Observations on a hockey game

[squareeyes]

I watched the Thunderbirds play hockey against Portland on Saturday night – haven’t been to a match in years and really don’t understand hockey all that well but it’s still fun to do on occasion. It was well-attended and the fans are definitely ardent. At various times, which seemed to be in conjunction with Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” (you know…the popular arena anthem), the crowd would shout “Portland sucks! Portland sucks! Portland sucks!”. I am so not remotely politically correct, am known to drop the F-bomb (less and less the older I get), and have to make efforts to keep my foot out of my mouth, but this bothered me. Should it have? I guess it’s easier to say than “Portland is less-than-stellar on the ice”. I guess I wonder if this is a specifically Portland-rivalry thing, or if all their opponents “suck”. Can any Thunderbirds fans weigh in on this?

Other random observations – when did the seats get so small? I’m more generously-hipped than my friends, but even the size 4-6 had to twist to get our of her seat.

They needed a game-announcer. They had a person who announced sponsors frequently but only occasionally mentioned penalties or other game goings-on.

Side note: I remember decorating my car (I loved that ’68 Chrysler Newport aka “the tank”) for high school graduation and being annoying that some old fart complained to my mother about the painted “Thurston sucks” that I then had to wash off. Hee-hee, I get it now.

Share This

[Keith]

I’ve been to a few Thunderbirds games and had a great time. Sadly, they’re moving to Kent after this season. No more prize blimp or chuck-a-puck at Key Arena, not to mention the crazy fans and exciting action on the ice. Those guys are not afraid to throw off their gloves and duke it out!

Catch ’em in Seattle while you can. Sometimes they have great deals in those ValPak coupons that come in the mail.

Share This

[squareeyes]

Keith – thanks for pointing out the good things…I was so focused on my complaints I forgot about the rest. Chuck-a-puck was very cool. They also had a stuffed animal drive for Children’s Hospital. The moment the first goal was scored hundreds of stuffed toys were pelted onto the ice. One good fight too!

Share This

[Bikefor1]

I saw my first Tbirds match vs the Prince Albert Raiders. Omg,the players are so young–they’re babies! :-)

Anyhoo, regarding the ‘different announcer’, the Key has an fm station low on the dial that transmits the game. My mp3 player incidentally has an fm radio on it so I was able to listen to the radio while watching the game.

Don’t know what the set up will be like in Kent.

Share This

[hlywdsm]

I’m confused squareeyes….the fight was “good” and didn’t offend you, but “Portland Sucks” did? Just saying…

That is a great rivalry! I’m sure the arena would prefer that nobody shouts “sucks”, but how are you going to stop 5000 people. I’m been to plenty of sports events where MUCH worst was shouted. I can even remember a few F bombs being audible on TV during games. Gotta LOVE sports!!!

Share This

[Jerald]

“Sucks” bothers me too, but it seems to have become commonplace. I’m not happy about it. I do approve of “less-than-stellar” — think I’ll try to use that more often.

I noticed after they remodeled the Key Arena that the seats were small and also that the legroom was significantly less. Long-leggers like me can barely sit without pressing our knees against the seat in front. And there’s absolutely no room for anyone to pass by. I’ve avoided the place whenever possible.

I love hockey, though, and hope they have a more comfortable venue in Kent.

Share This

[squareeyes]

hlywdsm, I guess I didn’t like the direction of the term. I have no problem saying or hearing someone say that the weather sucks, but hearing it directed at a person or group seems harsh – I particularly winced when I heard children doing the yelling. Like I said in my original post, I certainly didn’t have that issue ~ 30 years ago. I must be turning into a bit of a softie.

Fighting in hockey? That’s just part of the game!

Share This

[Author]

Posts