On this weekend, we had one goal. To see the Sharks beat the Coyotes. And to get real warm. And to visit The Sugar Bowl in Scottsdale for a pineapple mint shake. And we wanted to see if the hot dogs in Jobing Arena in Glendale were as good as the hot dogs in Coors Park in Denver. It was simplicity at its best, a weekend with one and only one goal. This quest found us viewing the Grand Canyon from 27,000 feet on Saturday afternoon. It was beautiful when we took off from Salt Lake City Airport and even beautifuller when we landed at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. This adventure was shared by Huffygirl, Will and me. Will is a high school hockey player and had never been to an NHL hockey game. Neither had Bobby or I. We had watched the San Jose Sharks the previous night on TV and I thought it was pretty cool we were going to see them from lower level, row L in a matter of hours!
After checking into the hotel, we presented Will with a new
Sharks shirt to wear to the game. Bobbi and I had new shirts too so we all got
dressed and headed for the Jobing Arena in style. Once we got into the
designated parking lot, I wasn’t sure exactly how the parking spots worked. We
pulled up to some tailgating fans and I asked how the parking was arranged.
They told us we were wearing the wrong colored shirts and they weren’t sure
they could help us. One of the guys, the one with the Coyotes tattoo emblazoned
across his forehead, told us that our kind weren’t welcome in those parts. I asked
if he meant the spot right next to them or if he meant the entire parking lot.
He said the ladder. I laughed at him because I didn’t even ask about a ladder!
He was about to throw his beer in my face (even though I wasn’t thirsty) when
his friend stopped him, “He ain’t even worth it, Buck.” As we drove away, I
told them to watch the movie, Sharknado, to know what was in store for them!
As we walked to the arena, we were feeling a little less
bold among the horde of Coyote red. We saw a pair of Sharks fans and I tapped
one on the shoulder and told him how glad we were to see them and tried to give
them a friendly hug. They looked at me like I was a bad-smelling criminal. I
wondered how they knew about the hard time I’d served. We walked away quickly
before they called the Segway-riding security cops who were roaming the area.
Soon we noticed there were lots of other Shark fans. Almost a sea of them! (Yes, that just happened)
We stood down by the glass during the Shark’s warm-up to get
a sense of the power of the game and to see the tooth gaps up close. Pucks were
hitting the glass all around us. Someone said it looked like the players were
aiming for me. I made one more shark scream and headed back to my seat and the
pucks stopped hitting the glass. It was like they didn’t appreciate a devoted
fan.
 | |
| A happy hockey fan |
The Coyotes and Sharks played a terrific game, though the
Coyote yelps were nothing compared to Shark screams! It didn’t seem the other
Sharks fans were getting into it but I paid the money so I was gonna scream! I
asked the Coyote fan next to us why the local fans were louder when the Coyotes
scored that when the Sharks scored. He said he didn’t know, but something about
his expression made me think he did and just wasn’t telling me. After one Phoenix
score, I put my fist out to him in a gesture of sportsmanship. Apparently, they
have a tradition down there that they return the fist bump to your nose. It was
cool to be part of the local flavor and my nose stopped bleeding pretty
quickly.
After the battle on the ice was over, the Sharks had 1 more
goal than the Coyotes. Goal accomplished. The hot dogs were good, but not as
good as at a Rockies game. Other goal accomplished. We also went to the Sugar
Bowl where I relished my Pineapple mint shake and we definitely soaked up our
share of the warm Arizona sunshine and we finally headed home with happy smiles
on our faces. All goals accomplished!
