Detroit Red Wings – Phoenix Coyotes (14-12-2009)

As my Brazilian friend and colleague A. is about to go back to Rio, we planned a farewell trip to Hockeytown USA: Detroit, Michigan. To my surprise I had been able to buy tickets online, through the dreaded Ticketmaster: $38 + $6.50 “service charge” (ca. €30.50). We left South Bend around 14.00, making sure that we would be in time for both the game and the Coney Island test. Fortunately, it wasn’t snowing, so we made the 210 miles (ca. 340 km) within 4 hours, including a snack stop.

We parked under the Civic Center and followed some (drunken) fans to the Joe Louis Arena. “The Joe” is a hockey arena and has been home to the Detroit Red Wings since 1979. It holds 20,066 people for Red Wings games. As soon as you walk in, you taste the tradition.

Detroit was among the six original founders of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1917. However, at that time the team was called the Cougars (1926-30), later changed to the Falcons (1930-32), and finally the Red Wings (since 1932). During their more than 80 year existence the team won numerous titles, most recently their eleventh Stanley Cup in 2008.

After checking out the merchandise, which was out of control, we made our way to our places. We were totally at the top of the first rank, in between some die hard Red Wings fans. To my surprise the stadium was at best 75% full, which might be due to a combination of a bad start of the season and the economic crisis (which, yet again, hits Michigan hard). The view from our seats was fine though.

After the obligatory national anthem, which was interrupted by a shout (something I have never experienced before in the US), we got ready for the game with, how could it be anything else, “Detroit Rock City” of KISS! Magic!

The first period started a bit slow, but within minutes the Red Wings started to combine well and create some chances. A good combination leads to 1-0, and finally some noise in the Joe. While the Coyotes had power play, the Red Wings got out with a counter and score with a lucky shot: 2-0. Not much later the Coyotes score while a Red Wings player is on the ground, which leads to massive booing and a 2-1 score after the first period.

Shortly into the second period the Red Wings shoot softly at goal and the Coyotes goalie totally misses it: 3-1. The hosts dominate the rest of the period, but the play gets poorer and poorer. While the fans around us are clearly hardcore, they don’t make much noise. Moreover, the only chant seems to be “Let’s go Red Wings”. Just before the end of the second period, the Coyotes score through a hard shot: 3-2.

The third period starts out fairly well, with the Coyotes pressing for the tie. The Red Wings hardly feature in the game. The people around us get worried, but in the end the Red Wings hold on to the tight one-goal lead.

There is no doubt that hockey is alive in Detroit. The city lives for its Red Wings, even if The Joe isn’t always sold out. That said, the atmosphere was less impressive than I had expected. Moreover, the team’s performance was light years away from that of the Red Wings that dominated the NHL only a couple of years ago. They do miss Steve Yzerman.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Atlanta Thrashers (07-12-2009)

I had to be for business in Toronto and decided to go and see a game of the Maple Leafs, the pride of the city and an established member of the National Hockey League (NHL). To my surprise I was able to buy a ticket through Ticketmaster, three weeks before the game, for $62.50 (this includes a $7.50 “convenience charge”) – incidentally, we are talking Canadian dollars here, which are a bit cheaper than American dollars (equivalent is ca. €40). Fortunately I was able to get a ‘real’ ticket from the guy next to me, as the Ticketmaster tickets are so boring.

I picked up my ticket at the Will Call ticket office of the Air Canada Centre (ACC), in downtown Toronto, roughly an hour before the game. I was surprised to see already long lines in front of the stadium. After changing clothes in my hotel, I walked back to the stadium, just in time for the national anthems.

Turns out that $62.50 buys you a seat at the top row of the stadium. Damn, that is far up. Oddly enough, you see the game quite well. Still, you are somewhat watching other people watching the game, as you are so far up.

