Here’s my perch for the Sabres Penguins game Friday night, before you were let in. (Thanks for waiting patiently). I’ve been bemoaning the reaction of the home team‘s administration of game night presentation. They want the place to rock, good hockey will do the trick, but thundersticks rule the moment. Pretty sure, we needed to score more, not more cowbell, but I digress. There was a heavy Pittsburgh contingent thanks to proximity, but it wasn’t like a Leaf game or anything. The spectacle games remind you why this type of stuff can be fun in the first place. The team revived the party in the plaza for the first time in a bit and it seems to draw well. I’m not going to lie, it is a bit of an ego trip to walk through all those proceedings to the security entrance like you have a backstage pass.
I snuck the picture above, about a moment before the call goes out that the “Doors are open.” And I don’t know if it was the atmosphere, Sidney Crosby, the Penguins, the Sabres’ run of late, playoffs, whathaveya, but the building filled quick, but my folks were in a pretty jovial mood with one exception, one guy who didn’t like the wait for the whistle before interrupting the folks in your row. It’s funny to watch people in such a setting. One guy groused that the first four winners of Sabres jerseys were sitting in the 100s (dude, give the promotion a chance!), an infinite amount of people who would come to the top of the stairs and pose like they are on the NHL’s Next Top Model, to the serial texters.
I’ve maintained those of us who know enough not to walk and text at the same time could have a jolly good time with the placement of random fountains, wading pools, and other bodies of water for those who insist on being riveted to their phones while walking and sure enough I had two of those folks. I wondered if I could get them to start in a line, if they would bounce off each other bumper car style for the sake of getting that message across. Largely, because both teams took the second period off, and the Penguins are just better at hockey, at least last night, the drama was at a minimum.
The Sabres’ next task in my mind is to beat the Leafs so badly over the next two games that the Leafs cry and the Sabres’ then tell their mommas about it.
Mike's Pub 