Hockey! Blood on the ice! Microbrews! Cheap entertainment!
I organized our third-annual pilgrammage to see the Bakersfield Condors for a minor-league hockey game this evening. Our group was smaller than ever, which is no surprise, since the world grows lamer every day. We had an awesome time, though. We had dinner (as usual) at the Lengthwise Brewery. Since they don't have a light microbrew on tap, I had pear cider and Bud Light, but I can attest to how great their food is. We had a great time, and Ethan got comfortably numb, which meant he was the hit of the evening, really.
The Condors have LOST all three games we have attended. Last year, they were like #2 in their conference (or whatever you call it) and they still lost. This year, they were the second-to-last-worst-team out of ten, but they had it tied for most of the game, only to lose BADLY with a 4-6 final score.
Hey, there was good news--during the power play (when the opposing team had one less man on the ice due to a penalty), if the Condors managed to score, everyone in the arena won a Famous Star hamburger from Carl's Junior. That got me cheering and going insane, because any DEAL or COUPON turns me on (remember how Max wanted to call this journal "The Coupon Diaries"?). I've been to several games when these "prizes" were tantalizingly held in front of the audience...but this time the Condors managed to score and earn us a free hamburger!! Except I refuse to eat Carls Jr. meat products. But I still feel cool for winning a free thing.
Oh! I also got a Condors cowbell, much to Chris's dismay. On the ride home, designated driver Ryan suggested that cowbells were items which should travel in the trunk, but I managed to weasel my way into keeping it with me in the car (and using it with my hand as a damper). This thing is so cool. I'm taking it to meetings on Monday and using it whenever I make a really good point or score a win in an argument.
My final note...the "blood on the ice" tagline is what I used to entice people to attend. Minor league hockey = cool BECAUSE of the fights. There were NO fights tonight. There were checks, there were some elbows, but it seemed like players were on guard not to take it to the next level. Man, if I pay $15 for my 8th row seats, I want to see some fights, preferably with BLOOD. But whatever. What is minor league hockey coming to?
The Condors have LOST all three games we have attended. Last year, they were like #2 in their conference (or whatever you call it) and they still lost. This year, they were the second-to-last-worst-team out of ten, but they had it tied for most of the game, only to lose BADLY with a 4-6 final score.
Hey, there was good news--during the power play (when the opposing team had one less man on the ice due to a penalty), if the Condors managed to score, everyone in the arena won a Famous Star hamburger from Carl's Junior. That got me cheering and going insane, because any DEAL or COUPON turns me on (remember how Max wanted to call this journal "The Coupon Diaries"?). I've been to several games when these "prizes" were tantalizingly held in front of the audience...but this time the Condors managed to score and earn us a free hamburger!! Except I refuse to eat Carls Jr. meat products. But I still feel cool for winning a free thing.
Oh! I also got a Condors cowbell, much to Chris's dismay. On the ride home, designated driver Ryan suggested that cowbells were items which should travel in the trunk, but I managed to weasel my way into keeping it with me in the car (and using it with my hand as a damper). This thing is so cool. I'm taking it to meetings on Monday and using it whenever I make a really good point or score a win in an argument.
My final note...the "blood on the ice" tagline is what I used to entice people to attend. Minor league hockey = cool BECAUSE of the fights. There were NO fights tonight. There were checks, there were some elbows, but it seemed like players were on guard not to take it to the next level. Man, if I pay $15 for my 8th row seats, I want to see some fights, preferably with BLOOD. But whatever. What is minor league hockey coming to?