The Air Canada Centre holds 18,800 people for hockey games, and although this game was by and large sold out, there were many empty seats. Probably many people couldn’t be bothered to come and were unable to sell their (season) ticket – the Leafs are not having a good start of the season. The first period was dismal: slow, uninspiring, few real goal attempts, and the Leafs not even scoring with two men more on the ice: 0-0.

The second period was the exact opposite of the first. Although the hockey wasn’t that much better, the Leafs seemed to score every short on goal. Within one period, and without really dominating or excelling, the Leafs went from 0-0 to 5-0! Finally they had woken up, and so had the crowd.

I used the break between the second and third period to wonder around the stadium, get some quite decent buffalo chicken with fries, and a souvenir for my brother (who always has had a weakness for the Leafs). The audience was quite diverse, though whiter and more male than the very multicultural city.

The five goals in the second period seemed to have been all that the Leafs were willing to do. The third period was like the first, as far as the hosts were concerned, but this time the visitors were doing the scoring. Without necessarily improving their game extensively, the Thrashers scored twice, while the Leafs had signed off for the day: 5-2 the final score.

This was the fourth NHL game I visited, and yet again I was left disappointed. The pace of the game is so slow, the skating and stick handling technique is remarkably average, and the atmosphere is far from spectacular… and that in Toronto, at the Maple Leafs, one of the institutions of North American hockey. Let’s hope my next game, in Detroit, will redeem the NHL.

Atlanta Thrashers – New York Islanders (28-02-2008)

February is not a good month for sports in the US. Both the football (no, it’s not ‘soccer’!) and the American football seasons have not started yet, and neither has the baseball competition (if one would care to go and watch that). So, you by and large have (professional or college) basketball and ice hockey to chose from, an easy choice, even in Atlanta.

Together with my girlfriend and some of her friends I arrived late at the Philips Arena (yes, Eindhoven’s second source of pride, after PSV, is everywhere!). That’s the price you pay for going to a good Mexican restaurant before the game. Anyway, we park close to the arena and join a large group of people – being late at a sports event is not a problem in the US, as the sports is secondary to the eating. We had ordered tickets online, at just 29 dollar per two!

As most sports arenas in the US, the Philips Arena is a combination of a food court, an entertainment park, and a sports arena. Still, it is a beautiful sight. It was opened in 1999 and cost a staggering 213.5 million dollar to build. It is home to both the local basketball (Hawks) and hockey team (Thrashers). For hockey games it can hold 18,545 people. While hockey is not big in the South, the Atlanta Thrashers have built a quite nice following in their ten years of existence. On average they draw a crowd of 15,768. Unfortunately, for this low-key game against the New York Islanders the arena was only half full (my estimate, but maybe everyone was just eating).

As in the previous times I visited an NHL game, I was far from impressed by what I saw. The Thrashers were absolutely dramatic in the back and were 2-0 behind after 10 minutes. Both goals were mistakes of the Thrashers rather than good plays by the (also poor) Islanders. The Thrashers are a strange team: most players are fairly unknown, and those known, are in their late thirties (e.g. Hedberg, Holik, Recchi). The Islanders have always been in the shadow of their big city rivals, the New York rangers. I mainly was interested in Miroslav Satan, who does not only have the coolest name in sports, but is also a very good Slovak forward. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in this game.

After the Islanders had scored their third, it was time for a break, in which I checked out all the food places. Shortly in the second period the Thrashers finally scored: 3-1. For some bizarre reason, the Islanders completely fell apart and by the end of the second period the score was equal: 3-3. The third period was tight and therefore exciting, even if the hockey itself remained of poor quality. Quickly into the third period the Islanders scored the 3-4, but 1.22 minutes before the end old-timer Bobby Holik equalized: 4-4 and extra time. The crowd went wild.

The euphoria and refound optimism of the Thrashers fans was short-lived, however. Three minutes into extra time the Islanders scored: 4-5 and game over! On the upside, the (many) Thrashers fans at least had some sense of pride, even if it lasted for just a couple of minutes. On the downside, until they will buy a lot of new players, the Thrashers will remain a team struggling to even make the play-offs, let alone win them.