I asked: “And who is yours?”
He responded with a super silly grin: “Ummmmmmmm,” as he thought about it putting one finger to his chin, then shouting, like a light bulb had just gone off “Shane Doan!”
“Alright!” we ladies said in chorus. Then I said “next to Wile E. Kenoyote, He’s my favorite Coyote too!”
(Hey, what can I say, the guy is nailing it for me in Fantasy) … Then I leaned down and asked the Littlest Wing Fan:
“And who is your favorite?” He pulled at his sweater and worked very hard to formulate his answer. He couldn’t have been more than 3 years old with the sweetest little chubby cheeks and big brown eyes.
“Brett Lebda” he whispered in that sweet toddler voice, and Calvin jumped in, blurting as fast and loudly as he could:
“BRETT LEBDA IS HIS COUSIN. HE GAVE US THESE SEATS. HE’S GONNA COME OUT OF THERE AND BE ON THE ICE, HE'S HIS COUSIN!!!!!!!” And the Littlest Red Wing prodigy suddenly ran back to the end of the aisle where a group of adults milled, grabbing hold of poppa's legs. The other boys followed suit. Just before _Calvin_ left though, he jumped up and down once more and raised his hand:
“oh oh, guess what?” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“I have a dentist appointment tomorrow.”
“Well,” I laughed. “Dental hygiene is important, ‘specially for a hockey player.” He looked at me curiously, trying to figure out what on earth I meant before bolting after his buddies.
Shortly thereafter, the team came out for warm ups, and we all went nuts. I had trouble with my camera battery, but there are a few pics. The boys just looked so great and it was a little overwhelming to be that close to the Stanley Cup Champs. Everyone had an air of concentration about them, but if you watched closely they also had a sense of ease, messing with each other, playing subtle tricks on each other…..it was awesome to see the Eurotwins with Lids, Rafs and Hossa execute the sickest 5 way pass drill…
We shot picture after picture, and I am sorry to report to my dear Red Wing fan friends Kiki and Jess that Z spent an inordinate amount of time right next to me, stretching…
And skating, "hanging out", pretending not to know I was there, as if that trip to
See, in the picture below you can totally tell that he’s just about to whisper over his shoulder “You, me, Cabo, after the game.”
.
I don’t like to brag, but well, Z was not the only game in town. Because the moment he left my side, first Jiri Hudler and then Andreas Lilja magically appeared, it was eerily cyclical. Picture this: player after player just skating up to me there at the point, waiting a minute then skating off- I’m telling you, it was as if they were drawn to my space by something bigger than puck bunny karma…
By the time Lilja skated up, the only people left hanging out right there on the glass by the bench were the record executive lady Johanna, Mohawk/piercings guy and me.
Everyone else had moved down to the aisle or by the goal to watch Ozzie work it out. Even some of the other single girls had moved away, or were hanging back 2-3 rows. Curiously, Lilja just hung out there against the glass, at the point, never looking our way. I was waiting for him to jump into the play, ready to take a pic, when suddenly he turned, looked my way, winked and flipped me a puck.
And despite my utter surprise and the fact that all of the sudden there were about 4 other magically appearing “puck bunny bridesmaids” all lunging for the “puckquet”, I managed to catch Lilja’s puck high up, with one hand.
I was totally shocked and I yelped a little. Then in what can only be described as my worst puck bunny move EVER, I blew him a kiss and he grinned, skating off.
OH YEA. I DID! I blew a married guy a kiss- what a complete loser. To be fair, he’s really cute and I didn’t know he had a hot wife and two cute kids…no. Wait there is no justification for this.
I know. I’m an embarrassment to my gender, my family, my country.
You’ll be please to know that I quickly recovered my senses. As I turned around to show the puck to my brother (who was sitting bored in our seats, staring at the ceiling), something caught my eye. About 7 rows back, two of the cutest little blonde girls, one in a pink Red Wings jersey and the other in a red Lidstrom sweater wearing pigtails and glasses. They were clearly trying to run down near the ice, having seen that the players were starting to toss pucks. They stood dejected, realizing they had missed the opportunity. I tossed my puck to the girl wearing No. 5.
Oh please, you would have too!
Along with the kids and several other adults, we all were shouting players names as they wizzed by. We sounded silly, but HEDHS sometimes its just darn exciting to see Pavel Datsyuk fly by or Nic Lidstrom hang out 10 feet from you.
It wasn’t like we expected them to look at us and they didn’t really pay any attention to the fans on the glass, as they were focused on the task at hand. There was a sense of urgency that I held through the whole game, of *really wanting our boys to know how much support they have out here in LA.*
Then in the *ultimate flashback*, D-Mac (looking more fit than I have ever seen) started flipping pucks to kids in our section, until every last puck was gone, signaling the end of warm ups, just like he always used to do at the Joe. And all that nostalgia and love for my team just welled up and I could not stop grinning. And there was something in my eyes, ice chips, dust or something. They would not stop watering the entire time I watched MacAttack flip pucks to the kids.
