I may be a Jackets fan, but I’m rooting for the Red Wings to win it all in this here Stanley Cup Finals. The Wings really are the better team, and I’m sorry, but that’s not a playoff beard. That being said, I needed the Pens to win last night. No, not because I had a bet on them. Because I would have hated myself forever if there wasn’t a Game 5 at the Joe.

See, in accordance with my real job (as this is my fake job, considering I don’t get paid and nobody notices what I do), I have media credentials to the games up at Joe Louis Arena. Very cool, yes I know, everybody at the station is very jealous… and they should be. But the timing of these games have sucked, and I didn’t make it to games 1 and 2.

Game 1: May 24th. That was my 5th year wedding anniversary. There’s no way that one was flying. “Okay”, I thought, “No problem, I’ll just make it to game 2.”

Game 2: May 26th. Memorial Day. After driving all around God’s Green Earth to visit family, not only was I exhausted (throwing a frisbee takes a lot out of you when you’re partner can’t hit the broadside of a barn), but I was low on cash-on-hand (Turnpike + Gas = $$$). Fearing how much fuel I’d burn making the trip to D-Town, as well as what the parking situation up there is, I decided to forgo game 2.

Of course, after the Penguins’ performance in the second game, I wasn’t sure there would be a game 5. Thankfully, they pulled their head out of their rears last night, and I’ll see my game after all.

Now they’ve just got to lose the next two so I can be there when the Cup is presented.