Shag on Sports

The Game 5 Experience

So after missing out on games 1 and 2, I finally was able to make it up to Detroit for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Technically, I was there for work… which meant taking notes that I would most certainly just get from the game summaries, and being there for the postgame sound (we unfortunately don’t have a sports sound service at work, so if we ever need anything, we’ve got to swipe it from someone else). But really, I was there to get my rocks off at a Cup Final… and I was about 30 seconds from doing so, too. Below are a smattering of notes from last night’s doubleheader. I’ll warn you: as the night continued on, I really started focusing less on the game and more on my inner ramblings.

Pregame:

• Of note… I didn’t get the sound recorder I wanted to take with me, and instead had to borrow another recorder. Without asking. A minor detail, but we’ll come back to it later.
• Parking wasn’t bad ($10, First and Lafayette), but I had to walk all the way around the Joe to find the Media Credential trailer. In retrospect, I got my exercise for the next friggin’ month.
• Finally find my seat… in the “auxiliary press box”. Which is basically the top left corner of the upper bowl with tables installed.
  
• Bottles of Water Count: 1
• Octopus Count: 4. 3 during the National Anthem.

First Period:

• Holmstrom skates, Chelios scratched. Bummer.
• 8:37, Hossa breaks the ice with a goal. Crosby with an assist. God, I hate that guy. (Side Note: I’ve taught Ella to say Sid’s name in the style of OVECHKIN!)
• 14:41, Hall puts a shot on goal, and Nik Kronwell tries to clear the rebound… he instead clears it right over Osgood’s shoulder and puts Pittsburgh up 2-nil.
• During the intermission, I took the stairs back down to the mezzanine to hang with the crowd and get a pretzel. Seemed like a good idea going down the stairs (they let us use the fire escape to get around), not such a good idea coming back up. Water count: 2.

Second Period:

• Darren Helm gets off a wicked shot to put Detroit on the board. Gonchar gets a wicked “running into the wall head first”, and Malone gets a wicked “puck to the face”. Not much happens that I can remember.
• Water Count: 3 (And a Sprite).

Third Period:

• Gonchar and Malone came back, Malone got a ridiculous wad of cotton up his nose.
• After the goals by Datsyuk and Rafalski, the Crowd starts a “We Want the Cup!” Chant with 10 minutes left in regulation. I lean over to my neighbor and say “That’s wa-a-a-ay too early to be chanting that.”
• Another octopus is thrown during a TV Timeout. Octopus Count: 5
• 3 minutes left, NBC shows footage of the Cup being wiped down. The crowd can feel it.
• 0:37. Maxine FREAKING Talbot. We’re going to Overtime.

It was at this point that I really had to pee, and the ridiculousness of the setup was revealed. The stairway I had been using only went down… either to the mezzanine or the basement. Someone mentioned that the Suite level may have a bathroom, but I couldn’t find how to get up there. so I walk down to the main level, only to see massive lines. A kindly helper points me further down into the basement where there’s a bathroom for the media that’s camped down there. Sure enough, it’s a hike past the stairs, but I find relief soon enough. Of course, after all that, I now have to climb back UP the stairs. After all 97 steps, I declare that I’ve done enough exercise for the month. Water Count: 4.

Overtime the First:

• I may horribly dislike Crosby, but he can win faceoffs all day. The only person who could regularly beat him was Draper.
• I get talking to the lady next to me, who works for Metro Networks. I introduce myself using the standard Radio Greeting: “I’m Matt Culbreath, are you hiring?”
• She mentions that she was downstairs during the end of the third period. “It was so sad, they had the champagne rolled out and everything.”
• The crowd goes ballistic over a BS Goalie Interference call on Zetterberg. This is not the only time I write this.

Overtime the Second:

• It is now 11:45pm. Water Count: 5.
• Detroit has outshot Pittsburgh 47-20.
• I should have known coming into this… the other two games I went to this season were shootouts.
• Oh, ANOTHER ticky-tack Goaltender Interference call on Detroit. God, the NHL refs are TURRIBLE.

Now it’s time for more adventures in Bathroom Hunting. During the 4th intermission, I discover the other fire stairway that leads up to the Suite level. After wandering around for 10 minutes, I realize that all of the suites have their own bathrooms, and it’s unlikely there’s one in the hallway. After asking finding a couple of suits who’s restroomes are occupado, I eventually stumble on a staffer who says there are two public bathrooms that are located… you guessed it, on the other side of the stadium. On my way there, I call Phil and tell him that I might be late into work the next day.

Overtime the Third:

• It’s now 12:30am. The press-box cooler is empty. We are never going to escape.
• At this point, I realized that I must be a die-hard Blue Jackets fan… if I were a Detroit fan, my heart would be in my stomach right about now. Instead what was a great hockey game has now become “Damnit, I’ve got an hour drive home.” Lucky me, I’ll never know the experience of playoff overtime hockey as a fan.
• 5 minutes into the OT, another “We Want the Cup!” chant breaks out. How about “Somebody win damnit!”
• Does anybody have the Tigers score?
• And Jiri Hudler gets tagged with a double-minor for high-sticking. This won’t end well.
• And it doesn’t.

After the game, I came to a crossroad at the staircase: do I go down to the post-game press conference and do my job? Or do I start home and enjoy the luxury of walking to my car with a crowd rather than by myself. I decide I should probably come home with something, so I walk to the press conference, only to find that the recorder I had swiped only had 2 minutes of recording time left on it. Forget it. I’m still able to catch up to the crowd on my way back to the car.

As I mentioned on another website, I never understood how sports reporters could be so joyless about the sports the cover. But after sitting through 2 and a half overtimes only to get Cup-blocked, I had a severe “fell in love with Big Brother” moment. Does this sound like a bunch of whining? Yes. Should I just be glad that I got to go to a Cup Final without having to pay a couple grand for tickets? Yes. Why am I in a pissy mood? Because I didn’t get a lot of sleep, that’s why. Wahh.

Posted in Detroit Red Wings, NHL Hockey, Whining