I returned to my seat with inexplicable gleeful. I could not stop grinning for about 10 minutes. Goyo and I talked about the warm up games and he mentioned how incredibly fun it would be, to be in goal during that final drill where everyone was mobbing the crease taking shots on Conkblocker.
*BLOG INTERMISSION*
_Brought to you by Jack Rabbit Slims and Juice’s Mexican Adventures Travel Agency._ With Coach Jules Winnfield and Foxforce Five telling you to get up, stretch, twist, take a potty break, get a sandwich, question how someone can say so little with so much, and bemusedly shake your head that we haven’t even gotten to the game yet… Maybe ask yourself why you continue reading this 10-15 page blog….
*INTERMISSION OVER*
The stands started to fill up and much to the chagrin of myself and my LA Kings fan neighbors who lost their hearing during the game, I was one of only 14-15 Wings fans in Section 119. As much as I disliked being so far down the ice, let’s face it you don’t get better luck than sitting in Seat No. Lidstrom, Row Datsyuk, Section Yzerman.”
Ok ok- wow are you still here??? Well, in an effort not to turn one silly hockey game into a novella, I will resort to giving you highlights….
*
I know I have already blathered excessively about Red Wings fans in this blog but Wings fans represented well, filling at least a third of the lower bowl with Red Hockey Sweaters. Of particular impress was that most of the first 5 row of sections 110, 112, 113 were filled with Red Sweaters.
Showing Flyers “Fans” How its Done: Why Toss Fireworks When You can Throw Animals???? (Yes, the sarcastic faced icon is implied- both sets of offending fans should be permanently banned from arenas.)
Not one, but two Octopi were lobbed onto the ice from a section right behind us, far too close over my head for my comfort last night. The first was about 30 seconds into the game, and you know what???? It disrupted a Wings breakaway. While it is a little difficult for me to begrudge an enthusiastic Wings fan his moment, I mean for all we know the guy had that thing in the freezer since last May, just dreaming and wishing he could be the one to toss seafood onto the ice,
*DUDE.*
*_Dude,_ you screwed up a play that could have taken us up 1-0*.
The second toss of the cephalopod (in the Third) was almost immediately followed by a Kings goal, that bounced in, off NICK LIDSTROM’S SKATE.
So tell me Octopi throwing people, are you trying to jinx us? Don’t you know that its not good luck to throw Octopi unless it the playoffs???? PLUS, if the League wants it can fine the Wings or issue a delay of game penalty for throwing the creatures. Please don’t let’s start such a trend for Wings away games…..its senseless and it wastes the life of an intelligent and interesting sea creature.
*Of Lion Kings and Ice Girls*
It is heartening to note that the arena was definitely filled with Kings fans, who were very very excited about their team this year and have reason to be. I want to send out a special hello to the Littlest Kings Fan who sat next to me during the game, whose entire focus was divided between Bailey the Lion (the Kings Mascot) and the Kings Ice Girls. The kid was adorable, telling his pop he liked the Ice Girls better than the players. And just when I thought he couldn’t get cuter, I caught him watching my brother and I as we jumped up to join in a “Let’s go Red Wings” chant coming from another section late in the Second. I winked and clapped my hands. The Littlest Kings Fan then turned to his dad and sang:
“Let’s go Red Wings.” …
over and over until the Ice Girls took to the ice. Kid had his priorities you know.
LA Ice Girls seemed to make frequent appearances- at least 3-4 times a period. And based on the number of young Wings who found themselves “milling” and skating nearby while the LAIGs pushed their shovels along the ice, I promptly recognized them to be a cheap distraction tactic. HEDHS, they didn't even scrape up any ice! When I said as much to my brother, he tried to argue that that they did actually pick up quite a bit of snow. I almost spit my beer out my nose, though I refrained from responding “Bro, you have to be kidding me. Those girls can barely lift their aluminum shovels, if there were any real snow on the shovel face, there is no way they’d be able to pick it up and dump it in the bins.”
Let him live in his delusion, we all know those girls are for show…(fo'sho').
*Beer Bets*
Alright Live_for_Hockey, where were you? True, we had not accounted for a 1-1 score after the first period in our bet, but unless you dressed in a Red Wings home jersey, sporting a full beard and pretending to be a 55 year old longshoreman named John, then by my account, you welched on our beer bet…Come on! I stood outside sections 112-113, by the
*Playing Cat and Mouse*
In hushed tones, while waiting for the game to start, I presented my brother with a certain theory I have been mulling over for about a week now. My theory that if the Wings were going to give up any game on this 4 game road trip, odds favored it being against the Kings. Hey. The Wings haven’t lost a single game that I have attended in the
But I could not have been more wrong. In fact, this game strengthened my theory that the Wings are never complacent, but rather play cat and mouse with their opponents. Oh sure, at the beginning of the season I lamented that they were letting every lead slip away, and but for a stupid turnover last night by Kings veteran Gaulthier, the Wings would have lost. But one thing remains certain, no matter who the opponent, no matter how late in the game, when the Wings want to take control –they do so with a mind blowing intensity that often times leaves their opponents wondering “WTF” just happened?
