Ice Hockey, Football, Soccer, Oh My!
Last Friday Marci and I went to the MCI Center to see an ice hockey game. Neither of us had seen a hockey game before, so this would be an interesting experience. I've never liked watching hockey on TV, but watching hockey live in the arena is much, much better. You can actually follow the puck pretty easily, and the noises from the ice are so vibrant. You can clearly hear the stick hit the ice, the skates cut the ice, the puck bounce off the boards, a player getting checked into the boards, everything!
The best part about the game was that all the players on the ice got into a fight. They all paired off and beat the snot out of one another. It was awesome! One guy had a bloody nose when it was over and four of them had to sit in the penalty box for five minutes. Score!
I have to say, hockey players are pretty amazing athletes. One player scooped the puck out of midair with his stick and skated down the rink and scored on the goalie while falling. It was an amazing play and would have been the goal of the month if it hadn't been disallowed due to what was ruled as a high stick. The fans booed loudly because the call was against the home team.
Definitely try to see a hockey game once in your life, even if you don't like watching it on TV.
Then on Sunday Marci and I went to the Redskins-Eagles game at FedEx field here in DC. OK, technically in Maryland now, but whatever. Believe it or not, Redskins tickets are incredibly hard to get. There is a waiting list that takes years to traverse in order to have the chance to get the nosebleed seats. How did I get tickets, you ask? Let's just say I did some things...that I'm not particularly proud of... No, one of my friends at work got four tickets through work (same way I get all my sporting event tickets) and the other two people that were going to go with him and his wife had to cancel. Since he's an Eagles fan and he knew I was an Eagles fan, he offered them to me. I accepted without a second thought.
I went to a Bills game when I was a kid, I think in middle school. But it was so long ago that the only thing I can remember is that it was very, very cold. So I was excited to go to another NFL game.
The parking lots of FedEx field open up four hours before game time (the game started at 8:30), and we got there at 5:30, ready to tailgate. I brought along a cooler of beer and malt beverages (for Marci), burgers, chips, and a case of water to drink after the game. We wanted to cook in the parking lot to avoid the insane food prices in the stadium. Because I don't have a gas or charcoal grill, I brought my George Foreman and a power inverter so I could run it off of my cigarette lighter port in my car. Seemed like a great idea, right?
Well, it turns out the stupid inverter doesn't work. I had bought this thing last Christmas from Target in their after-Christmas clearance deals, but never used it. I mean, it's brand new so it should work, right? Fuck, no. So, we couldn't cook anything outside. We drank and ate SunChips (god, I love those things) until we went in about 45 minutes before kickoff.
After we found our seats, we walked around the stadium to see all the cool stuff. They have many, many bars and even have a cigar bar. I was even tempted to buy a cigar and smoke it, even though I've never smoked a cigar before. I'm highly suggestible. Then we got some food because we were starving. Guess how much food was? $10 for a burger, $7 for a hotdog. Ouch. The burger was actually really good, but $10??? I also got a Redbull and Vodka for $9, which was mostly vodka. Yum.
It's old news now, but the Eagles lost, which sucked. But it was a good game to watch. I'd love to see another NFL game live, but that probably won't happen for a very long time.
After the game, Marci and I hung out in the parking lot to let the traffic die down. We threw a football around, which was really funny to see Marci do because she can't grasp a football in one hand. So mainly I was throwing it to her and she was pitching it back to me.
All in all, a fun sports-themed weekend.
The best part about the game was that all the players on the ice got into a fight. They all paired off and beat the snot out of one another. It was awesome! One guy had a bloody nose when it was over and four of them had to sit in the penalty box for five minutes. Score!
I have to say, hockey players are pretty amazing athletes. One player scooped the puck out of midair with his stick and skated down the rink and scored on the goalie while falling. It was an amazing play and would have been the goal of the month if it hadn't been disallowed due to what was ruled as a high stick. The fans booed loudly because the call was against the home team.
Definitely try to see a hockey game once in your life, even if you don't like watching it on TV.
Then on Sunday Marci and I went to the Redskins-Eagles game at FedEx field here in DC. OK, technically in Maryland now, but whatever. Believe it or not, Redskins tickets are incredibly hard to get. There is a waiting list that takes years to traverse in order to have the chance to get the nosebleed seats. How did I get tickets, you ask? Let's just say I did some things...that I'm not particularly proud of... No, one of my friends at work got four tickets through work (same way I get all my sporting event tickets) and the other two people that were going to go with him and his wife had to cancel. Since he's an Eagles fan and he knew I was an Eagles fan, he offered them to me. I accepted without a second thought.
I went to a Bills game when I was a kid, I think in middle school. But it was so long ago that the only thing I can remember is that it was very, very cold. So I was excited to go to another NFL game.
The parking lots of FedEx field open up four hours before game time (the game started at 8:30), and we got there at 5:30, ready to tailgate. I brought along a cooler of beer and malt beverages (for Marci), burgers, chips, and a case of water to drink after the game. We wanted to cook in the parking lot to avoid the insane food prices in the stadium. Because I don't have a gas or charcoal grill, I brought my George Foreman and a power inverter so I could run it off of my cigarette lighter port in my car. Seemed like a great idea, right?
Well, it turns out the stupid inverter doesn't work. I had bought this thing last Christmas from Target in their after-Christmas clearance deals, but never used it. I mean, it's brand new so it should work, right? Fuck, no. So, we couldn't cook anything outside. We drank and ate SunChips (god, I love those things) until we went in about 45 minutes before kickoff.
After we found our seats, we walked around the stadium to see all the cool stuff. They have many, many bars and even have a cigar bar. I was even tempted to buy a cigar and smoke it, even though I've never smoked a cigar before. I'm highly suggestible. Then we got some food because we were starving. Guess how much food was? $10 for a burger, $7 for a hotdog. Ouch. The burger was actually really good, but $10??? I also got a Redbull and Vodka for $9, which was mostly vodka. Yum.
It's old news now, but the Eagles lost, which sucked. But it was a good game to watch. I'd love to see another NFL game live, but that probably won't happen for a very long time.
After the game, Marci and I hung out in the parking lot to let the traffic die down. We threw a football around, which was really funny to see Marci do because she can't grasp a football in one hand. So mainly I was throwing it to her and she was pitching it back to me.
All in all, a fun sports-themed weekend.