One Man's Musings on His First Hockey Game

Yes, you heard that right. I went to the Blackhawks game last night. I know hockey games are supposed to be fun live, but my skepticism about hockey has been well-documented here. Surprisingly, I had a great time. I'm not saying hockey is awesome, but it was definitely a good time. There were some funny moments mixed in with some sheer confusion. Here are a few observations I made:

• The pre-game montage was not as cool as the Bulls montage.
  


• Why does everyone scream throughout the national anthem? Seemed a bit disrespectful to me. What exactly was everyone cheering about? America? The Hawks? I don't get it.



• I think I finally get offsides. I mean I understand the rule and how it works. Offsides was called at least three times in this game and I still could not pick up on why it was called.



• Those girls that clean up the ice are very sexy. That being said, are they nuts in those skimpy outfits on the ice? Speaking of which the whole United Center was freezing. I would have brought a scarf and a sweater if I had known. Very uncomfortable.



• The whole thing about not being able to see the puck, especially around the goal? Not as big a deal as I thought it would be (at least live, on TV its still impossible). Regardless, when they were around the crease, I just watched the net to see if the puck ended up in it. Why did they get rid of that thing on TV where the puck was a different, brighter color?
  


• What is interference? How come some hits are interference and some aren't? It sounds like a lame penalty anyways.



• Some guy won the "Upgrade Your Seat" prize. They showed him up on the big screen. He had a mullet.


• I love saying "Huet". Hue-Ay! Hoo-Ey! Hwe!
  



• At some point during the game, Ben Eager got a penalty for something. The second he came out of the penalty box, he made a beeline for one of the Sabres and came flying in and punched the guy in the head in front of both benches. Awesome. He then got 6 minutes in the box. Why 6? I don't know, but the Hawks were down a man for what was essentially 8 minutes but it felt like they were the ones with the power play. They looked very sharp. Nice "Kill".
  



• I was NOT the most ignorant hockey fan there. With the score 3-1 Hawks and about 10 minutes left in the 2nd period, some idiot behind me turned to his son and said "They are probably going to pull the goalie soon". He was serious.



• The Blackhawks had 6 guys on the ice at least 3 times, though they only got called for it once. Is that normal? Seems to me that would reflect poorly on the coach.
  



• In between the 2nd and 3rd period they had some kind of contest where a fans get three shots to make a goal. One of the contestants was a gorgeous woman from Orange County. She had high heel knee high hooker boots on and an extremely skanky outfit. She made the goal.



• I think it was the 3rd period when the Hawks had a 4 on 3. It was only for about a minute, but everyone got really excited. Why? All I could see was ice. Why would people want less players on the ice?

All in all, the game was exciting and fun. The Hawks won 4-1. The crowd was definitely a lot more into the game than any NBA crowd I've seen outside the playoffs. I'm not fully sold on hockey yet, but this game definitely went a long way towards making me appreciate it more. Go Hawks!