Hockey? What is a Hockey?

After having never attended a post-season game of any kind (well, aside from the Olympics and the World Cup), I have now had the good fortune of attending two in one month. After seeing my first March Madness game, I was able to procure tickets to the Red Wings-Predators First Round Game 5 matchup. You may be asking yourself, “But wait, aren’t the Red Wings a hockey team?” To answer your question, yes, they are. Over the last five years combined, I am fairly certain that I have watched less than one period of NHL hockey. I did attend a Michigan-Notre Dame hockey game a couple of years ago, but other than that, the only hockey I have seen is what’s come up on SportsCenter before I was able to change the channel.

However, the Red Wings are by far Detroit’s most successful professional franchise. They have ten championships, which is nearly as many as the Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My! Pistons combined. I have attended Tigers and Pistons games, but never made it to a Red Wings game. It seems like the type of activity that should be mandatory for all Detroit area residents, given the fame and fortune of the beloved Red Wings. So what better time to start appreciating Detroit’s hockey than the playoffs?

One of the first things I noticed upon entering Joe Louis Arena is how energized the crowd was. Sure, that is to be expected at a playoff game, but the energy was palpable. Nearly everyone was wearing Red Wings gear, or at least wearing red, and I’m not sure that I saw a Nashville fan the entire night. Our seats were not the greatest, but even our “cheap” seats had a great view of the ice. Once the game kicked off, faced off, started, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house. Unlike NFL, MLB or the NBA, the game was very fluid and there were very few extended stops in play. A 17 minute intermission followed each period, but other than that, the game was constantly in action.

A couple of gripes: The line for the bathrooms was unbelievably long at the first intermission. I’ve never seen lines of such magnitude. I actually abandoned my initial quest, although I was able to successfully return near the end of the second period. Also, what kind of major entertainment venue doesn’t take credit cards? After failing in my initial task of finding a restroom, I decided to buy a beer and hot dog. Alas, upon finding that credit cards were not accepted and that I only had ten dollars, I was forced to decide between the beer and hot dog. Given the pre-existing bathroom situation, I opted for the hot dog. After going back later for a beer, I had to wait in another long line. I spent most of the time trying to figure out what the attendants were doing. One was taking orders at the register, and the other two handed cups to the customer, who then had to fill his own beer! Needless to say, the wait was significantly longer than it should have been.

Anyway, getting back to the game, the Red Wings scored very early in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. However, the rest of the game, despite a domination of play by Detroit, yielded very little in the way of scoring. The tension was high, and multiple scraps broke out between players, although the referees (unfortunately) were able to pull the players apart before any brawls erupted. Another point – Red Wings fans appeared to be very knowledgeable about the sport and cheered at all the right times. Or at least they seemed like they knew what they were doing. I’ve been to plenty of Tigers games and a good percentage of the fans only know what’s going on when someone hits a home run.

As the game wound to a close, Nashville pulled its goalie and attacked Detroit’s goal with reckless abandon. Although Detroit had taken about three times as many shots as Nashville, somehow Nashville finally managed to get past Chris “Ozzie” Osgood with about 30 seconds left to tie it up. Overtime! I took the opportunity to buy another beer (after going to the ATM) but I barely had time to drink it. The Red Wings put one in after about five minutes of overtime play to win the game. And the crowd goes wild! Ahhhhh!! Ahhhhh!!!

So, even though I can in no way be considered a hockey fan, the game was thoroughly enjoyable and it was obvious that Detroiters take their hockey very seriously. After years of watching the Lions and Tigers suck, it really isn’t too surprising.