For my birthday, I gave gifts this year to some people. One of those gifts was hockey tickets to My Husband and Kids.My Eldest said she wanted to see a hockey game. She's seen the Cowboys (football) and the Texas Rangers (baseball). She struggled to sit patiently through the Cowboys game. Not sure about the baseball game because she went with my in-laws.
I saw that the Stars were playing in town on my actual birthday. I also had heard that all AAC tickets were half price (some are even $15 each!), so I called the Stars ticket office to purchase for January 27th. Instead, I hung up with some information and called My Husband to firm up the date. Well, since January 27 fell on a school night, we decided it'd be better to go on a weekend night.
February 6th I saw was a weekend and the NY Rangers were in town. I know when I first started watching hockey back in my early 20's, The Rangers were pretty much the only team I'd heard of besides the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers represented to me, at that time, a pretty rich hockey history (not that I even REALLY *knew* what that meant until many years later). So, NYR it is!
I'm so glad my birthday fell on a school night!
The Four of Us loaded on the light rail and headed down to the AAC. The Girls enjoyed riding the train, watching the sunset, not wearing seat belts, looking at traffic, going into a tunnel. No trip anywhere these days would be complete without My Eldest asking, "how much longer till we get there?". Oy vey!
OH! And this was our first venture out in such a public place with a newly potty trained Little One (thank you, GOD!). It turned out to be quite a success!!
Look at all this excitement and the game hasn't EVEN STARTED YET!
We find our seats. They aren't horrible at all (they weren't the cheapcheap seats). We had a clear view of the ice and all the championship banners. My Husband likes to sit opposite the penalty box, so that's where we sat. The girls were handed hockey stick-shaped noise makers with the Stars team name on it (refer to picture above!).
Now, I don't know what any other arena is like for hockey because I've never been to another professional hockey event besides at Reunion Arena or the AAC (the best place EVER! Remember Victory Park?! I can't wait for summer! Movies at the Park. Fun!), BUT I am instantly energized when the lights are dimmed, the spotlights are dancing all around the ice, the boom of the Dallas Stars Theme Song by Pantera begins to shake the seats. The announcer's big voice bloats the arena air with the starting lineup while the team zips around on their skates, showing off their agility and prowess. The acoustics inside the AAC kick a**! (Here is a pretty sketchy video of it, if you're curious and patient enough to stick with it.)
The honorary face off puck drop was done by none other than Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liuken (really? do we NEED to have that kind of formality? I guess it's mimicking the baseball tradition of the first pitch....I'll get used to it.). My Eldest was THRILLED. I had no idea Nastia would be there, but I'll take the extra credit at being The Best Mom in the Whole Best World (to quote My Little One verbatim..*preen*)!
Another fun fact: twins were playing against each other. The Rangers goalie, Henrik Lundqvist is the twin brother of the Stars center, Joel Lundqvist.
So....long story short (not!), the game was an awesome experience. It's not every day one witnesses a 10 point game in hockey. It was a high-drama game with forceful checks, superfluous goal tending and defense, mega unsportsmanlike conduct - which led to one hockey player from the Rangers' team off the ice and out the door, as well as some choice fights. Good, good hockey.
The Stars are poised for playoff contention. *crossing fingers*
And just think...I get to do it all over again on March 1st when the almost World Champion Penguins will be in town! (No kids this time, though!)
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