My first fight

Not me, don't worry (although I did have a moment of extreme pique...more in a bit). Tonight was a Notre Dame hockey game against Ferris State. They really didn’t play all that well, at least from what I could tell (I know very little about the sport), as well as from the guys sitting in the row behind who said, "This is the worst I've seen them play so far this season." I thought that was a pretty good clue.

They lost 4-2, and had plenty of chances to get back into it but couldn't capitalize. Being new to hockey, I have to admit that I find it a little thrilling when they slam into the glass right in front of me, and being in the first row, I got to see that a few times. I always jump a little bit, especially when it's really loud! I'm also impressed at how fast-paced the game is. It's amazing the way they skate around so fast and hard...I can barely walk on ice, let alone skate like I'm hell bent for leather! There was one cool moment when one of the Irish players was sliding along on his knees, still going after the puck.

I never thought I'd get into hockey until I went to a game. I was surprised at how fast and fun it was, and I love the sounds of the puck hitting the glass, the swish of skates, and the clack of the sticks. Since I love sports so much, I don't know why I thought I wouldn't like hockey!

This was my second game, and this time I got to see a fight break out. Wow! A swing was thrown, and next thing I knew, there was a dogpile down by our goal, fists a-flying, a couple of sticks popping out of the melee, and even the ref who was trying to pull the guys apart took a swing to the head. Now, I'm not a violent person, but I was kind of like "Holy shit!" as I watched with perhaps a rather unhealthy fascination. I also know that a fight like this with college teams was nothing compared to the pros, but it was still pretty intense for a while there. A guy from each team got the boot from the game, a guy from each got a ten minute penalty, and a guy from each got a five minute penalty. And the ref got a split lip. (See #9 over there? His last name is Thang. What a cool name!)

After the game, went and had a bite to eat (and a big ol’ Molson for me…yum!) and watched the Cards-Packers game. What a fantastic sports weekend!

As for my moment of extreme pique, I'm happy to say that it didn't end up in a fight. (The only fight I ever remember being in was in third grade, and I just remember kneeling on top of a girl and punching her. I think her name might have been Joy. That's sort of ironic now that I think about it. I beat the crap out of Joy.) Most of the row was empty upon arrival, so we didn't bother sitting in the exact correct places on the benches. As more people arrived, adjustments would be made, right? Well, this couple comes walking up, the guy sits down, and the woman looks at me and says, "You're in my seat." I look down at the empty row and look back up at her, and she's still staring at me, holding out her ticket towards me. The rest of us in the row scooch down a bit, leaving space between me and her husband and she holds her hands up six inches apart and says, "I need more room than that!" [I thought, "Yeah, you got that right."] I look down at the empty rest of the row, and I think Ken said something like "There's nobody down there." She said, "Well, what am I supposed to do when other people do get here?" [Apparently as soon as she sat her ass down, it was going to be cemented to that spot for the duration.]

Then she said what was the real kicker for me: "We have season tickets."

Well, pardon me all to hell! I didn't realize you were a fuckin' VIP, or I would have immediately vacated your special season ticket seat, and I would have apologized profusely, and maybe I would have even bought you a snow cone, just to show how honored I was to be sitting next to a season ticket holder. I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! So we all scooch down more in order that our wonderful Season Ticket Holder can take her rightfully assigned seat. The bitch then proceeded to invade my space for the entire game. She was either elbowing me, turning around to talk to people and leaning into me, or crossing her legs so that her leg was sticking over in front of mine. Most of you probably know that I am not a large person, and it's not like I take up a wide swath of bleacher. Anyone who sits next to me in seating like that is a lucky person, because they'll probably get a little extra room. So it pisses me off even more when anyone takes advantage of that and ends up constantly bumping into me and crowding me. Back the fuck off, and if you elbow me again, you might pull back a bloody stump.

Oh, and then Season Ticket HOlder had the nerve to try to talk me up! "Were you here last night? Did you see that game?" I think my curt "No" let her know that I didn't care to chit-chat with her.

After all, I'm not worthy. And I didn't initially sit in my assigned seat. What a bad girl.