I stormed the ice
Well, we had just won the big rivalry game (vs. Standfurd) and everyone was doing it and I was egged on by a priest, so I suppose it was OK, but I've never been part of a pitch invasion before.
The scene for this was the Big Freeze, the annual Cal vs. Stanfurd ice hockey game. I'd never really gotten into hockey before, but Fr. Charlie was cajoling some Newman peops into going and I thought I might as well. Turns out it's a really fun game to watch: the penalty box rules keep the game varied, icing forces them not to play a "long ball" game (yes, I know I used to be a Dons fan, but there's a time and a place for everything...) and the existence of walls adds a interesting element.
Also, Cal won (7-3), which helped make it fun to watch, but didn't completely dominate (they were 2-2 at one stage, though I don't think the Cardinal ever actually had the lead). Apparently, this was an unusually high scoring game, which might mean it was unusually interesting to watch, but Fr. C said that the ref.s were stopping play far too often for minor things and games are more interesting to watch when they let plays last a bit longer, so maybe that would balance out. The ref.s didn't seem to have any notion of playing advantage from the little I could gleen. I don't know whether that's sportwide or just these ref.s.
Anyway, after we won, the Cal fans (to be honest everyone apart about 6 people there seemed to be Cal fans) stormed the ice. I was surprised how easy it was to walk on in sneakers*. One of the players came up to me and asked me to take a picture of him and his girlfriend** on the ice. Afterwards, I shook his hand and congratulated him and he thanked me for coming, which seemed kind of weird but apparently this is the best crowd they've had for any game for years. I felt a strange sense of brush with celebrity, even though I've no idea what his name was, or even if he'd had any ice time that game (he wasn't the substitute goalie who's the only guy I know didn't get any).
It was fun, and I may be trying to drag people down to the ice rink next season.
--
* See a previous entry for why I call these shoes sneakers rather than trainers.
** Well, I presume she was his girlfriend. Maybe she was just a random groupie? Do hockey players have groupies?
The scene for this was the Big Freeze, the annual Cal vs. Stanfurd ice hockey game. I'd never really gotten into hockey before, but Fr. Charlie was cajoling some Newman peops into going and I thought I might as well. Turns out it's a really fun game to watch: the penalty box rules keep the game varied, icing forces them not to play a "long ball" game (yes, I know I used to be a Dons fan, but there's a time and a place for everything...) and the existence of walls adds a interesting element.
Also, Cal won (7-3), which helped make it fun to watch, but didn't completely dominate (they were 2-2 at one stage, though I don't think the Cardinal ever actually had the lead). Apparently, this was an unusually high scoring game, which might mean it was unusually interesting to watch, but Fr. C said that the ref.s were stopping play far too often for minor things and games are more interesting to watch when they let plays last a bit longer, so maybe that would balance out. The ref.s didn't seem to have any notion of playing advantage from the little I could gleen. I don't know whether that's sportwide or just these ref.s.
Anyway, after we won, the Cal fans (to be honest everyone apart about 6 people there seemed to be Cal fans) stormed the ice. I was surprised how easy it was to walk on in sneakers*. One of the players came up to me and asked me to take a picture of him and his girlfriend** on the ice. Afterwards, I shook his hand and congratulated him and he thanked me for coming, which seemed kind of weird but apparently this is the best crowd they've had for any game for years. I felt a strange sense of brush with celebrity, even though I've no idea what his name was, or even if he'd had any ice time that game (he wasn't the substitute goalie who's the only guy I know didn't get any).
It was fun, and I may be trying to drag people down to the ice rink next season.
--
* See a previous entry for why I call these shoes sneakers rather than trainers.
** Well, I presume she was his girlfriend. Maybe she was just a random groupie? Do hockey players have groupies?