Cassy and I had tickets with Mike and his chums to see a minor league ice hockey game. But Cassy was too cool (hungover) to leave the apartment and go to the game.
Just under 8000 people were at the stadium to watch the minor league game; the teams were restricted to players aged between 16 and 19.
I had never seen an ice hockey game before. Watching the game is a study in sound and motion. The sounds tell the story of the game; the scraping of ice as players come to a halt, the sound of the stick smashing the puck, the crash of helmets, bodies and sticks against the perspex barrier surrounding the rink, the ping of the puck striking the goalpost. All of the players are constantly moving and it was tiring as a new spectator to make sense of what was going on. Particularly in the first period when I didn't realise there was a weird offside rule!
The players smashed each other hard against the barriers and intermittently would remove their helmets and start punching on. This is such a bizarre concept that is ingrained into the course of the game. A fight between players is part of the entertainment.
The arena was typically North American so every marketing and commercial opportunity had been snapped up. You could win a prize dropped in an envelope from the small blimps circling the stadium, get a haircut whilst watching the game or buy any number of snacks and services.
It was really interesting to watch a new sport at a packed arena. It's a pity the Giants lost their leading goalscorer to suspected concussion minutes after the puck was dropped and went on to lose 5 - 0.
Just under 8000 people were at the stadium to watch the minor league game; the teams were restricted to players aged between 16 and 19.
I had never seen an ice hockey game before. Watching the game is a study in sound and motion. The sounds tell the story of the game; the scraping of ice as players come to a halt, the sound of the stick smashing the puck, the crash of helmets, bodies and sticks against the perspex barrier surrounding the rink, the ping of the puck striking the goalpost. All of the players are constantly moving and it was tiring as a new spectator to make sense of what was going on. Particularly in the first period when I didn't realise there was a weird offside rule!
The players smashed each other hard against the barriers and intermittently would remove their helmets and start punching on. This is such a bizarre concept that is ingrained into the course of the game. A fight between players is part of the entertainment.
The arena was typically North American so every marketing and commercial opportunity had been snapped up. You could win a prize dropped in an envelope from the small blimps circling the stadium, get a haircut whilst watching the game or buy any number of snacks and services.
It was really interesting to watch a new sport at a packed arena. It's a pity the Giants lost their leading goalscorer to suspected concussion minutes after the puck was dropped and went on to lose 5 - 0.
