Everytime I think I can handle this job something comes up that makes me rethink the decision to allow (and encourage) him to play this sport. This weekend was a prime example.
It started Friday. Pick Sean up from the bus, check the backpack, wait for the husband to get home from work and it's off to practice we go! The boy got some new equipment this week (skates which needed to bake and gloves) so we had to get to the rink a bit early. Traffic was light and we got there in plenty of time to bake the skates and get them sharpened. Sean was a bit disappointed that he couldn't wear them for 24 hours. "24 hours is long," he complained. Anyway, practice on Friday evening followed by dinner. Ok, one down, four more hockey events to go!
Saturday morning. 7:15 AM game time...ugh... A hat trick for my boy and again, I'm amazed at how much these little guys improve each week! Saturday night, the three of us plus a friend go to the Flyers game. Wow!!!!! What a game! The Flyers trampled all over the Panthers. Briere scored two goals, JVR scored his first NHL goal, and aside from some pretty nasty hits (hope David Booth is getting better quickly) it was an awesome game! Razor was on fire! There were a couple foiled breakaway chances but we still won, 5-1!
Sunday morning. Do it all again. 9:45 AM game time. Sean has another great game. FOUR goals today! Being a parent in the stands it's pretty funny to watch him score. He hangs out in front of the net waiting for something to come his way. Then drops it in the net. Simple enough. But then comes the fun part...he slides across the ice on one knee a la Danny Briere after EVERY goal!!! All the other parents think it's cute. I just have to laugh. He's been working on that move since he saw his first hockey game!
Sunday night. Babysitter obtained. Jack and I head out for the game. I'm pretty pumped to see what they're going to do after last night's insane contest! It can only get better! Unfortunately, I had more confidence than my team could stand up to and they presented me with a lackluster performance. I was very disappointed to see the weak passes, weak shots, and very poor officiating on the ice. We lost to the San Jose Sharks, 1-4. Boucher gave up some goals and he just seemed to roll over, literally and figuratively. The Flyers lone goal was scored by Darroll Powe. He and Arron Asham have really stepped it up this season and are looking pretty promising! On the upside Captain Mike richards will not be suspended for the Booth hit.
The Fly Guys are taking the train a little way south to the Verizon Center to face Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. I wonder which team will show up for this game.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
My, Oh My...
Friday's practice was pretty well uneventful. Jack was available to make sure all the equipment made it out of and into my van. (Thanks, sweetie!) Saturday was a day off, and well deserved. It's been rough being laid up with a back injury. That's a story for another blog!
Game time Sunday: Ahhh, firstly let me say a 9:50 game time is soooooo much better than the 7:15 time we had the previous weekend (and the upcoming weekend...ugh). Sean was pretty excited this weekend. This was something I haven't seen in several weeks from him. Orange team took the ice and I was amazed. It was incredible to see how these little guys have improved over the last several weeks. Sean's skating in somewhat bigger strides, his stickhandling is far better than when he started cross-ice, and his chatter on the bench makes me see some "C" potential in his future.
We weren't keeping score but if you ask any boy that was out there (black sweater or orange) they'd tell you their team won the game! Sean claims to have scored "seven goals this week, Mom," but Jack, who was bench coach for both teams kept track of just two for him. Two! that's still pretty good when you're five! Good thing there was an adult on the benches with those boys. They've taken to playing "hockey fight" and "stick swords". Oh yeah, that's fun to watch!
Busy hockey weekend coming. After a long NHL break and some team building in Florida, not to mention a humiliating loss to the Panthers, the Flyers will take the ice at home in a preview of the 2010 Winter classic. Yes, the Bruins are coming to our house. It should be a fun game to watch but we won't be in attendance. We'll have our chance for some great hockey though Saturday and Sunday when Jack and I go to both games....oh and two games for Sean as well!
Hmmm...I'm guessing we didn't win the 32" flat screen TV that the Flyers youth Bantams were raffling off this weekend. They were raising money to play in Boston next weekend. Oh well, better luck next time...
Game time Sunday: Ahhh, firstly let me say a 9:50 game time is soooooo much better than the 7:15 time we had the previous weekend (and the upcoming weekend...ugh). Sean was pretty excited this weekend. This was something I haven't seen in several weeks from him. Orange team took the ice and I was amazed. It was incredible to see how these little guys have improved over the last several weeks. Sean's skating in somewhat bigger strides, his stickhandling is far better than when he started cross-ice, and his chatter on the bench makes me see some "C" potential in his future.
