Reflections on the Outdoor Classic

Photo by Kyle Mace.

Before we left for the game I wrote about how last year was too warm and this year was supposed to be different. Well that was the forecast. As we were getting ready to leave, the temperature was around 60F. I was hoping that when the sun went down the temps would drop. We had set out lots of things to keep warm including a wool blanket to take with us. As we were packing the truck, we decided not to take the blanket. I did have my daughter put on her long underwear because I knew it would get chilly. She’s eleven after all and would probably get cold. That’s what I thought at least. Once we got to the stadium parking lot it was time to put on the rest of the clothes. For me that meant my jersey, a sweatshirt and a coat. For my daughter, that was snow pants, boots, a sweatshirt, a jersey and her coat. As it turns out she couldn’t get her jersey on over her sweatshirt. It was like a scene out of “A Christmas Story” as my girlfriend tried to help her. She kidded my daughter about the scene from the movie about not being able to put her arms down.

My daughter laughed and said something about she just wasn’t going to wear it. The sweatshirt was a hockey sweatshirt, so she was good.

We finally made it into the stadium and to our seats. My daughter kept showing us how she was shaking with excitement. She literally was shaking. She had also shed her coat because she was warm. We watched the game from section 310 and took in the whole experience. It was a fun time and I’m glad that I got to share it with my daughter and my girlfriend, Vanessa. Vanessa is a relative newcomer to hockey. She is from the southwest and I took her to her first Bears game last spring. Since then she has studied the game and become a huge fan. If you sit in or near section 118 in the Giant Center you can probably hear her whistle or yell from time to time. I love going to games with her and being able to go with her to the Outdoor Classic. I’ve mentioned her in here a couple times and thought that maybe you would like to hear her perspective. With that, I turn my keyboard over to her so that she can give you her thoughts on the game.

 First off, let me say, I’m extremely nervous writing anything with the following SHoE has. It all started when Brian took me to my first game April last year. I was hooked almost immediately. You see, I played two and a half years of collegiate Rugby. I guess you could say I love a good contact sport. Over the off-season and without Brian knowing, I read up on the rules of hockey, studied the game and the Bears. I hate having to ask too many questions while the game is going on. He and his daughter, “Chipmunk” have given me my first Bears jersey that I wear with pride.  For Christmas, she gave me my very own Coco stuffed animal.

So, when Brian asked me if I would be interested in going the the Outdoor Classic, all I could give was an emphatic yes!! I hounded him all week about the game, even telling HIM who the referees were and what the line up was to be. We talked a game plan Thursday night; what time we would leave work, what we would wear, etc.  On Friday, I kept texting him, asking if it was time to leave yet. By the time 2 pm rolled around, I was as antsy as a kid hopped up on sugar!  The drive seemed FOR-EV-ER!

Once we were actually in the parking lot, I had his daughter start to put on all her warm gear (hence the “can’t put my arms down” joke).  I didn’t want to waste one single moment in the truck: we had a GAME to go to! Trying to find the entrance was maddening but once in, I felt I could settle down a bit. We eye-balled our seats from the main concourse, stood for the National Anthem and took a quick ‘family’ photo before trekking up to the third level to our seats.

By the time we got to section 310, row 8, seat 11, 12 and 13, I was sweating. I was Chipmunk’s twin with all the gear and I HAD to shed my borrowed stadium coat. Now, I have an inner ear problem and heights always seem to add to the equilibrium issue so looking down onto the ice from this level was definitely something to get used to. We have an amazing view from our seats at the Giant Center, but here, the players could have been like the figurines from table hockey. I refused to watch any of the game off the jumbotron, but I did have a difficult time keeping an eye on the puck.   I should mention that by the time we got to our seats the Bears had already scored the first point, so it wasn’t until the second goal when I risked the chance of falling out of the stands to jump up and down and chant, “B. E. A. R. S. BEARS, BEARS, BEARS!!!” The rest of the evening was truly indescribable; best time of my hockey life. Seeing the Bears score their second goal was amazing and the cheering is not something I’ll soon forget.

I love my boyfriend and my Chipmunk for introducing me to this amazing thing I lovingly call “The Hockey”. I’m looking forward to a future full of many more hockey games and a Calder Cup.

So there you have it. The 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic is in the books. It wasn’t the ending that we had hoped to see, but it was a good game. The AHL attendance record was broken which we are happy to say that we were part of shattering. The rumors of a Winter Classic in DC are going strong. If that comes along next year, sign us up!