Man Date Straight Up

This past Thursday night Richard and his best friend JP went out on a man date.

Our story begins at 5:00p.m. Thursday evening. Our family and the Schneider family were outside at our park enjoying the gorgeous weather, knowing we should all head inside to feed our families and get our children into bed. First my cell phone rang. It was our neighbor Tammy. Since I didn't answer my phone before it went to voicemail, Tammy then called Richard's cell phone. She called to say that her family was under the weather and were in possession of four Colorado Avalanche tickets they were consequently unable to use. She wondered if Richard and JP were interested in using them.

Duh! No-brainer! Of course the guys wanted to use the tickets, are you kidding?!

Tera and I said our goodbyes and shepherded our children into the house for baths and a quick dinner (Top Ramen, watermelon and banana bread, all well received). JP ran to The Olive Garden to pick up dinner for Tera and me, then ran back home to pick up Richard before heading to the game which began at 7:00p.m.

For all those who are wondering, of course Tera and I were jealous of Richard and JP. We would have loved to go. Thank heavens we had good TV to watch while the guys were at the game: the season premiere of "Survivor" was that night!

Anyway, here are the pictures that Richard took from his seat in the 13th row behind the goal. I'll turn the journaling responsibilities over to him now since I wasn't there. So jealous.



Here is the outside of the Pepsi Center as seen from the bridge crossing the railroad tracks from Elitch Gardens, an amusement park. The Pepsi Center is home to many sports teams, concerts and conventions.


Here is the view going up the escalator from the main entrance up to the level where you get to the seats.


For those who have never been to a hockey game, JP and I included, the game is fast-paced and non-stop action.


Here is a face-off in the Dallas zone. This is how the game is restarted after a stoppage of play.



Here are two players getting better acquainted. This means they are fighting. The gloves come off, they grab each other by the neck of the jersey and start swinging. The refs in the striped shirts will allow the players to keep fighting as long as they are both standing and they are still swinging at each other. In this case, after about 30 seconds of fighting, the two players stopped swinging and were allotted 5 minutes each in the penalty box to do some soul searching.



Our seats were in the 13th row from the ice, but I wanted a picture from the ice level. All that separates the players from the fans is the boards on the bottom and the glass on top. The glass protects the fans from getting hit by the puck which is made of solid rubber. Every time an errant shot by a player would hit the glass, the fans in front would duck since it was coming so fast.



This is visual proof of what happens to a fan who jumps out of their seat when we scored a goal sitting in front of JP's nachos. Notice the added cheese and sour cream. We hoped this eager fan would enjoy a lasting momento of the game.



Here is the famous Zamboni. Between each period, there is a 17 minute intermission where the players leave the ice, rest, strategize, sleep, throw a party who knows. During the intermission, there are two Zambonis that drive over the ice and resmooth and recondition it for the next period.









Here are a few pictures of the hockey action. As you can see, the pictures are a little fuzzy because the players are in constant motion.



Now and then there is a stop of play and I am sure the players are very grateful for the chance to catch their breath.



All in all, JP and I had a great evening. We got to experience a professional sporting event that we had never had the opportunity to attend in person. As with all such events, watching it on tv does not even compare with the live action.

When given the opportunity for a man date on ice, we prefer ours to be Straight Up.

To finish this fairy tale, I must not have been a very good date. JP did not hold my hand, he did not walk me to the door, and I have yet to hear from him about a second date. I shall have to perfect my man date skills.

Still waiting for the second date,

Richard