We weren't keeping score but if you ask any boy that was out there (black sweater or orange) they'd tell you their team won the game! Sean claims to have scored "seven goals this week, Mom," but Jack, who was bench coach for both teams kept track of just two for him. Two! that's still pretty good when you're five! Good thing there was an adult on the benches with those boys. They've taken to playing "hockey fight" and "stick swords". Oh yeah, that's fun to watch!
Busy hockey weekend coming. After a long NHL break and some team building in Florida, not to mention a humiliating loss to the Panthers, the Flyers will take the ice at home in a preview of the 2010 Winter classic. Yes, the Bruins are coming to our house. It should be a fun game to watch but we won't be in attendance. We'll have our chance for some great hockey though Saturday and Sunday when Jack and I go to both games....oh and two games for Sean as well!
Hmmm...I'm guessing we didn't win the 32" flat screen TV that the Flyers youth Bantams were raffling off this weekend. They were raising money to play in Boston next weekend. Oh well, better luck next time...
Monday, October 12, 2009
It Never Ceases to Amaze Me
Going to a Flyers game is pretty close to a study in sociology. The many types of fans and the different lifestyles represented are numerous.
There's the self-proclaimed "Super Fan" with his black and orange mohawk and Flyers logo tattooed on both sides of his head. Present at every fame he has been observed delivering pizza on off nights. Tips must be good. There's the bevy of beauties sporting the same hairstyle they wore when Poison released their first album. The battle between tiny women carrying HUGE handbags and large women wearing the tiniest backpacks occurs nightly. There's the older couple with season tickets who climb to the top of the Wach for every home game. The guy who's wearing the same Hextall jersey he got back in 1988 and it shows. The drunken college students who stand in the top row of the bowl with their chest painted. The folks who wear every item of orange clothing they own to the game. Seeing all these sometimes freakish people makes me wonder if I fit in with this crowd.
Somehow I think the answer is yes. Of course, I live in South Jersey, not South Philly. I wasn't a fan back in the Broad Street Bullies days, or even the Legion of Doom days. I drive a minivan and not a 1988 Chevy Caprice. I can't parallel park to save my life. I don't need to save my parking spot that I shoveled the snow out of with a folding chair. But deep down I'm one of them. Those lovely, interesting freaks bleed black and orange. They're Flyers fans.
And so am I.
There's the self-proclaimed "Super Fan" with his black and orange mohawk and Flyers logo tattooed on both sides of his head. Present at every fame he has been observed delivering pizza on off nights. Tips must be good. There's the bevy of beauties sporting the same hairstyle they wore when Poison released their first album. The battle between tiny women carrying HUGE handbags and large women wearing the tiniest backpacks occurs nightly. There's the older couple with season tickets who climb to the top of the Wach for every home game. The guy who's wearing the same Hextall jersey he got back in 1988 and it shows. The drunken college students who stand in the top row of the bowl with their chest painted. The folks who wear every item of orange clothing they own to the game. Seeing all these sometimes freakish people makes me wonder if I fit in with this crowd.
Somehow I think the answer is yes. Of course, I live in South Jersey, not South Philly. I wasn't a fan back in the Broad Street Bullies days, or even the Legion of Doom days. I drive a minivan and not a 1988 Chevy Caprice. I can't parallel park to save my life. I don't need to save my parking spot that I shoveled the snow out of with a folding chair. But deep down I'm one of them. Those lovely, interesting freaks bleed black and orange. They're Flyers fans.
And so am I.
Too Early in the Season
As I was leaving the arena Saturday after the Teemu Selanne Show (aka the Flyers loss against the Ducks) I heard a couple of older guys slamming the FlyGuys. "It's been 35 years since they won a Stanley Cup. Why should this year be any different?" Uh, I'm sorry, sir, isn't it only game 5 of an 82 game season? Don't you think it's a bit too soon to write them off from a Cup Series?
The details are still a little sketchy to me since I was in a fog that was induced by lower back pain but what I recall is Selanne scoring with 16 seconds left in the third to tie it up and then knocking in the game winner in the shoot out. Disappointing loss.
Two nights previous to that we were playing the (gag) Stanley Cup Champions, Pittsburgh Penguins. The pre-game antics of the fans were amusing as usual. Sean ended up on the Big Screen during the pre-game warm up. He was holding his sign that says "Hey Scott, I wear #19 too!" A cute read headed boy is always good on the JumboTron! That was another loss but the good news is it was definitely noticable that Cindy didn't have much ice time nor did he get his stick on the puck very much! THAT'S always a good thing!
In mini-mite news, Sean scored 2 goals in his game last Saturday! Awesome! This past weekend I was baptized into official Hockey-Mom-dom by having a 7:15 game time...that's 7:15 AM. I had to leave my house the same time I leave to go to work! Ugh! Sean claims he scored 5 goals in that game but I only saw 2. I'd almost have to believe him since he does usually pick up a lot of the trash in front of the net!
