Puck you

So I went to my first hockey game the other day.  I'm still not sure about it.  For one, it was definitely different atmosphere.  Way more hostile than baseball!  We got there just as the game started and immediately I was confused.  I've never really watched a hockey game and thus really only know how to score.  The rules and regulations are a mystery to me.  Even after watching a 2 and a half hour game I still know little about the game. 

One thing I wasn't prepared for was the rampant drunkenness.  It seemed almost everyone around us was at some level of drunk.  Most left us alone though we did hear occasional profanity.  We only had one instance of a drunk getting up in our grill.  This group of young kids, probably just barely legal to drink, showed up to the game already drunk and one was a loud drunk.  Half way through the game the loud one started clapping, trying to get the crowd going, and proceeded to turn around and clap in my sisters face.  After a couple attempts to get him to stop the girl sitting next to her flipped his hat off.  It went soaring several rows forward.  That got us all laughing.  The guy didn't know what to do and looked quite stunned at what had just happened.  He left her alone after that and finally got his hat back.  Which is probably good because I thought he was gonna start crying.

There was also a hockey fan Nazi sitting to the side of our group.  She left us alone, but she would yell at anyone that got up during a play.  See, when you first walk into the seats there is a sign above the entrance that states, 'please get up during breaks in play'.  Anytime a person broke this rule she was there to scream at them.  Periodically we heard things like, 'Hey Blondie!  Break in play!!' or 'Wait till there's a break in play!!'.  She definitely wasn't settle.  At one point there was a couple of fans from the opposing team who were seating a couple rows in front of us cheering when their team got a goal.  Nazi got up and walked down a couple rows, went over there and yelled, 'pull your pants up!' and then proceeded back to her seat.  All we could do was laugh.

The hostile mentality did start to get to us because we started cheering anytime it looked like there was going to be a fight. A couple times I could hear my friend next to me mumbling, 'come on, come on' during the violent parts.  There was only one fight which, unfortunately, didn't last long and was poorly fought. 

I think I'd go again if given the opportunity.  We sat at the very top of the stadium and I'm sure it's way more exciting the closer you get to the ice, though it was still pretty exciting if not entertaining.  Maybe next time I'll take binoculars so I can follow the puck better!