What. A. Game.

(I'll share more pictures in days to come; I'm falling asleep here, and I want to get something up but can't manage it all tonight. A lot of them are not as sharp as I would wish; the lighting and the motion are challenging.)

No, you put your right foot in...

Mind you, it wasn't the absolute best game to see as a Bruins fan, not the whole time. The Sharks are a damned good team, undefeated in regulation going into* last night, and deservedly so. They out-shot the Bruins by an incredible margin, and the Bs were lucky to come out of the first without a deficit. The second wasn't a whole lot better, but late in the period, Iginla finally got his first goal of the season, and it was happy time. The Sharks spoiled that in the first minute of the third, and then it took until the actual last second for the Bruins to turn the tide. They stole one, and don't think I don't know it. But as the saying goes, "They don't ask how pretty, they ask how many," and a win is a win is a win.
*I love that I get to specify "going into last night"

So much for the game itself. How was being at the game? Oh, it was Fabulous. The tickets (face value: $300 each, plus a premium parking pass in the North Station garage) were for the same seats we got in April, but this time my friend got all four, so she could bring her daughter and son-in-law. They picked me up at home after work and we drove in. The traffic getting off 93 was ... unfortunate, shall we say, but we still got there in time. Did you know that with the preferred parking pass, the nice man moves a cone so you can get in to the good spots, as soon as you're in the garage? It's true, he does. Mind you, it's still one of those garages with small space and many columns, which I hate to park in, but after all I wasn't driving, so I didn't have to do the parking, did I? No. We went up, and in, and arrived in time to hear the anthem. Then they were off!

View from above, before going down to our seats.

In terms of seeing the overall flow and plan of a game, I can't recommend sitting right at the front, because there's an angle you can't see clearly, and you're too close to see the big picture. However, for getting into the spirit of it, you can't beat the excitement of being close enough to make eye contact with the players--and the officials, for that matter, as I was reminded when, during a TV time-out, the linesman threw a puck over the glass to the dad-and-kid next to me, as well as the many times when my view before a puck drop was the rear of the linesman. Or a defenseman.

And how close were we, really? Well, I was watching video of the winner, and I can pick myself out on-screen. Not so that even anyone who knew me well would say, "Wait, is that...?", but here, click on the picture to make it big.

Now, see, in the circle, lower right? In the gold sweatshirt, with the black purse strap across? That's me. It amuses me mightily, seeing myself on replays. The man next to me had a red shirt on, and my friend in black is to my right. She told someone where we were sitting (straight across from where the visiting team takes the ice*), and got a text asking if she was the one in black between two gold shirts. Yup!
 *See?

The game was on NESN when I got home tonight, and I watched it again, as if for the first time, knowing when to look and when not to bother.


Some things I learned:

• Jordan Caron makes tremendous faces as he skates.
• There are people who will wear banana costumes to a hockey game.

Technically, half-bananas, as you can see better here.

But still. Bananas. Hockey. It's a mystery.

• It's damn cold at ice level. I did remember this from last time, actually, so I was wearing a turtleneck under a t-shirt under a sweatshirt*, and long johns under my jeans, and knit cuffs, too, but still I was chilly, and my hands were freezing.

*Though I admit the sweatshirt wasn't zipped up. Have to show the shirt!

Thanks to the parking situation, I was home by 10:15, but that odd mix of tired and adrenaline that made sleep impossible for an hour or so. Meaning this morning, I could still feel the bed trying to pull me back when I got to work. So! Tired! But I did a little redecorating at my desk today. While Chara was the player pictured on the tickets, I bought a program and guess who was on the cover? And had a centerfold? That's my boy!

Mind you, if he ever (heaven forfend) has trouble with his left quadriceps, I'm blaming that staple.

Now, I have a form to fill out related to giving Miri back--quickly, before I fall asleep. Wish me luck catching her in the morning! I'm quite nervous about that.