Dad did an excellent job of describing the goings-on at the Frozen Four. I would have attempted a summary, but I didn't feel that my descriptive powers would do the event justice. One thing thing that Dad touched on that I wanted to talk about a little more was the sense of community that surrounded the whole week.
Dad talked about the two guys at the Morgan Street Brewery, but my first experience came on the plane from Minneapolis to St. Louis. The plane was about 3/4 full of hockey fans headed to the games and the guy that I sat next to had been going since 1976. He was a Minnesota fan and we lamented the fact that our teams weren't making the trip this year.
After that it seemed like everywhere we went we ran into hockey fans from every possible location. Some teams (the Frozen Four) were more represented than others, but we saw a lot of different college and pro jerseys. Everyone who saw Dad and Bubba's UNH jerseys wanted to know what happened to them and who we would be cheering for.
What really amazed me was the fact that no matter what teams logo you were wearing, another hockey fan would not hesitate to talk to you. I've only been to a few NCAA basketball tournament games, but this is the first time I've felt that sense of community regardless of team affiliation. It's not uncommon to talk to other fans from the same school during the basketball tournament, but you rarely see SU fans talking to Georgetown fans in the elevator of the team hotel.
So now we come to the worst part of the year: 12 months to the next Frozen Four. I'll be looking forward to next year when everyone will be there.
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2 comments:
Where did you get to be such a big hockey fan from? WYOMING????
Just a thought, if your team would have been playing would you have been so congenial?
j
My affinity for hockey came from the same source as my obsession with the Red Sox came from: my father. He cursed me by turning me into a Red Sox fan, but blessed me by turning me into a fan of one of the last pure team sports: hockey.
As for my congeniality if UNH had been playing. I'd like to think that I would have been just as friendly if UNH had been in the FF. Judging by the way the fans from the other teams were acting, it wouldn't have been all that hard. Maine's fans were always willing to talk to us in the elevator or lobby of our hotel. The BC fans sitting behind us at the arena were more than happy to talk to us about Hockey East. The Michigan State fans we ran into at the Morgan St Brewery were very happy to see other hockey fans there. And finally, the North Dakota fans were just happy. They were my favorite fans out of the whole bunch. They were happy to be there and they wanted you to cheer for their team, but if you didn't, they would understand your reasons for not supporting the Souix.
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