A Tale Of Two Games

Game #1:

Dallas Stars v Detroit Red Wings.

This was a Christmas present to Cary from me this year. I don't know which was the actual present: going to the big rival game, or the All-You-Can-Eat hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, nachos, and soda. Either way, the game was huge. And scary!

Our seats put us very top row of AAC, which, view-wise, isn't all bad. But the seats are closer together than lower level seats are, but what made this so bad was that we were surrounded by Red Wings fans. On all sides (well, except the back...which was a wall)!

The game was at first a tight one, the first period ending at 1-0 Red Wings. The second period proved to be better, with it being 3-3. The end of the game? The Stars fans walked away with our heads hung after the 7-3 defeat. Ouch!


And yes, we are camera happy enough to take a picture of the final score:










Sad.

And now, for the second game!

Dallas Stars v Edmonton Oilers

I got a facebook message last week from a family friend telling me that Jamie Langenbrunner is back with the Stars. He has been my favorite player since he scored the 1 goal against the Red Wings in the 5-1 defeat we attended in 1996. I was so excited to see him back after he had risen to great status with the New Jersey Devils (Captain!), and I asked my dad if we could all go to a game for our (dad's and mine) birthday. And dad didn't hesitate to get the tickets!

Tonight was the big night--and Jamie's first home game as a returning Star.

The seats were high again, but no complaints here. With great view all around, we also noticed that we had a short escape route for Brylee, not sure how she would handle her first hockey game. Just as the hockey players were warming up, Cary and I got out of our seats to go purchase more food before it got too crowded. There we were met by a man who does promotional offers for the Stars...and his promotional offer? Upgraded seats! Of course, we didn't hesitate to say yes to the move, and we met the guy downstairs in section 120 before the game started like good little boys and girls.

The upgraded seats were wonderful!!!! Much more roomy, the drink holders attached to the chairs in front of us instead of on our seats, and you could see the players much more clearly! Don't get me wrong...we have had the lower level seats before, but not lately due to the costs...when I looked at the upgraded tickets, I noticed a $110/person upgrade! YAY!!!!

Let's see what we can think of for the highlights:

Free refills for the drinks (that was a perk from the concession, not the upgraded seats)
Free programs
Free bag of Lay's potato chips
Great view of fights (Jamie got into 2!)
We got to be on the Jumbotron twice: when we got our seats upgraded, and when they were focusing on the cuteness that is Brylee. Yep! Our little one's first game and she got major Star treatment!
We won 3-2!

The conversation with the promotion dude as we waited for the opportunity to go to our seats (they make a big deal of it by announcing it and putting us up on the Jumbotron):

Me: Thanks again for picking us to upgrade
Promotion Dude: No problem. I actually chose you 4 because of your husband's jersey. I saw that it was Hatcher, and knew that he must have been a fan for a long time.
Me: (smirking)....

No. I didn't tell him that it was MY jersey that Cary was wearing. And that's ok. Because I wore my Langenbrunner jersey and got many comments on it:

Some stranger: I bet you thought that you would never be able to get that out of the closet and dust it off again
Me: Are you kidding me? I never stopped wearing it! But, I may be a little louder than I have been in the recent past.
SS: I don't blame you!

Brylee handled the game excellently, looking around at the people around her, eating ice cream, clapping and making noises, fighting sleep, and then eventually falling asleep...only to wake up less than 10 minutes later for the long freezing walk back to the car. The only peep that sounded like crying was when she wanted the straw out of her daddy's drink, and he wouldn't let her have it. But she was quickly distracted again...probably by something shiny.

What an excellent night to make up for the debauchery that was the Stars v Red Wings game. Let's do it again sometime!