Hockey lovin'

Last night Lori scored tickets to the Alaska Aces hockey game. The Aces are a minor league hockey team, playing in the ECHL and are playing in the first round of the playoffs against the Las Vegas Wranglers. 

How Lori came into possession of these tickets is an interesting story. It all started when she received an email from the producer of a morning local radio show a couple of weeks ago. The producer asked Lori if she would be a guest on the show. After some thought, she agreed. Come to find out, the purpose of her going on the show was for Bob, of the Bob and Mark show on KWHL, to be able to meet her in-person. He had seen her on air, reporting the news and thought she was beautiful. Thankfully for him there is DVR in this world, and he kept fast-forwarding and rewinding in slow motion, trying to see if she had a wedding or engagement ring on her finger... He was pretty sure that she didn't, and he decided that she had to be a guest on his show. 

From what I understand, the show went well and Lori had a good time with lots of laughs. Fast-forward to the recent few days and you have a smitten Bob Lester texting and calling Lori every day. Hence, the Aces tickets. Not only is Bob a radio personality, he is also the PA Announcer for the Alaska Aces games. He left two tickets for Lori at Will Call, and she asked me to go with her. 

We arrive at the Sullivan Arena, home of the Alaska Aces and the Alaska Wild (of the arena football league), just before game time. As we are waiting in the lobby of the arena in a line to pick up the tickets, things go eerily quiet. What's happened? Is everyone OK? Did something happen? The constant hum of conversation, and the distant cheering of pumped up fans awaiting the first home playoff game of the season are hushed. Then, I hear why. The Star Spangled Banner is being sung. Things at the arena simply stopped for the duration of the song. The employees stopped searching for tickets for people, the ticket takers stopped scanning tickets, the fans entering the building immediately sensed what was going on and quietly let the doors shut behind them, people wearing hats took them off and held them over their hearts. Being there in that moment, I felt patriotic and proud that people had that much respect for our country's National Anthem. Over the years of working at Fenway, the Control Room staff recognized the song similarly, always standing, the silence among the singing broken only by the voices of the TD and Producer giving directions over headset. Other parts of the Park did not share the same level of respect. I can remember being out on Yawkey Way or in the cafeteria, and other places, where life continued on as though the song was not being sung, even though it was in the same building and could be heard. 

This is one of the things that I really like about Alaska. People here are respectful and mindful of others.

The night continued on for Lori and I by sitting in seats that were two rows from the ice and next to the Aces' bench. There was a lot of action going on the ice around there, and after a little while I started cheering for the hometown team, which was weird, because I don't know the first thing about them. The fans that were there were really into the game...and they all brought their cowbells...it was so frickin' loud. There was a family of three in front of us that was obnoxious as all heck, and really passionate. I was praising them and cursing them at the same time. I thought it was great to see them so into the game, the team, and the atmosphere...but at the same time their cowbells and the stomping of their feet LOUDLY and forcefully on the aluminum flooring of the seating bowl was deafening and actually hurt my ears.

Lori and I ended up leaving after the second period, with the Aces losing 4-1 at the time. I would have loved to have seen the rest of the game. I've always felt weird leaving a sporting event, or any event for that matter, early.  It's as though what you've been rooting for, hoping for, becomes pointless. The rug taken out from under your feet. What was the point of expelling all of that emotional energy for the past hour or so if there is no payoff? Even if the payoff is a loss, there is a payoff, a conclusion, closure. So I'm lacking that closure from last night...thank goodness it wasn't a Red Sox game we were leaving early from! 

Part of the reason why we left early was so that we could get some food, as neither of us had eaten supper yet. We went to a restaurant called the Bear's Tooth, which had food that was pretty darn good. Bob, the gentleman who gave Lori the tickets, met up with us at the restaurant after the game and continued to entertain us into the night. Bob has ADD and is a constant ball of energy, with little explosions of detoured conversations every thirty seconds or so. All the while Lori is laughing and I'm sitting there wide-eyed in disbelief. He is completely smitten with her. It should be really interesting to see what happens with this new relationship. Will Bob get bored with Lori, who happens to be spoken for? Will Lori succumb to his advances? It is all just for the fun and love of entertainment at the moment. We'll see how things progress. 

The Aces lost to the Las Vegas Wranglers, 5-2. The team is down 3-0 in a 7 game series. If they lose tomorrow night, their season is over. And, if any of you are at all curious, yes, Bob has already invited Lori and I to the game...too bad I'm working nightside tomorrow night. 

Temperature update: 34 degrees and cloudy

Alaska trivia: In 1915 the record high temperature in Alaska was 100 degrees Fahrenheit at Fort Yukon.   The record low temperature was -80 degrees Fahrenheit at Prospect Creek Camp in 1971.