Game One - Stanley Cup Final Series

My Pittsburgh Penguins did not do very well tonight. A 5-0 loss to Detroit. While watching the game tonight I was vividly remembering our latest family outing.

Last Thursday on my way to work, my cell phone rang. It was my sone Greg asking me if I wanted to go to a Stanley Cup final game. Before I calculated exactly how much this excursion was going to cost I said yes. Of course MY credit card had to be used! By 10:00 a.m. Greg was on-line and was able to score 4 tickets to game 1 of the Stanley Cup final series between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

So last Saturday afternoon with my husband Terry driving, Greg and his girlfriend Kim in the back seat, we were off to Detroit. It was a pretty uneventful drive until we were between London and Windsor on the 401. I was engrossed in a book when I heard Terry swear and say we were about to be pulled over by the police.

The police office came up to the passenger side so I rolled down my window. Standing there with a great big smile was the youngest, cutest looking cop I have ever seen! She very politely explained Terry was driving 131 in a 100 kph zone. She went on to add this section of highway has seen an abnormal amount of accidents due to the lack of median. She then headed back to her car to write up the ticket.

Terry stepped out of the car at this point and asked her if it was OK to go and visit the woods. She agreed and off Terry went into the trees at the side of the road in front of a cop and the other hundred people zooming past us on the 401!!! No one said Terry had any class. When the officer came back to the car, she asked Terry to get back and went on to tell us because we looked like such a nice family she reduced the ticket to no points and only a $50.00. We thanked her profusely and commented how we appreciated her kind manner.

Terry did slow down a bit (with my backseat nagging) and we arrived at our hotel room to get ready for the big game. Kim and Greg donned their matching Red Wing jerseys while Terry and I kept on our civilian garb. We headed to a city bus stop where we got on a bus and went through the Windsor tunnel and through customs. I was going to give some motherly advice to a young gentleman on the bus who was upset about getting hassled from the customs inspectors. I was going to suggest if he removed the massive dollar sign tattoos around this neck it might make his entry into the USA easier. I decided to not get involved.

As we entered "The Joe" we were all given white towels to cheer with and we then headed for the pizza stand for our dinner. Looking around I had never seen so many jerseys being worn. Literally, Terry and I were some of the very few people not wearing a jersey. Most were Detroit but there were lots of Penguins jerseys too, considering we were in the Motor City.

The game was a blast! While I wasn't happy the Penguins were on the wrong side of the score sheet, (I always seem to cheer for the underdogs) the arena was rocking! Attending a game at the Joe was a cross between a great hockey game, a rock concert and a karaoke party! In my other life, I am sure I must have been a back up singer for Bette Midler, so while the goals didn't go the way I wanted, I sung along with the crowd anyway.

NHL rules says the music can only be played when the players aren't playing. That doesn't stop the crowd! Never really a fan of KISS, suddenly all of the words came back to me, and 20, 000 other people. At the end of the game we all sang together "I Want to Rock and Roll All Night.......and Party Every Day!"

The bus ride back through the tunnel was much louder and rowdier than the way over. Lots of not so watered down American beer can do that to a bunch of twenty-something-year-old hockey fans. I did feel sorry for some poor kid from London Ontario, the apparently sole Penguin jersey wearing rider on the bus.

All in all, it was a great week-end. Lots of fun. A great family outing even if only half of the family was there. Daughter #1 Kaitlin was very upset we didn't have a ticket for her. Daughter #2 Jennifer couldn't figure out why anyone would actually want to go to Detroit.

As we travelled back along the 401, at almost exactly the spot Terry got the speeding ticket, we saw a car crumpled up in the ditch. Several people were out of their cars heading toward the crash. We could hear the siren wailing from the ambulance on the way. A severe jolt back to reality.

The rest of the series we are back to being common folk, watching the game on the TV. But in the background I can still hear them play KISS and I still sing along.