Tonight we have a hockey game - for those who don't know, I bought season tickets for the Avalanche this year. Well, I bought 1/3 of a pair of season tickets. My friend Tara and her husband each had a pair of season tickets going into their marriage, and they are side by side (so four seats all together). Each season, they break a pair of the tickets up into a 3 part series - so I go to a total of about 11 home games this season. Tonight, Tara and her husband are exhausted from having just returned from a trip, so I picked up their tickets as well. Alex and I are taking the kids, they love going to the games.

I love hockey, I always have. Living in Vail as a child, we didn't have an ice rink until we'd lived there about 3 years (we skated on a frozen pond prior to that). Once the arena was built, we'd head over there nearly every day after school. Most days were just free skate, but we also organized our little informal hockey teams and beat the shit out of each other with out sticks. I still have scars on my shins, since we didn't know about pads or helmets or any other protective gear.

As an adult, I find hockey exhilarating, but only if you can see it live. Football and basketball I'm content to watch on TV, but not hockey. Being there, listening to the crowd, being on your feet or poised to scream for most of the game - there is nothing like it. I love how you get to know the styles of the players - like I know that if Rob Blake is anywhere on the opponent's side of the blue line, he's just waiting for the pass that lets him pull out that big gun and fire a shot that's like a bullet. Maybe I'll get to see one of those tonight....