Last Saturday Janna and I attended the Grand Rapids Griffins game against the Toronto Marlies. It was a very interesting time indeed. To our left was a group of drunk 20 somethings who were more interested in yapping at themselves than the game. Behind us was an idiot who claimed to understand the game of hockey and yet wondered how many periods there were and if they were 20 minutes long. To our front and slight left was a group of people who actually understood the game and went so far as to bring confetti to throw after each Griffins goal.
Our old pal Tyson Nash plays for the Marlies these days, he used to be the St. Louis Blues goon. On this night he got in a nice little fight. One thing I noticed about the Griffins game is that only a handful of the nearly 11,000 people in attendance had any idea what was going on during the game. It seemed they were more interested in talking to themselves about their golf game or their children than the game itself. That's awful sad because not only is hockey a fun game to watch, the team feeds off the enthusiasm of the fans.
Marlies goalie Sieve Racine warms up before the game. Contrast the fans in Detroit with the fans here in Grand Rapids. In Detroit going to a Wings game is a big event, something to look forward to and something to enjoy. Wings fans know and understand the game and yelling at refs, opposing players and the Wings goalie is not only acceptable but is encouraged.
In Grand Rapids few understand the game and no one looks forward to going to a Griffins game. It isn't an event, folks don't sit around talking about how the Griffins are doing. Fans who understand the game and dare to yell at the refs, opposing players or the Griffins goalie are glared at, threatened with expulsion from Van Andel arena and generally scoffed at by arrogant Dutchman. Apparently these people are more interested in the pathetic hot dog cannon, t-shirt toss and kiss cam than they are in the game itself.
My children will not be raised in such an environment. They will be raised with an appreciation of hockey (and other sports such as football and baseball). They will be taught to understand what is going on during the game and will be taught that we're going to a game, not a t-shirt toss. Sports are an important part of life, not only will Stuart and our other children be encouraged (read: forced) to get involved in organized sporting events for their own health but they will be taught to appreciate the oportunity to see the best players in action. Just as important will be the opportunity to spend time with their father, I can think of no greater day than Stuart's first MSU football game with me. While Grand Rapids arrogantly scoffs at such things, these are the times that children will remember all of their lives.
The Griffins won the game 6-3 and generally looked pretty good. Apparently they weren't able to leave Rochester until early Saturday morning and didn't arrive back in GR until 2pm, only five hours before game time. They had some nice goals and former Michigan State standout in the 80's Kip Miller earned #1 star of the game. During the first intermission former American Idol contestant Ace Young sang three songs. Needless to say it was awful.
Ace is known for a terrible falsetto, which he displayed for all to hear on Saturday. You know you've hit rock bottom when the best gig you can get is a three song intermission set at a minor league hockey game where 100 girls are all excited to see you, several thousand get up during your performance to get a hot dog and beer and the rest either don't pay attention or laugh at you. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Sadly, Ace didn't sing "I Want To Be Your Father Figure" for us, we had so looked forward to mocking it.
Janna looks off into the distance, probably wondering why she married a hockey fan. I think it's safe to say that she's looking forward to the kids being able to go alone with me to football and hockey games, though she's a good wife and comes with me when requested. I think she's also glaring at the beer girls, wearing their referee outfits. That's another thing we noticed, all of the folks selling beer were women at Van Andel, at the Joe they're all men. We opined that the men could carry a lot more beer than the women and probably made a lot better money. And thus ends our evening at the Griffins game. You will note that both pro games Janna and I attended so far this year were victories over Toronto. Hey you canucks out there in Toranna, we own you!
Last Saturday Janna and I attended the Grand Rapids Griffins game against the Toronto Marlies. It was a very interesting time indeed. To our left was a group of drunk 20 somethings who were more interested in yapping at themselves than the game. Behind us was an idiot who claimed to understand the game of hockey and yet wondered how many periods there were and if they were 20 minutes long. To our front and slight left was a group of people who actually understood the game and went so far as to bring confetti to throw after each Griffins goal.
Our old pal Tyson Nash plays for the Marlies these days, he used to be the St. Louis Blues goon. On this night he got in a nice little fight. One thing I noticed about the Griffins game is that only a handful of the nearly 11,000 people in attendance had any idea what was going on during the game. It seemed they were more interested in talking to themselves about their golf game or their children than the game itself. That's awful sad because not only is hockey a fun game to watch, the team feeds off the enthusiasm of the fans.
Marlies goalie Sieve Racine warms up before the game. Contrast the fans in Detroit with the fans here in Grand Rapids. In Detroit going to a Wings game is a big event, something to look forward to and something to enjoy. Wings fans know and understand the game and yelling at refs, opposing players and the Wings goalie is not only acceptable but is encouraged.
In Grand Rapids few understand the game and no one looks forward to going to a Griffins game. It isn't an event, folks don't sit around talking about how the Griffins are doing. Fans who understand the game and dare to yell at the refs, opposing players or the Griffins goalie are glared at, threatened with expulsion from Van Andel arena and generally scoffed at by arrogant Dutchman. Apparently these people are more interested in the pathetic hot dog cannon, t-shirt toss and kiss cam than they are in the game itself.
My children will not be raised in such an environment. They will be raised with an appreciation of hockey (and other sports such as football and baseball). They will be taught to understand what is going on during the game and will be taught that we're going to a game, not a t-shirt toss. Sports are an important part of life, not only will Stuart and our other children be encouraged (read: forced) to get involved in organized sporting events for their own health but they will be taught to appreciate the oportunity to see the best players in action. Just as important will be the opportunity to spend time with their father, I can think of no greater day than Stuart's first MSU football game with me. While Grand Rapids arrogantly scoffs at such things, these are the times that children will remember all of their lives.
The Griffins won the game 6-3 and generally looked pretty good. Apparently they weren't able to leave Rochester until early Saturday morning and didn't arrive back in GR until 2pm, only five hours before game time. They had some nice goals and former Michigan State standout in the 80's Kip Miller earned #1 star of the game. During the first intermission former American Idol contestant Ace Young sang three songs. Needless to say it was awful.
Ace is known for a terrible falsetto, which he displayed for all to hear on Saturday. You know you've hit rock bottom when the best gig you can get is a three song intermission set at a minor league hockey game where 100 girls are all excited to see you, several thousand get up during your performance to get a hot dog and beer and the rest either don't pay attention or laugh at you. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Sadly, Ace didn't sing "I Want To Be Your Father Figure" for us, we had so looked forward to mocking it.
Janna looks off into the distance, probably wondering why she married a hockey fan. I think it's safe to say that she's looking forward to the kids being able to go alone with me to football and hockey games, though she's a good wife and comes with me when requested. I think she's also glaring at the beer girls, wearing their referee outfits. That's another thing we noticed, all of the folks selling beer were women at Van Andel, at the Joe they're all men. We opined that the men could carry a lot more beer than the women and probably made a lot better money. And thus ends our evening at the Griffins game. You will note that both pro games Janna and I attended so far this year were victories over Toronto. Hey you canucks out there in Toranna, we own you!