_*Kings Came to Play:*_
The Kings starters, comprised of Kopitar, O’Sullivan, Calder, Greene, and Doughty are jelling well and will only get better under
The Kings often had near break aways, and pressured our zone consistently until they began to tire after the second period. They had few but good scoring chances. They looked stronger than any recent year past.
_*OZZIE!*_
Winning his third straight game, Ozzie got the assist in the second, on Hossa’s PP goal. He looked calm and confy in the net. He may have only had 19 shots on net, but as my brother (
_*Work Smarter, Not Harder:*_ Valtteri “two T’s two P’s, Filppula
Filps was driving me crazy all night. He was all over the ice, but missing and dropping passes, often looking like he was lost or in the way. The fact that he tied it up with less than a minute left in the third, redeems the crazy play only slightly.
_*“Tomas, er, Daniel” Cleary*_
Ok I get it, you are taking a page from Homer’s “Buns of Steel, the“NOT IN THE CREASE” edition workout DVD/ playbook… but why you gotta block your own teammates shots???? Twice our shots on net bounced off of Daniel, one being a No. 5 special: A Slapper from the Blue. I'd crab about this more, but it seems like the welts he probably got from the Lidstrom slapper are punishment enough. Plus Cleary has really big blue eyes.
_*What’s Happenin’ Hossa Stuff????*_
Marian Hossa continued his streak of fire, playing three periods so strong and solid, his presence on the ice is incredible and he has totally jells with Homer. There is no doubt he fits this team well, and frankly after seeing how darn hard he works on the ice, and how he has that same Zetterbergian, Datsyukian, Lidstromian, Homerist, Osgoodian fire to win, I am totally in love with his play, and spent the better part of the drive home wondering how we can find salary cap space for him next year…
_*To the left the left, every puck you clear to the corner, not left*_
Kronner!!!! Quit turning toward your own goal when you spin into your clearing pass. How many times are you gonna shot on your own teammate before you figure this out bro???
_*Do U Datsyuk??? HEDHS yes!*_
I was particularly looking forward to seeing Pavel up close and in real live action and knew I wanted to follow his play most closely. I'm still trying to figure our if he and Hossa are clicking. Naturally, Dats is being constantly double teamed, but seeing him finish his checks, and seeing him really work – almost in grinder fashion to get the puck in front of the goal… well it gave me a real sense of the idea that Pavel can do it all, whatever is asked of him. And his shootout goal was thing of beauty….I expected no less.
_*Z*_
What can you say???? Z’s fire and desire to win consumed the entire game, he was everywhere and all over the place, he was the hardest working man in Hockeywood last night. Obviously his slow start this season was the product of that groin pull. There just is something intangible and mesmerizing about the intensity Zetterberg is bringing to the ice, each day, every game. He’s just a monster.
_One Minute of Play_
For me, there are few things as heartbreaking as hearing “One Minute of Play”. Worst part of the game, even if the Wings are winning.
My brother and I had the early misfortune of over hearing my neighbor alert everyone to the fact that there were only 5 minutes left in the second period. And we just gave each other the "look". The games go too fast, and it starts to get so painful to realize that it will be another 3 months before I get to see my Winged Wheelers live and in living color again.
As I wallowed in my self pity, wishing the game could go on forever, Valterri Filppula redeemed himself in my eyes and tied the game up.
How exciting was it to get an overtime and a shootout??? Oh I know its selfish, and presumptuous but when "2Ts, 2Ps" hit his third period tying goal, my brother and I stood up screaming “OVERTIME”…. (Maybe that is why I forgave him for looking sloppy on the ice through the whole game).
Thanks Filps, really thank you.
*Clearing the Ice*
A sister and a brother waited for the stands to clear, staring at the empty ice wishing for more. The 6'4" Forsberg lookalike with the enormous bear paw hands, gave his big-little sister a hug, kissed the top of her head and said "Thanks Sis, love ya." More ice chips in her eyes as a relocated family finds a way to re-invent a tradition.
Thank you, my beloved Detroit Red Wings.
*[Ed Note:* just in case wives, kids or girlfriends should have the misfortune of stumbling across my blogs mentioning certain professional hockey players, please note that all of my comments about flirting, winking, and Mexico trips are in complete jest, and especially everything related to Hank Zetterberg is a complete fabrication, a parody (if you will so indulge), of puck bunnies …there is no winking, kissing, and certainly no "Hanky Panky".]
Originally Posted on Tuesday October 28, 2008 @ 05:37 PM EDT at http://fans.nhl.com/members/JuiceinLA/boards/22889
Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved. No use or reproduction of the work, writing or photos without the express written permission of the author.