Sean in attendance at the Flyers/Pens gameWednesday, October 7, 2009
Flyers Send Capitals Packing
What a game! What a game! I can't believe how entertaining this game was to watch! I was on the edge of my seat literally, for most of the game and so was the rest of the Wachovia Center audience.
This was our long-awaited home opener. It felt like a playoff game. The live music outside, the free orange T-shirts (featuring our tagline for this season "Relentless") and the somewhat warm weather lead you to believe it was playoff time! The fans were rowdy and I loved it! In fact, I was so pumped for the game I neglected to charge my camera battery or even bring the camera! So, alas, no pictures for this entry but believe it that there WILL be pics for Thursday night's contest versus the Pittsburgh Penguins (I know, I know...the Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins; it still burns coming off my tongue!).
To the action.
A scoreless first period was very entertaining to watch and was only a prelude to the storm that was coming. The second period exploded with Varlamov giving up 4 goals and earning himself a seat on the bench. The Caps answered by racking up three. The third period was racked with a flurry of shots on goal on both ends of the ice. The game went into overtime with a score of 5-5. With little more than a minute left in the sudden death overtime birthday boy, Danny Briere, knocked in the game winner! The place went wild! In the end, Emery halted 36 shots, Richards scored a hat trick and the Washington Capitals went home without a win. They still got a point, but the Flyers have the best record in the NHL!
This was our long-awaited home opener. It felt like a playoff game. The live music outside, the free orange T-shirts (featuring our tagline for this season "Relentless") and the somewhat warm weather lead you to believe it was playoff time! The fans were rowdy and I loved it! In fact, I was so pumped for the game I neglected to charge my camera battery or even bring the camera! So, alas, no pictures for this entry but believe it that there WILL be pics for Thursday night's contest versus the Pittsburgh Penguins (I know, I know...the Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins; it still burns coming off my tongue!).
To the action.
A scoreless first period was very entertaining to watch and was only a prelude to the storm that was coming. The second period exploded with Varlamov giving up 4 goals and earning himself a seat on the bench. The Caps answered by racking up three. The third period was racked with a flurry of shots on goal on both ends of the ice. The game went into overtime with a score of 5-5. With little more than a minute left in the sudden death overtime birthday boy, Danny Briere, knocked in the game winner! The place went wild! In the end, Emery halted 36 shots, Richards scored a hat trick and the Washington Capitals went home without a win. They still got a point, but the Flyers have the best record in the NHL!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
If You Could See Me Shaking My Fist at the Cable Company
Why oh, Why? FiOS doesn't carry the Comcast Network. Boooooo!!!!!! Especially booing since the Flyers opener against the Hurricanes was ONLY broadcast on the Comcast Network. We ended up going to Julie's for the first period. Sean was tired (another story to be told below) so we went home and I watched the remainder of the game online.
Great way to open the season! A win, a shut out even, making Ray Emery only the fourth goalie in team history to earn a shut out at the opener. Two goals scored by two of our high scorers from last season, Carter and team captain Richards. Eight penalties though...be careful guys. The team's performance last night is fueling my anticipation for tonight's game against New Jersey! Not to mention the upcoming week, with games against the Caps, the Pens and the Ducks! Very exciting!
On to local news...
Sean had practice last night and scored two goals in the post drill scrimmage. This morning, bright but fortunately not so early, Sean had a game. He scored two goals in the game! He got lots of ice time too and the coaches couldn't stop talking about his line. He's number 19. Just like Scott Hartnell, he said. Now he wants to wear his Hartnell wig (giveaway from last season) to every practice and game! LOL! He wouldn't allow me to take pictures for this game. I managed to snap one while he was getting dressed.
Great way to open the season! A win, a shut out even, making Ray Emery only the fourth goalie in team history to earn a shut out at the opener. Two goals scored by two of our high scorers from last season, Carter and team captain Richards. Eight penalties though...be careful guys. The team's performance last night is fueling my anticipation for tonight's game against New Jersey! Not to mention the upcoming week, with games against the Caps, the Pens and the Ducks! Very exciting!
On to local news...
Sean had practice last night and scored two goals in the post drill scrimmage. This morning, bright but fortunately not so early, Sean had a game. He scored two goals in the game! He got lots of ice time too and the coaches couldn't stop talking about his line. He's number 19. Just like Scott Hartnell, he said. Now he wants to wear his Hartnell wig (giveaway from last season) to every practice and game! LOL! He wouldn't allow me to take pictures for this game. I managed to snap one while he was getting dressed.
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