Last night, The Wife and I met up with our friends in the O.C. and went to a Ducks game.
Strike that — a Ducks playoff game. For the Western Conference championship. An elimination playoff game for the Western Conference championship.
As if hockey weren’t intense enough already.
The ticket price was more than a little intimidating. But as you can see from the picture taken with my cell phone, we were right there on the glass. These were super-primo seats for a super-primo game.
The house was rocking. Everyone there knew that if the Ducks won, they would move on to play Ottawa for the Stanley Cup. Everyone there knew that the Red Wings were the most dangerous opponent the Ducks had faced all season.
The Wife said that the show in Anaheim was a quantum leap above the ice hockey we saw back in Knoxville. Sure, the weiner dog races were good family entertainment. But the quality of the game, the size of the spectacle, and the energy of the whole event really was unlike anything else we’ve been to together.
I still wonder what it was on that sign written in Swedish that was held up to the Red Wings’ goalie. I’m sure it wasn’t very complimentary.
There were orange towels for the fans on every seat. There was lots of rock music and Duck babes and The Wife thinks that the Ducks’ goalie is really cute. We all drank beers, ate cheeseburgers, and loved every damn minute of it.
The Wife was horrified to learn about what Red Wings fans do when their team wins, and so she was especially happy (like all the rest of us were) when the Ducks won.
We are super-grateful to our friends for getting the tickets and inviting us to go to the game with them. Hockey is always Big Fun, and this was as fun as it gets.
So bring on the Senators! Yes, I know that Ottawa is favored to win the Cup in 6, but bigger upsets than that have happened in the world of sports. The Ducks have home-ice advantage and game 1 is on Monday. Go Ducks!
