Can't Sleep
Hopefully, posting to my blog will help; I bore the hell out of me sometimes.
Well, the good news is that the Red Wings beat the Coyotes on Wednesday, with a final score of 4-2. The Joe Louis Arena is one of the classic venues in the NHL, if by "classic" you mean "pretty old". The layout is distinctive, and the place as a whole has a small feel to it, though its actual size is quite large enough. The outer ring of the arena is absolutely covered with paraphernalia from seasons past: pictures, banners, displays, everything. And, of course, the obligatory souvenir stalls and food vendors.*
The marketing department for the Red Wings' organization desperately needs a copyeditor. Misspellings and bad grammar abound. On the damn Jumbotron, no less, a video clip that I don't doubt gets played before every game proudly displays the writer's incapacity to determine the difference between "your" and "you're".
The crowd started out quiet; not much point in cheering, I suppose, when there aren't any visiting team fans to appreciate it. Red Wings fans really are the same as fans everywhere else, though. Most fall into easily defined categories: The Expert, The Coach, The Bitch, The Screamer (inevitably right behind you), and the list goes on.
Music is a key part of every arena experience; the music at the Joe alternates between good stuff and the generic weak techno shit they play at every single other arena. Robert Lang scored, so they played "He's So Fine" (you know, with the chorus "ooh lang ooh lang ooh lang"). Zetterberg scored an insane goal, whereupon they showed a video clip from the Zorro trailer, with the Zorro silhouette cutting a flaming "Z" on the screen, and an audio clip, saying "I've seen a lot of things...but that was awesome."
If I never hear a Jumbotron exhorting me to "make some noise" ever again, it'll be too soon. I'm sick of it. I'm not a goddamn caged gibbon, there to shriek on cue. And then play starts, and all the noise vanishes, which makes you wonder what the point was anyways. You want me to cheer, then show me something awesome. Everyone cheered for that Zetterberg goal; everyone cheered when Hasek made some great saves. It's more genuine to hear a few voices in a section chanting "Let's go Red Wings!", than all of the blinky-light induced howling.
So yeah. Hockey at the Joe was quite an experience. Pictures shall follow. Oh, and Nashville Parking, all is forgiven.** Getting to the arena isn't too bad; there are road signs clearly guiding you to the ungodly-huge parking garage. Getting out is another matter, as the walkways are jam-packed with thousands of fans all leaving at once. It's literally shoulder-to-shoulder all the way back to the garage (insert cattle sound-effect of choice here), and then you get to sit in your car for about 45 minutes just to leave.
*(I didn't try the food there; things were massively crowded, and I just didn't feel like standing in the lines. I kind of wish I had tried it, just to get the full bowel-rumbly experience.)
**(Not you, Anaheim Parking: you still suck.)
Well, the good news is that the Red Wings beat the Coyotes on Wednesday, with a final score of 4-2. The Joe Louis Arena is one of the classic venues in the NHL, if by "classic" you mean "pretty old". The layout is distinctive, and the place as a whole has a small feel to it, though its actual size is quite large enough. The outer ring of the arena is absolutely covered with paraphernalia from seasons past: pictures, banners, displays, everything. And, of course, the obligatory souvenir stalls and food vendors.*
The marketing department for the Red Wings' organization desperately needs a copyeditor. Misspellings and bad grammar abound. On the damn Jumbotron, no less, a video clip that I don't doubt gets played before every game proudly displays the writer's incapacity to determine the difference between "your" and "you're".
The crowd started out quiet; not much point in cheering, I suppose, when there aren't any visiting team fans to appreciate it. Red Wings fans really are the same as fans everywhere else, though. Most fall into easily defined categories: The Expert, The Coach, The Bitch, The Screamer (inevitably right behind you), and the list goes on.
Music is a key part of every arena experience; the music at the Joe alternates between good stuff and the generic weak techno shit they play at every single other arena. Robert Lang scored, so they played "He's So Fine" (you know, with the chorus "ooh lang ooh lang ooh lang"). Zetterberg scored an insane goal, whereupon they showed a video clip from the Zorro trailer, with the Zorro silhouette cutting a flaming "Z" on the screen, and an audio clip, saying "I've seen a lot of things...but that was awesome."
If I never hear a Jumbotron exhorting me to "make some noise" ever again, it'll be too soon. I'm sick of it. I'm not a goddamn caged gibbon, there to shriek on cue. And then play starts, and all the noise vanishes, which makes you wonder what the point was anyways. You want me to cheer, then show me something awesome. Everyone cheered for that Zetterberg goal; everyone cheered when Hasek made some great saves. It's more genuine to hear a few voices in a section chanting "Let's go Red Wings!", than all of the blinky-light induced howling.
So yeah. Hockey at the Joe was quite an experience. Pictures shall follow. Oh, and Nashville Parking, all is forgiven.** Getting to the arena isn't too bad; there are road signs clearly guiding you to the ungodly-huge parking garage. Getting out is another matter, as the walkways are jam-packed with thousands of fans all leaving at once. It's literally shoulder-to-shoulder all the way back to the garage (insert cattle sound-effect of choice here), and then you get to sit in your car for about 45 minutes just to leave.
*(I didn't try the food there; things were massively crowded, and I just didn't feel like standing in the lines. I kind of wish I had tried it, just to get the full bowel-rumbly experience.)
**(Not you, Anaheim Parking: you still suck.)
posted by Matt at
1:51 AM
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