Yesterday (Tuesday) I was working and thinking about what I wanted to do this week. My typical day has me going espn.com, nba.com, ticketmaster, orbitz, and various ticket broker websites to see if there's anything worth doing or going to see. I also have a group of friends on gchat, and I pinged my friend and hockey buddy, Rod (aka the Donkey), to see if there was a hockey game. Why is he nicknamed the Donkey, you ask? I don't know. He would call me "Donkey" every now and again when we first met and I'd always reply the same way ~ "If anyone's a donkey, it's you." Therefore, he's always been Donkey or Donk, to me...
The Donkey typed that that the Red Wings were in town and that the Caps were on a winning streak. Hmm, it sounded like a big game and it'd been a month or so since I'd been to a Caps game and I decided I wanted to go. The Donk shares season tickets with a buddy of his, and he didn't have seats to tonight's game. I asked him what he'd be willing to pay and he set his price at $60/ticket. I was already on the Caps ticket exchange, and I didn't see anything available in that price range. The Donk replied that I needed to check Craig's list.
There are many things I'd rather do than check Craig's list. Don't believe me? Believe this.... I'd rather (1) get my teeth cleaned, (2) try to move my 200 pound Sony TV fossil from one room to another, (3) go to the post office, (4) wait in line at the bank, and (5) pick someone up at the airport ~ ALL in one day than deal with someone on Craig's list. Craig's list bothers me because I have no idea whether the person I'm dealing with is selling a legitimate product, whether they'll keep to the deal we agree upon, and follow through on delivery (i.e. which usually means I have to meet a stranger who already knows I have cash on me). To me, it sounds like a recipe for DISASTER.
It was already close to 4PM, but I could tell that I semi-motivated the Donkey to look for tickets. He ended up making an offer to someone on Craig's list. The Donk is brave enough to trust and risk death for his Caps. I'm not. I'm from Ohio and we didn't have hockey where I grew up. I recently became interested when I moved to DC and noticed 2 or 3 years ago that the Caps were fun to watch. Since then, I've been to a bunch of games and I've enjoyed them every time.
2 years ago a day after my birthday shenanigans, I was grabbing some grub with my friend Trey. We'd just hit the batting cages and decided to stop at a bar/restaurant called The Front Page. Incidentally, this establishment is across the street from the Kettler Ice Complex where the Caps practice. This was the time of year of the training/rookie camp and there were a few hockey guys there that night. Have you ever seen a hockey guy without their gear on? It's not a bad sight... That year I started to notice that the Caps go to the Page for lunch and sometimes I'd find them there after games hanging out in their "civilian clothes". Needless to say, I started to pay attention to hockey ever since. But I digress...
Back to the story...
4PM hit and I had a conference call for work. I was on the call and as time slipped away I noticed that it was almost 5PM and I had never heard back from the Donkey. I assumed he left work since his green light was no longer on for his gchat window. Oh well. I assumed Caps hockey was a "no go" for tonight. Sure enough, I looked at my personal phone and it was being blown up by my friend, Amy. Interesting. Amy never calls me. She's like most of my friends. She's a texter. I picked up and told her that I was on a conference call, but that I'll call her back when it was over. She told me that that wouldn't work, because she needed to know right away if I wanted to go to the hockey game tonight. Say what!?!?! It turns out, Amy's co-worker, Shannon, couldn't go and that Amy had 2 free tickets to a suite for the game.
Um, YES, I wanted to go to the game. I told Amy that we're on, but that I needed to track down the Donkey and make sure he wasn't going to end up screwed with 2 tickets. I called him and got voicemail. I texted him and it took a minute. He replied that he's going to the gym. I texted him to make sure we weren't doing hockey together, and then it looked like he changed his mind and wanted to go to the game... Ruh roh... Another text, goes out and I let him know I have a free ticket. "Just go" was the last text he sent me. WOOHOO!!! I was all clear to go see a hockey game with Amy.
I headed over to Amy's, since she was driving us to the game. I told her, "Thank you for inviting me". She told me that it's an easy choice because there aren't that many people that are home, that she can get a hold of, who aren't married/have kids, and would want to go. She's right! That's ME. I'm fluid.
We headed to the arena and joined the people in the suite. This was Amy's first hockey game either this year or ever. I'm not really sure what she said. She was impressed that the Verizon Center was so packed on a Tuesday night. Yeah - that's Caps hockey. The team really draws!!!! The Red Wings score first. Booooo! No one throws octopi on the ice ~ we're in DC, people!!!
Great. Now I have to look up why Detroit Red Wings fans do that... One sec. Be patient...
OK - according to About.com here's why, "The first octopus landed on the ice during the Red Wings' 1952 Stanley Cup run, courtesy of brothers Pete and Jerry Cusimano, who owned a fish market. If you know your cephalopods, you will know that an octopus has eight tentacles. In those days it took eight playoff wins to claim the Cup, hence the supposed symbolism of the gesture." Mystery solved, and now I want to go to Joe Louis Arena. Wait, do the Red Wings still play there?!?! I know that building is OLD and has been around forever... Ugh... Now I need to look that up also ~ but don't worry, I'll do it on my own time...
During the game Amy pointed out someone in an astronaut costume. The guy in the astronuat costume is sitting next to a lady dressed up like "I Dream of Genie/Jeanie (sp?)". She's holding a "I dream of Stanley" sign. Clever. Anyway, Amy informed me that supposedly this guy is nicknamed the Capstronaut. Novel idea, considering I just saw Chewbaca in a Vikings jerey at Sunday's football game. Needless to say, I think it's great when people do fun things like that! Evidently the Capstronaut gets invited to sit in the owner's box sometimes. Damnit.. That's brilliant!!
Before you knew it, we had an exciting hockey game on our hands. Jose Theodore took more shots on goal in the 1st period, than the next guy who decides to fight Manny Pacquiao... Sticks were breaking and there was a mini-scuffle on our side of the ice. Red Wings fans were mouthing off and getting tossed out of the arena. It was definitely a great hockey night. Eventually the Caps won the game 3-2 and kept the streak alive. Game over. What was left to do?!!? Duh, I headed to the Page and celebrated the victory with other Caps fans! :-P
C-A-P-S! CAPS!!! CAPS!!! CAPS!!!
THE WIRK
I went to my first Caps game (i.e. of the season) Saturday. It was the first time I've seen the team with Oates at the helm. Who knew Ray Liotta knew anything about hockey?!!? Anyway... My husband is British, and I've been busy introducing and assimilating him into American sports. **** Last year, I was successful in converting him into a baseball fan. He also checked out a New York Knicks game at The Garden.
OK, let's get back to the original topic. The Caps game. The Caps haven't gotten off to the best start this season. Perhaps it's a new coach, the end of a lockout, or something else -- but this slow start is new to Caps fans like me, since we're used to the Caps dominating. I check the standings now and have to scroll down. Scroll down?!!?! It's all so devastating. Yes, I'm being dramatic and yes, I'm kidding. It's my blog. I can do whatever I want...
Well, it looks as if my husband is good luck for the Caps because they actually DOMINATED the Florida Panthers. Great win for the Caps and hopefully they'll get back on track soon! 
